It is no longer imperative to be a musician, to be a part of the burgeoning music scene.
It is no longer imperative to be a musician, to be a part of the burgeoning music scene. Recognising the role that non-musicians play in the success story of this industry, the city’s True School of Music has launched a one-of-a-kind course: One that helps you become a “musicpreneur”.
The curriculum combines the creative, technical, legal, production side of the music scene.
Says Ashutosh Phatak, co-founder of the True School of Music, “As a music education institution we recognise that today one needs to understand the business of music, to be successful as a working musician. If musicians look at themselves as entrepreneurs with their musical skills as their tools, then the likelihood of generating revenues increases exponentially. Students are recognising this too and we see this by the house-full turnouts we have had for every music business masterclass or workshop.”
From using knowledge and skills gained in the course to create intellectual property in song writing, recording, publishing and broadcast, to conducting optimum self-marketing across platforms, effective artist management and day-to-day business skills, a musicpreneur will know how to manoeuvre through every aspect of being a part of the industry. All this, while honing his/her creative goals. The course is tailored to support the student in his/her journey of finding their musical voice and non-musical flair in the contemporary scene.
Naman Datta, a percussion student and sessions musician says, “It is very important for musicians today to be multi-faceted and master more than one skill-set. It is even more important that people who do not play an instrument, or are creatively inclined, to become a part of this industry by honing the skill-sets they can offer. A course like this throws open job opportunities for anyone who wants to be a part of the scene by not keeping a rigid music-oriented criterion.”
Phatak, himself an award-winning multi-instrumental music composer and producer, who has released over 15 contemporary music albums in the past two decades, has worn several hats over the years — often simultaneously. He is also a co-founder of Mumbai’s leading live music venue BlueFrog. Phatak has over the years seen how the industry’s expectations have changed and has incorporated that thought process while curating this course. “Opportunities in the music industry are expanding every day. Whether it is doing a jingle, DJing at a nightclub, performing at music festivals, doing sessions for Bollywood (studio and live), sound engineering, artist management, working in dot coms and record labels or even teaching, our music industry is in a massive growth phase while other more traditional industries are on the decline,” he says.
