The Unit 1 introduces the connection between musicians and entrepreneurship. This has broadened my perspectives and greatly helped my future career planning. I used to be resistant to associating art with business. Now, however, I realize that entrepreneurship can provide more chances for a musician to gain success. This cognitive change sparks my interest on Unit 1. In addition to the content, the clear structure of the course is helpful, which enables me to acquire knowledge more easily. Firstly, it introduces the importance of entrepreneurship for artists. Secondly, it points out how to become an entrepreneur. Then, it introduces the problems and solutions of entrepreneurship. Finally, the career planning of musicians is proposed.
In the part of becoming an entrepreneur, I learn the process and rules of brainstorming. In brainstorming, we need a group of 5-8 people, and each member should have a different background to make the discussion results more diversified and accurate. During the process of discussion, we should have enough time to clarify own opinions freely. In my study life, I have had brainstorming for many times. Therefore, I believe the principles of brainstorming mentioned in the course are effective. However, in reality, group members I have are my classmates, so that we have too much in common, for example, we do not many internship experiences, which makes our discussion result too simple.
On the other hand, I think there are some problems with the brainstorming rules mentioned. I knew a concept called “groupthink”, which refers to that during group discussion; people tend to obey others’ ideas and be reluctant to put forward different ideas. As a result, even if a group member has a different cultural or professional background, groupthink still might occur. Beyond that, I need to develop some entrepreneurial qualities. Now, I have second language, computer and math skills that can help me become a musician with entrepreneurship. For example, a second language and the ability on using a computer enable me to understand the works of art from different countries. Mathematical skills can cultivate my rational thinking and make my works more logical. In the future, I need to develop more qualities, for instance, I need to know more about the culture and history of other countries. Then, I can understand the art works of different countries deeply.
After this part, I understand some potential problems and solutions of entrepreneurship. These include questions about how musicians pursue innovation, financial risks and current market conditions. Among these issues, I pay more attention to market issues. Nowadays, music producers pursue quantity rather than quality. Hence, the market is lack of meaningful works. In addition, traditional music and classical music are not appreciated. Overall, the music market has shown a false exuberance. Nowadays, due to the fast pace of life and high pressure, most audiences only treat music as fast food. They do not have time or interests to understand the connotation of music.
In this case, we can pay attention to the combination of traditional music and popular music, and use internet platforms to spread, so as to attract more audiences. At the same time, music producers should have self-regulation. Music quality should not be sacrificed in pursuit of short-term economic profits. Inferior music works are likely to hinder the healthy development of the whole industry, resulting in bad results in the long term.
Finally, in the course, I think about my career plan. Before, I want to be a free-lance musician. Free-lance musicians, I think, are more liberal. More free time gives me more opportunities to experience life and get more creative inspirations. However, this way of working is also prone to some problems. First of all, there may be some problems on the content and frequency of my creation. I cannot guarantee both quantity and quality, and in the long run I will lose my music inspiration. Secondly, the financial source of freelancing is not stable, so my basic life may not be guaranteed, which will also affect my long-term creation.
Based on these considerations, my parents advise me to become a micropreneur. It means that I can have a main job and then do music creation in my spare time. The income brought by music only serves as a subsidy for living. However, I reject the idea. I think it is disrespectful to music. If I only create in my spare time, the level of my works can be reduced greatly. From the beginning when I studied the major of music, I hoped that music could become the whole of my professional life. When I treat music as just an accessory to life, I would feel depressed.
Now, I think intrapreneurship is a more suitable type for me. Because I have some part-time experience, I can join in some music companies. Then, I can create works according to the needs of the company. As the company is more professional, it can guide my creative career. However, I also have some worries. For example, the company may be in pursuit of financial benefits and short creative cycle, so that I do not have sufficient creative time. Or, I have to give up innovation because of mass production of music. When facing to these problems, I think when I look for a full-time job in the future; I would evaluate the qualifications of the company carefully.
In conclusion, Unit1 is very useful to me in learning the process and essential skills of being an entrepreneurial musician. What is more, by thinking about the current market problems and solutions, I think about my future career planning carefully. I have made a decision to become a full-time musician. This is not only for my own life, but also to change the current music market issues and meet the needs of the audience.