Often artists have trouble with
taking their work to investors and turning their great creative ideas into
monetizable business transactions. Here
I will explore the advice of two prominent artist business plan writers.
Sarphreem King is a multiplatinum
album producer and music industry journalist with years of experience helping
artists to grow their careers. He runs a
music business course, “Music Business
Guru Academy” that he offers from his website.
King’s biggest tip for artists on
writing business plans includes getting the information out of your head and on
to paper as early as possible, whether that be on a napkin, scrap paper, or any
medium. Keeping the ideas in your head
makes it harder to get it all down in to an organized business plan when it is
time to develop your ideas and present your work to investors. He also stresses the importance of taking
yourself seriously and working on the business plan one step at a time so the
artist does not get overwhelmed.
However, Alyson Stanfield, a
renowned art business blog writer cautions against over-planning. She recommends that artists start with a
one-page business plan that includes immediate action items and defines their
business as it currently exists, and then
expand into the future. Too often
artists over-plan which can confine their options and prevent them from seeing
creative solutions. Furthermore, artists
who spend all of their time planning often don’t have time to put their plans
into action and use planning as a way to procrastinate.
King, Sarphreem. Tip
Jar: How to Write a Music Business Plan.
Accessed on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at http://musicconnection.com/tip-jar-write-music-business-plan/.
Stafield, Alyson. Is
Over-Planning Killing Your Art Business?
Accessed on Sunday, June 8, 2014 at http://www.artbizblog.com/2012/05/over-planning.html.
