Musician Kick Lee founded Cincinnati Music Accelerator for a simple reason: He wanted to understand the business side of music.
“As a producer, I struggled with trying to license and purchase my content,” Lee said. As a result, he started researching and asking questions with other musicians. He found that others were struggling, as well — and as such, there needed to be a structure to studying how to monetize music.
Founded in March 2017, Lee said the goal of the CMA is “to put and end to starving artists" by "help[ing] monetize our indie music creatives.”
“We try to keep it very diverse ... That way people going through our program can see we’re open to everyone.”
Lee was able to launch the program with the help of a $10,000 Project Grant from People’s Liberty.
The accelerator works rather simply compared to other traditional business accelerators. Musicians apply to the program through their website (using a platform from Wyzerr) that Lee said it’s quick and easy.
As for the type of applicants accepted, Lee said that they can be at the beginning of their career or a seasoned veteran to help potential attendees fill out the application.
“I am not the one who selects the students or who gets accepted, because I don’t want to think as a music producer I am playing favoritism,” he elaborated.
Instead, a panel of judges from the music community picks the attendees. They pay attention to how active the participant is in the music community, if at all. They also look at their social media to see what type of presence an artists has in the world.
Ultimately, “we try to keep it very diverse,” Lee said. "That way people going through our program can see we’re open to everyone.” In fact, the program also allows all ages, and Lee said they recently had a budding 50-year-old musician.
Upon acceptance, participants enroll in a program that lasts four weeks, with two, two-hour classes each week. There are a variety of topics taught during the accelerator, such as content; marketing and branding; press and media; entertainment law; finance; monetization; storytelling and booking.
Beyond running the current program, the CMA has big plans for the future, with aims to start recruiting musicians from outside Cincinnati. Lee said the plan is to travel to Louisville, Nashville, Chicago and Indianapolis, as well as other neighboring locales.
It's an effort to inspire artists, Lee said, “and get them to say, ‘We love it here,' or, 'We’re getting enough opportunities, we would like to stay here a little longer.'"
