At the Crossroads Between Music and Business

I don’t like the word “expert.” Everybody seems to be an expert in something today. I wouldn’t say that we’re experts at Music on the Go. I consider us passionate musicians and business people who are here to fill the gap between the worlds of music and business.

When I was a concert pianist, the only thing that I had time and energy for was music. If I am honest about it, I would say that everything that had to do with the “business side” of being a performer was not only ignored by me but actually despised. After all, how could a true musician think of all those games, moves, and plays that one had to do when promoting oneself? It almost felt like a betrayal to the work. I thought, “If the musician is great, the performer is authentic, there is no need for self-promotion or any business. The music will speak for itself, and a great musician will always be heard by a large audience.”

This was old-school thinking. That’s what they taught us to believe in the past. But that’s very much in the past now.

It’s no longer true today!

Being an amazing musician, educator, or a performer is not enough today!

If you don’t have a well-thought out marketing plan, a distinctive brand, and exposure, you get lost in the noise that is the internet today.

The change has been happening for decades now, but COVID-19 accelerated everything and gave the stage to everyone with some basic social media skills. Those who come out on top aren’t necessarily the greatest, but are those who are consistent with their media plan and brand.

Those who are knowledgeable in all things internet and content, those who learned or spent money hiring those who knew how to manage their online presence are the ones who are becoming successful.

Meanwhile, musicians who spent their lives with their art, perfecting their skills, got lost in the noise and were never heard by the audience. An audience, which would have loved to hear them but were never given the chance.

Now, as I write this, I see myself as one of those performers who would rather practice piano than promote myself on Instagram. The problem is, as we all know, being a musician often means limited finances and, since we’re not taught the importance of branding or internet exposure, we keep on with our old ways, perfecting our art, and hoping that at some point something will change.

Having a brand is expensive.

After my hand injury, I stopped performing and ventured into a completely different direction: finance. After over a decade, I can say that as a musician or businesswoman, branding and marketing are just as important and as expensive in finance. I spent tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to find the match for my companies, realizing that most agencies provide their vision of your business, instead of finding and expressing your identity.

When I look at the classical music business, I realize the same problem is not only persistent, but is magnified by the lack of marketing and branding specialists who understand artists and know the classical music industry.

While younger musicians seem to be born with innate social media skills and mastery of self-expression, the gap is still very much in place for most of us.

I am sad and surprised to see so many extraordinary musicians who have no voice and no way to reach their perfect audience. Musicians and educators I know struggle because of a vast gap. The gap deprives the world, deprives me of hearing these amazing artists.

This is exactly why Music on the Go was born. Both Rudolf and I are pianists who have years of business experience. Putting together our forces, knowledge, experience, and passion, we found a solution to fill that gap, to help musicians find their identities, and share their music with an eager audience. We’re not “experts” of anything. We’re here to help our colleagues find their places on stage amid the tremendous noise of the digital world.

We make the world accessible, so that an online presence is no longer a space reserved just for those with big pockets or a lot of know-how.

We’re providing a service I wish I had when I was still performing. We take every one of our clients’ successes as our own. Every artist, every musician we help is one more voice we helped be heard in the ever-expanding worldwide audience.