The Musician's Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan

The Musician's Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan is a resource guide for mid-career musicians, performing artists, music teachers, and advanced music students who have completed the bulk of their professional training and are looking to develop their careers. The book encourages its reader to reflect on career related philosophical questions before delving into practical strategies. Timmons invites the reader to create a vision of an ideal career and then to concretize that vision into a practical plan and business strategy. The narrative brings the reader into a prose style that is conversational in nature, making the extensive research and helpful information accessible to a wide variety of musicians. Included is a special chapter on careers in higher education; guidance in how to develop a business plan; and general tips on grant writing and financial development. Timmons illustrates her vision-to-plan process through the stories of musicians whom she has guided successfully in her work as a music consultant. She offers an extensive bibliography for additional resources, and the book will be supplemented by a companion website, where readers may download worksheets and questionnaires to help them along the way.

Whether you are a traditionally trained classical artist, a folk musician, jazz or pop performer, or someone exploring the outer regions of the music industry, The Musician's Journey can offer you a new road map to a thriving career.

Jill Timmons is known to international audiences and educators as a leading consultant in arts management. Her consulting firm, Artsmentor LLC, has helped countless music organizations and individual artists meet the challenge of today's market place. Timmons has performed as a pianist under the auspices of the NEA, the USIA, and has been heard on NPR, with concert tours throughout the US, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain and Chile. Dedicated to American composers, her discography includes recordings on the Centaur, Capstone and Laurel labels.

Contents

About the Companion Website

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 A CAREER IN MUSIC

Musicians and Their World

The World of Music: Where We Are Today

A Thriving Career in Music: The New Normal

2 NEWS FROM THE FRONT

Client Questionnaire

The Accidental Entrepreneur

A Call to Change

3 MUSICIANS AND THE PATH OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Preparing Today's Music Entrepreneurs

The Benefits of Entrepreneurship

4 PREPARING FOR CHANGE

Brain Neuroplasticity: A Personal Story

Definitions

Harnessing the Power of the Neuroplastic Brain

Desire as the Genesis for Change

5 CREATING YOUR VISION

The Quest for a Vision

Discover Inspiration: Inviting the Muse

Knowing and Facing Your Fears

Ten Showstoppers

6 FROM VISION TO PLAN

Music Professionals in Today's Marketplace: The Dynamic Entrepreneur

Vision and Plan: The Intersection of Heaven and Earth

Creating the Plan: The Pathway to a Dynamic Career

The Plan Versus Income

Sources of Income

Jobs: Is It a Jay-Oh-Be or Part of Your Career Path?

Internships and Volunteerism: The Fast Track to Professional Experience

Grant Writing and the World of Philanthropy

Grant Checklist for Music Professionals: Just the Basics

Phantoms That Derail Your Proposals

Your Plan: The Devil Is in the Details

Troika of Success

Survive or Thrive

Mentors for Your Vision/Plan

Other Music Entrepreneurs: The Student and the Retiree

7 YOUR PLAN

Mission Statement

Legal Identity

Goods and Services

Financial Plan

Marketing

Marketing Starter Kit

Management Team

Other Members of Your Management Team

Timelines

Financing Your Plan

Business Plan Checklist

8 MUSIC JOBS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Entering the World of Higher Education: The Price of Admission

Academia: The Ideal

What Price Glory?

Survival of the Fittest

9 TRUE-LIFE STORIES

10 CONCLUSION

Epilogue

Selected Bibliography