Designing music education for entrepreneurial learning through student-run enterprise

The changes in the music industry structure over the last decade now require musicians to be multi-skilled and responsible for all aspects of their career development. Researchers have addressed the resulting gaps between the music industry and music education, revealing that most musicians face a future of self-employment or freelancing. These conditions require musicians to be entrepreneurial. This includes having not only industry knowledge, but also knowing how to leverage opportunities through networks, and having the right attributes and skills to act on ideas. While these gaps in music education have been acknowledged, there have been few empirical studies offering principles or designs for new approaches to address these gaps. This study explores various student-run enterprises in both high school and higher education. These enterprises include student-run record labels, production houses, and venues and promoters. Theoretically, the study was informed by the concepts of communities of practice and social capital. Interview and observational data was collected at five sites within Australia and the United States. Thematic analysis of these data sources showed how the students learned about the various skills required for project management within the industry. These included networking, interpersonal, and reflective skills. Students also acquired industry knowledge, including specific domain knowledge, and knowledge of professional behaviours and sustainability management. The study distils seven design principles into a model of music education that addresses the growing gap between formal music education curricula and the knowledge and skills required by the professional music industry.