S1/E12: Saxy Revenue Streams
- Jim Sector
- Mar 13, 2024
- 3 min read
LABNOTES is a production of SECTORLAB and presents ideas from my unique take on R&D for arts organizations. These ideas are put to use in consulting.
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Season 1 / Edition 12
CASE STUDY
Grace Kelly and Leo P are two of the most popular (and unconventional) saxophone performers in the world. Together, they go by the name 2Saxy, and run both the Saxophone and Performance Masterclass - a digital curriculum around instrumental performance, and the Saxy School - a community around saxophone education.
The Saxophone and Performance Masterclass features 8+ hours of pre-recorded lessons that are not only about saxophone performance technique, but also improvisation (including backing tracks), songwriting, stage performance (choreography, stage presence, audience interaction, busking) and career tips (professionalism, touring, venue etiquette).
The Masterclass also is an entryway into the unique stylistic brand of Grace and Leo (while private lesson teachers abound, there are few, if any, that offer the genre, style, and technique they do). Packages for the masterclass range from $349 to $1,199, with the highest tiers offering direct access to mentorship from Grace and Leo.
The “Saxy School” community builds onto this, offering a way to engage in a more active and ongoing way not only with Leo & Grace but with saxophonists from around the world – sharing community learning materials, workshops, live streams, transcriptions, other mentorship opportunities, and the ability to participate in saxophone “challenges.” This is priced at $49/mo.
Saxy School also includes a creative approach to merch oriented at specific instrumental groups (e.g. “Alto Avengers” or “Soprano Spartans” shirts, hats, hoodies, stickers – clearly targeted at the band nerd niche).
The school features reviews from a global footprint including Paris and Cairo.
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OBSERVATIONS
Our organizations are homes of tremendous artistic talent, and performances (etc.) are only one deployment of this.
There are tens of thousands of aspiring musicians, dancers, actors, etc. pursuing the artforms we represent at high levels, potentially with aspirations of pursuing careers: as an illustration, the National Association of Schools of Music reported in 2021 over 24,000 students entered undergraduate music performance programs, with nearly 35k beyond that pursuing music degrees in combination with other disciplines (e.g. music education).
These aspiring artists are looking for ways to advance their craft, spending a not-insignificant amount of money on private lessons, camps, etc. before they enter the college or university level. And that’s to say nothing of those who pursue this outside higher education pathways, or amateurs just doing it for the love of the craft. There’s a market to be leveraged – but in my experience, the education function of many of our institutions is not seen as revenue generating.
As with 2Saxy and their unique brand/musical style, our institutional brand can be leveraged to create something that’s competitively differentiated: as one example, many orchestras have become known for a particular style or a strong section (e.g. strings, winds, brass) – that’s an asset that can be leveraged!
The creation of a community can be a powerful asset as well – when done right, it can be highly loyal, highly engaged, and a highly profitable source of income. At $49/mo, 2Saxy is potentially getting a lot of revenue from serving a niche that can be quite large when not geographically bound.
TAKE ACTION
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