Recommended Media
Find a resource to help you in your entrepreneurial journey!
Michael Sy Uy, PhD, 2020, Oxford University Press
From the end of the Second World War through the U.S. Bicentennial, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ford Foundation granted close to $300 million (approximately $2.3 billion in 2017 dollars) in the field of music alone. In deciding what to fund, these three grantmaking institutions decided to "ask the experts," adopting seemingly objective, scientific models of peer review and specialist evaluation. They recruited music composers at elite institutions, professors from prestigious universities, and leaders of performing arts organizations. Among the most influential expert-consultants were Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, and Milton Babbitt.
The significance was two-fold: not only were male, Western art composers put in charge of directing large and unprecedented channels of public and private funds, but in doing so they also determined and defined what was meant by artistic excellence. They decided the fate of their peers and shaped the direction of music-making in this country. By asking the experts, the grantmaking institutions produced a concentrated and interconnected field of artists and musicians. Officers and directors utilized ostensibly objective financial tools like matching grants and endowments in an attempt to diversify and stabilize applicants' sources of funding, as well as the number of applicants they funded. Such economics-based strategies, however, relied more on personal connections among the wealthy and elite, rather than local community citizens. Ultimately, this history demonstrates how "expertise" served as an exclusionary form of cultural and social capital that prevented racial minorities and non-dominant groups from fully participating.
William J. Byrnes, 2022, Routledge
The sixth edition of Management and the Arts has been revised and updated with the latest concepts, theories, and practices to meet the evolving demands faced by arts managers in cultural organizations around the world.
This comprehensive textbook covers a wide range of topics, including planning, strategy development, leading, marketing, fundraising, budgeting, finance, staffing, and operations. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach as it explores how arts managers and leaders can develop equitable, collaborative, and dynamic organizations that bring communities together to experience all the arts have to offer. It also includes illustrations, tables, tools, techniques, and case studies that can be applied in a wide range of visual and performing arts organizations. Each chapter features terms, learning outcomes, real world examples, and discussion questions designed to help students build skills, develop strategies, and understand options to consider in meeting the challenges faced by cultural organizations.
New to this edition:
- An extensive focus on how arts managers and organizations can successfully engage in developing and implementing equity, diversity, and inclusion programs
- Expanded content on leadership, marketing, social media, and fundraising theories, practices, and ethics
- Updated content about planning and assessment, business models, entrepreneurship, and heuristics
- Expanded coverage of organizational culture and its impact on programming, operations, and inclusion
- Additional perspectives about leading in the arts, examination of theories of motivation and communication, and expanded discussion on leadership ethics
- Integration of topics on operations, budgeting, and finance including technology and CRM system
Suggested additional readings, website links, and a broad array of other resources have been carefully gathered to help faculty guide students of Performing Arts programs and Arts Management courses as they explore what is required to work with artists, board members, staff, funders, volunteers, and community leaders.
Thomas R. Ittelson, 2017, Mercury Group Press
Short and sweet way to learn about nonprofit financial statements. For the neophyte. Accounting is just recording every event (transaction) that has financial impact on the organization—money that comes in and money that goes out. The four main financial statements of a nonprofit organization summarize and document all these transactions, often millions of them! Statement of Activities, Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Cash Flows, and Statement of Functional Expenses. This book will give everyone involved with nonprofit organizations enough financial understanding to review the financial statements and ask questions necessary to fulfill their fiduciary duty to their organization.
Dave Isay, 2016, Penguin Books
Told through touching conversations between friends, coworkers, and family members, in Callings, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay presents unforgettable stories from people doing work they love. From a mom telling her daughter about her bricklaying career to a father sharing his contributions to the space race as an aeromedical field tester, these stories are poignant and heartfelt intergenerational explorations into the journeys people take to find the jobs they are meant to do. Some found their paths at a very young age, others upturned their lives to change careers later in life. All discovered meaningful jobs where they could use their passions to find purpose in every day.
