What: University of North Texas College of Music 2019 Music Entrepreneurship Competition

When: April 14 (Sunday), public workshop, “BYOB: Be Your Own Brand” presented by guest judge and Assistant Chair at Berklee College’s Music Business Program, Tonya Butler, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Grand finale competition, 3 – 6 p.m.

Where: UNT Colllege of Music Recital Hall, 415 Avenue C in Denton and live streaming on Facebook

Cost: Free and open to the public

Background: University of North Texas College of Music students are used to performing in music competitions. But on April 13-14, they’ll put away their instruments to see who has the best music business plan.

Students will compete for $20,000 in prizes in the third annual Music Entrepreneurship Competition as they pitch their proposed businesses that have a music component to it. Past winners include a video production business, a jazz apprenticeship program and a bookkeeping service aimed at musicians. See some of the competition’s past winners and their successful businesses here.

Contestants must be an undergraduate or graduate student in the College of Music or a UNT student collaborating with a music student. Students use an online business plan template that includes a description of the project, market analysis and financial projections.

On April 13, participants will pitch their concepts and answer questions from a panel of judges, who are musicians and entrepreneurs with their own businesses. The Grand Finale Live Rounds, starting at 3 p.m. April 14 in the Music Building Recital Hall, will include a Q&A session with judges and audience members. It will be livestreamed on Facebook and open to the public.

The competition is one element of the College of Music’s thriving music entrepreneurship program, which also includes classes, internships, guest speakers and other events. Billboard magazine has named it one of the top music business schools in the nation for three years in a row.

The competition received a 53 percent increase in student submissions over last year's entries.

“This is a remarkable achievement considering how busy students are this time of year,” says Fabiana Claure, director of music business and entrepreneurship in the College of Music. 

The competition sponsors this year include both first prizes totaling $10,000 by Kawai Pianos, a $1,000 Best Music Products Plan by Rise 8 Studios, and a $1,000 Audience Choice Award by Sweetwater Sound, Inc.

About the UNT College of Music

The College of Music has the largest enrollment for public university music programs in the U.S. and is one of the world's most respected and comprehensive music schools.

It offers fully accredited degrees from the bachelor to doctoral levels and is home to the world’s first jazz studies degree program. Faculty include internationally acclaimed artists and scholars in composition, conducting, ethnomusicology, music education, music entrepreneurship, music history, music theory, performance and performance and performing arts health. The college presents more than 1,100 concerts and recitals annually. UNT music alumni can be found around the globe in impressive, award-winning careers across a wide-range of music professions. Visit the College of Music online calendar at http://music.unt.edu/calendar and connect with the College of Music on Facebook at Facebook.com/UNTCollegeofMusic, and on Twitter at @UNTCoM.