Music Entrepreneurship Competition
The UNT Music Entrepreneurship Competition provides an opportunity to promote student engagement, entrepreneurial thinking, and innovative action. Students will prepare music business plans utilizing a variety of resources including online business-plan writing tutorials, existing entrepreneurship courses, competition workshops, and faculty mentorship. $20,000 in cash prizes will be distributed among the top competitors.
Our 2019 Music Entrepreneurship Competition will be held on April 13th and 14th. Our guest judges for the competition will be Tonya Butler, a seasoned veteran of the music industry and assistant chair of Music Business/Management at the Berklee College of Music, Michael Archer, UNT alumn and owner of the Manhattan Innovation Lab, Debbie Brooks, a UNT alumn and owner of DFW Musician Services, and Jason Levi, UNT alumn and founder of Rise8 Studios. The competition is open to all College of Music students. UNT students outside of the College of Music may be eligible to participate as long as they are working in partnership with a College of Music student. To view details and to apply, click here
$20,000 in Cash Prizes!
Undergraduate track:1st prize: $5,000
2nd prize: $2,500
3rd prize: $1,000
Graduate track:
1st prize: $5,000
2nd prize: $2,500
3rd prize: $1,000
SPECIAL ADDITIONAL AWARDS: Thanks to the sponsorship of Sweetwater Sound Inc, there will be a $1,000 "Audience Choice Award”. An additional $1,000 "Honorable Mention Award" will also be awarded to the winner in the honorable mention category. Finally, thanks to the sponsorship of Rise8 Studios, there will be a $1,000 award granted to the best music products business plan. This award will also include mentorship opportunities from Rise8 Studios founder, Jason Levi.
Winners
2018
Graduate Track
- Sus-4 Productions by Drew Sutherland (1st prize $5,000)
- Collab Source by Johanna Stull (2nd prize $2,500)
- Unique Studio by Matthew Fallesen (3rd prize $1,000)
Undergraduate Track
- The Beginner's Guide to the Drum Set, by Ben Ehrlich (1st prize $5,000)
- Velvet Fog by Stephanie Hansen (2nd prize $2,500)
- FINKTank by Sarah Finkle (3rd prize $1,000)
Honorable Mentions:
- Shed Light, Inc., by Albert Harris (honorable mention award $1000, Sweetwater Sound, Inc Audience Choice Award $1000)
2017
Graduate Track
- The Jazz Apprenticeship by Sarina Bachleitner (1st prize $5,000)
http://www.jazzapprenticeship.org/ - Penny Patron by Jesse Myers (2nd prize $2,500)
- The Musician’s Bookkeeper, LLC by Kyle McKay (3rd prize $1,000)
https://www.musiciansbookkeeper.com/
Undergraduate Track
- Eclective by Evan Adams, Grant Carrington, Austin Poorbaugh, Austin Simonds, Brennan Pierce and John Snyder. (1st prize $5,000)
https://www.facebook.com/eclectiveart - OG Garden by Kurtis Shaffer and Troy Garrick (2nd prize $2,500 & Audience choice award $1,000)
https://www.oggardenband.com/ - Festival Finder by Rachel Phillips (3rd prize $1,000)
rachelphillips.foliotek.me
Honorable Mentions:
- The Allegro Project by Jennifer Guzman (winner honorable mention award $500)
www.theallegroproject.com - C.Sharpe Editions Publishing Company by Christopher Sharpe (withdrew)
http://www.chrismsharpe.com/ - Music Studio Teacher by Sean Murphy (alternate honorable mention)
http://musicstudioteacher.com/ - Maestro: The Perfect Pitch app by Andrew Williams
- Musical Theater by William Root