We meet a man from the barrios of Texas whose harrowing experiences in a family of migrant farmers inspired him to become a public defender. We meet a longtime waitress who takes pride in making regulars and newcomers alike feel at home in her Nashville diner. We meet a young man on the South Side of Chicago who became a teacher in order to help at-risk teenagers like the ones who killed his father get on the right track. We meet a woman from Little Rock who helps former inmates gain the skills and confidence they need to rejoin the workforce. Together they demonstrate how work can be about much more than just making a living, how we may find our callings in unusual places, and how chasing dreams can transform our lives.
An essential contribution to the beloved StoryCorps collection filled with many stories that have never been broadcast or published before, Callings is a tribute to rewarding work that continues to inspire everyone from students about to start their first jobs to retirees seeking their next chapter.
Jeff Nytch, 2018, Oxford University Press
The Entrepreneurial Muse explores principles of entrepreneurship in a classical music setting, inspiring students, emerging professionals, and educators alike to gain the broader perspective and strategic understanding required to negotiate the complex and ever-changing landscape of a professional music career. The author's own career journey creates an additional narrative intended to inspire a broader and more creative view of career possibilities. Readers will acquire strategic and observational tools designed to expand their view of possible career paths in classical music, stimulate creating thinking about how their unique skills can find value in the 21st-century marketplace, and realize their professional goals through the entrepreneurial process. And, because entrepreneurship is itself a creative endeavor, readers will learn how entrepreneurship and artistic integrity in music can not only peacefully coexist, but actually nurture and inspire each other. The Entrepreneurial Muse is designed to supplement, not replace, traditional music career development texts by illustrating a new approach to developing and maintaining a career in classical music. The book is intended to provoke the creative imagination of readers, to inspire them, and to give them tools to help realize a personally authentic career that is sustainable, fulfilling, and impactful.
Roger Fisher, William Ury, & Bruce Patton, 2011
One of the key business texts of the modern era, Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. Based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution, it offers readers a straightforward, universally applicable method for reaching mutually satisfying agreements—at home, in business, and with people in any situation. Read Getting to Yes to learn, step-by-step, how to:
- disentangle the people from the problem
- focus on interests, not positions
- work together to find creative and fair options
- negotiate successfully with anybody at any level
Stefanie K. Johnson, PhD, 2020
Humans have two basic desires: to stand out and to fit in. Companies respond by creating groups that tend to the extreme—where everyone fits in and no one stands out, or where everyone stands out and no one fits in. How do we find that happy medium where workers can demonstrate their individuality while also feeling they belong?
The answer, according to Stefanie Johnson, is to Inclusify. In this essential handbook, she explains what it means to Inclusify and how it can be used to strengthen any business. Inclusifying—unlike “diversifying” or “including”—implies a continuous, sustained effort towards helping diverse teams feel engaged, empowered, accepted, and valued. It’s no use having diversity if everyone feels like an outsider, she contends.
In her research, Johnson found common problems leaders exhibit which frustrate their attempts to create diverse and cohesive teams. Leaders that underestimated the importance of group coherence and dynamics often have employees who do not feel like they belong; leaders that ignore the benefits of listening to different perspectives leave some people feeling like they cannot be their authentic selves.
By contrast, leaders who Inclusify can forge strong relationships with their teams, inspire greater productivity from all of their workers, and create a more positive environment for everyone. Having a true range of different voices is good for the bottom line—it allows for the development of the best, most innovative, and creative solutions that are essential to success.
Inclusify reveals the unexpected ways that well-intentioned leaders undermine their teams, explains how to recognize the myths and misperceptions that drive these behaviors, and provides practical strategies to become an Inclusifyer. By learning why uniqueness and belonging are so imperative, leaders can better understand what makes their employees tick and find ways to encourage them to be themselves while ensuring they feel like they are fully part of the group. The result is a fully engaged team filled with diverse perspectives—the key to creating innovative and imaginative ideas that drive value.
Peter G. Northouse, 2026, Sage
Adopted in thousands of courses in 89 countries and translated into 15 different languages, this market-leading text successfully combines an academically robust account of the major theories and models of leadership with an accessible style and focus on how leadership theory can inform leadership practice. Peter G. Northouse uses a consistent structure for each chapter of the Tenth Edition of Leadership, allowing readers to easily compare and contrast different theories.
