How did you get into the music industry?
I actually studied to be a music teacher in college at NYU where I had scholarship to be a music teacher. I switched to music business in my junior year and ended up working in various aspects of music industry from marketing to booking to composing, producing and even hosting MTV as a video jockey. But I never focused on music teaching as a profession. It wasn’t until my son at 3 years old began asking for music lessons that I realized there was a gap in music education. I’ll expand on that below. I am passionate about music education as being life transformational as it did for me. Music was the key to my learning about how to learn. It was also the key to me socially and emotionally as it allowed me to join a group of kids as not the outsider, but as a fellow rock music fan. I have seen this happen with my own students and my son.
What’s New in the Business or in the Franchise Model?
Music education has been stuck with old fashioned teaching methods all the way from the days of Mozart and powdered wigs! The traditional methods were very teacher-centric and required kids to be either gifted or a prodigy to understand how to read the abstract symbolic language of music from the start. Musicolor Method uses a phased approach with simplified ways of representing music that even a pre-literate child or one with special needs can read and understand. It enables us to teach a child a song in 30 seconds and have them know what and how to practice at home on their own. It opens the door to music for so many more children than in the past. And it gives a feeling of instant confidence and success in every lesson.
The Musicolor Method is a unique approach to music education that emphasizes the journey of personal development through learning an instrument. It’s designed to provide children with not just musical skills but also important life skills. Here are the key aspects of the Musicolor Method:
1. Holistic Development: The core philosophy of the Musicolor Method is that learning music is more than just mastering an instrument. It’s about personal growth, boosting self-esteem, fostering creativity, and nurturing discipline.
2. Joyful Learning: The process of learning is valued over professional musicianship. This means that while becoming proficient at an instrument is a goal, the primary focus is on enjoying the journey and the growth it brings.
3. Musical Mindset: The method encourages developing a mindset that appreciates music not just as a set of skills but as a form of personal expression and a way to connect with others.
4. Life Skills Through Music: Skills like discipline, focus, and perseverance are inherent in the learning process. These are transferable to other areas of life, making the Musicolor Method a tool for overall character development.
5. Accessible to All Children: The method is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that children of various abilities and backgrounds can participate and benefit from it.
In essence, the Musicolor Method is more than a music teaching technique; it’s a comprehensive approach to nurturing a child’s development through the universal language of music.
Where do you See Opportunities or Challenges for the Franchise/Business Moving Forward?
There is a huge opportunity for us as so many schools have cut funding for arts and music programs. Meanwhile there are so many recent scientific studies that prove the correlation between music education and academic success, social-emotional development, mental health and well-being. Parents are begging for more arts funding and are seeking out after-school and extracurricular avenues to supplement their children’s education.
Plus, the traditional music teachers are not shifting towards serving the demands of their students, but rather forcing them to play and study music in an obsolete way. This makes our Musicolor Method stand out even further.
What is your Goal for the Business Moving Forward?
I’m on a mission to activate one million children using music education as life skills within the next ten years. And if we hit that, the next goal is one billion kids.
Talk to us About Training and Support, How Do You Deliver?
Since 2015, I have been training and coaching other music teachers in how to teach the way I do. I have created video course with workbook that enables my own teachers at my school as well as external licensees to quickly learn the principles and philosophies of Musicolor Method. Since 2018, I have been coaching and training school owners in how to run their schools as I do my own. This too has a pre-recorded curriculum as well as weekly and monthly group coaching video calls.
We also have a Slack channel for quick communication.
Your most difficult moment at the Franchise Business?
The hardest moment of running my school came about on March 12, 2020 when New York City declared a state of emergency and shut down schools. I was terrified of losing all of our students in an instant. I called an emergency meeting and training for all of my teachers (I had about 15 at the time) and I showed everyone how to use Zoom for online lessons. I simultaneously announced to all our current clients that we were shifting to Zoom lessons and that all the teachers would be trained.
I had no idea it would last two years, but because we took rapid action, we lost minimal students and actually increased due to people looking for a provider that could do this.
There were several competitors who shut down completely or delayed this shift in model by weeks and months. By that time, they had already lost their students. My school actually thrived during the pandemic and I am proud to say that I supported the lives of my teachers, all of whom lost their performing gigs instantly.
Define your Franchise Model:
A. Training and Support Model?
- We have pre-recorded video training provided through an online portal for teachers and a separate one for owners.
- Each owner and teacher will receive a startup kit containing books, workbooks, teaching supplies
- There is an intranet for franchisees using Notion
- Slack channel for owners to communicate directly with headquarters
- We will have onsite and location visits and training as needed
B. What is the Fee Structure?
We have an initial franchise fee plus monthly royalties and marketing support fees.
C. Day in the life of a Franchisee?
- Working on marketing the local business
- Checking emails from current and prospective clients
- Taking calls from current and potential clients
- Conducting new student consultations via video calls
- Matching students to teachers
- Scheduling students
- Writing lesson notes
- Writing email newsletters to clients
- Doing payroll and expenses
- Ordering teaching supplies and materials
What does Your Franchisee Do in the Business Every Day?
- Marketing in some shape or form: social media posts, emails, postcards, promotions
Who is the Ideal Franchise Candidate?
- Someone who has had some life experience and wants to start a business that impacts their community
- Passionate about music of any style
- Passionate about self-development and possessing a growth mindset
- Love children and wants to improve the world
- Someone who wants to leave a positive imprint and legacy through their business
Success Stories and Failures with Franchisees?
I have been licensing my program since 2015. THere have been many successes with teachers launching studios with a handful of students and then surging to 30 to 50 students and a waiting list.
Kerry Friedel in Pierre, SD is one who now has over 150 students in his school, half of whom are began with Musicolor Method.
CJ Stout in Shoreline, Washington left his job as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, working with special needs children, to launch a successful music school. He is now at capacity and has a waiting list.
Anne Vardanega of Sydney, Australia, came out of retirement to teach her neighbor using Musicolor Method and ended up creating a full roster for her part-time teaching studio.
What Goals Do You Have for the Franchise Model in the Future?
- I look forward to finishing my book, Musical Mindset: Spark Your Child’s Creativity, Wonder and Joy Through Music
- I look forward to the day we have 100 schools in our network gathering together twice a year for conferences to share the best practices, wins and successes.
- I look forward to finishing the Musicolor Guitar and Musicolor Ukulele curricula
- I plan on creating a children’s book series starring our penguin mascot Pontus and hopefully turning that into a children’s television series
- I want to create and sell a stuffy of our mascot, Pontus the penguin
For more information on the Musicolor Franchise Model and the Musicolor service offerings, visit the corporate site: