posted on Aug, 23 2016 @ 09:11 PM
Okay I apologize in advance, this is verbose blah blah that goes on forever but it seemed like you were looking for a concise idea and this is my
passion so here goes...
I would use the million dollars as seed money for a creative arts organization as follows:
My Background and motivation: I am a musician, abstract artist, and writer. I love interacting with all things having to do with the arts. I come from
a family of musicians, studied music at a very high level at an east coast conservatory as well as studies in Europe (I have been a violinist all my
life), studied abstract painting and color theory, dabbled in developing ideas for fiction novels and screenplays, and I have worked with and taught
music to children of all ages. I also have significant business experience in that I devoted 12 years to building 7 different technology start up
companies, some of which were viable and some of which were not.
The Problem: For me it is alarming that less and less resources in the education system are allocated towards the arts in the United States and in my
opinion it shows in society. I live in Austin, Texas, the "live music capital of the world", as well as a great deal of focus on art, theater, film,
etc. ad nauseum. Yet, very few people are able to make a living, let alone thrive at their craft in the arts. I have heard people from out of town
make remarks like, "Oh Austin is such a great city for art, you can buy art here so cheap..." And if you have a band or play music live, mostly you
are playing for the "pass the hat" kind of take for a gig. You would think there would be a major label recording company, at least one, in the live
music capital of the world, it's a farce. I have watched money evaporate from the arts programs in public schools for 20 years here. I am all for
sports programs but what makes sports more important than the arts? Shouldn't there be some balance?
On a national level I am tired of the music industry mantra, it seems to me there is a filter on the pop music content. I have a hard time when I turn
on the radio and there's an artist being interviewed and they're saying something like, "I'm just really happy to be able work on my art and though
it's been a long road to get here, I'm just so happy with the final product and I am so thankful for everyone who has supported this project, I know
it's going to reach a lot of people..." (to paraphrase, you get the idea) and then they play the current song of said artist and I'm listening to
"Been around the world don't speak the language, but your booty don't need explainin'..." I'm touched, just more in a violating way than a good way. I
digress, can you tell I'm angry?...hehe. Don't get me wrong, everyone should have the right to express themselves, and it's hard to say really what is
art. To each their own. I want to really inspire young people to incorporate creative arts into their ongoing education and mindless twerking self
aggrandizement from the disney mill pushing the party line doesn't cut it, in my humble but correct opinion.
The Solution: I would start by building a state of the art recording facility utilizing the best of the latest technology which is not only much less
money in startup costs but with the right people involved you can arrive at a product much quicker and with much less money to produce it. I would
also establish the right infrastructure to deliver said product, i.e. an independent record label, publishing company, artist management, etc. The
idea would be to actually give the artist a good deal and provide inspired and inspiring content for society.
The next stage would be to begin multiple crowd funding efforts to grow this idea. I would start expanding by offering workshops, classes, performance
ops, etc. for young artists of all ages. Trying to involve the right accomplished artists to come and donate their time and effort to inspire a
younger generation. I could go into very pedantic detail but I doubt you want to read a business plan, you get the idea.
Then I would replicate this idea for visual arts, literary arts, etc. again utilizing profits from the music venture as well as ongoing crowd funding
to grow this. So imagine something that could be maybe a hybrid business/educational entity. I could go as far as establishing an arts academy so to
speak.
Once the idea got national attention I would begin working on a franchise infrastructure to bring localized versions of the same idea nationwide as
well as establish a very rich online experience. I have endless ideas on how to build on the basic premise and could probably write a book on it if I
needed to.
Bottom line is I would use the money to seed an organization that inspires society through the arts. Thanks for reading my idea if you got this
far...cheers.