Adam Grant, PhD, 2016
Originals is about how to champion new ideas and fight groupthink.
Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent.
You’ll learn from…
An entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest
A woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below
An analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA
A billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him
A TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved Seinfeld from the cutting-room floor
Andy Heise & Nick Petrella
We share how entrepreneurs in the arts are aligning their artistry, passion and vision, and are "making art work" for them.
The podcast features entrepreneurs from all art forms, so each episode has relevant information for anyone interested in participating in some aspect of the arts industry.
Brené Brown and Adam Grant
Spotify:
Apple Podcasts:
Research professor Brené Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant are partnering on a new weekly podcast grounded in an unflinching commitment to learning and unlearning. At a time when public discourse rewards certainty over inquiry, The Curiosity Shop features two of the world's most sought-after experts on connection, change, and leadership making the case for slowing down, asking better questions, and embracing informed complexity over easy answers. Bringing together their left and right brain sensibilities — she’s a qualitative researcher; he’s a quantitative researcher — they explore some of the defining questions of our time, unpack the research reshaping how we live, lead, and love, and dive deep into the ideas, evidence, and cultural moments intriguing them the most. New episodes drop every Thursday.
Sebastian Vera & Nick Schwartz
Spotify:
Apple Podcasts:
Universal stories of struggle, inspiration and achievement through the eyes of trombone players. Equal parts thoughtful and hilarious. Hosted by Sebastian Vera, principal trombonist of the Pittsburgh Opera and Nick Schwartz, principal bass trombonist of the New York City Ballet.
Dr. Nicholas Perna & Prof. Sarah Pigott
VocalFri began as the MC VocalFri Podcast in 2017 as a vehicle to record the weekly ongoings of Dr. Nicholas Perna and his voice lab graduate assistants. VocalFri centers around voice science and pedagogy, but through the lens of popular nerd culture. In 2019 Prof. Pigott (Sarah) and Dr. P (Nick) continued their #VocalFam journey as the pod officially became VocalFri. VocalFri is a proud founding member of the #NATSCast Podcast Network.
Guy Raz
Guy Raz interviews the world’s best-known entrepreneurs to learn how they built their iconic brands. In each episode, founders reveal deep, intimate moments of doubt and failure, and share insights on their eventual success. How I Built This is a master-class on innovation, creativity, leadership and how to navigate challenges of all kinds.
Thomas Kurtz
The Music Career Roadmap is a working guide to the full range of music-related careers — from performance and teaching to arts administration, composition, production, and advocacy. Organized around how careers actually develop: through skills that transfer, paths that combine, and directions that evolve over time.
Angela Myles Beeching
Most musicians aren’t lacking in talent or drive. They’re lacking clarity about what matters most. And the self-belief to really go for it. That’s why I’m dedicated to helping musicians like you take charge of your career and your mindset. So you can take consistent action and book more of the work that feeds your soul. With decades of experience running career and entrepreneurship centers at Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, and New England Conservatory . . .
I love helping musicians get more of their best work out into the world so they can fully grow into their artistry.
David Cutler
One of the world’s leading voices on ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Cutler has led keynotes and workshops for Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, Juilliard School, Dutch Classical Music Meeting, Chamber Music America, New World Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University, and Italy’s soundSCAPE music festival. His books The Savvy Musician and The Savvy Music Teacher, which provide tools for amplifying income, impact, and innovation, have shaped a generation of musicians. Dr. Cutler is a distinguished professor of music entrepreneurship at University of South Carolina, and a Yamaha Master Educator.
The City of Boulder's Office of Arts and Culture is a division of the . We are responsible for the oversight of cultural grants, creative sector programs and research, public art, support for cultural nonprofits, creative neighborhoods programs, support for individual artists and creative professionals, and support for the cultural infrastructure and venues that make creative life possible in Boulder.
The resources listed above are provided for educational and informational purposes. Inclusion on this page does not constitute an endorsement by the Entrepreneurship Center for Music or the University of ĢӰ Boulder of all viewpoints, opinions, recommendations or content expressed within these materials.