 Working Musicians Academy Partners with Black Dog Music Partners to Give Musicians Independent, Income-Producing CareersPartnership pairs WMA's certified instrument repair and music sales training with Black Dog's funding access, business development, and executive coaching — building both the trade skills the music industry is short of and the business skills musicians need to work on their own terms.
BlackDogMusicPartners.com The partnership addresses two problems at once. The music products industry cannot find enough qualified repair technicians, and school music programs lose students every semester when a broken instrument sits unrepaired. At the same time, musicians who want to stay in music are rarely given a path to income they control. WMA's answer is a trade first — a real, certifiable, in-demand skill — and then the business capability to build something around it. "A musician who owns a skill that pays gets to keep making the music they actually want to make," said Lisa Canning, founder of Working Musicians Academy. "That is the whole point. We start with the trade because the industry needs technicians right now and because it is honest work a musician can build a living on. But the goal is independence — musicians who are not waiting on a gig, a contract, or somebody else's permission to express themselves. Partnering with Black Dog is how we put real business resources behind that." Working Musicians Academy currently offers:
"Musicians deserve more than just great education—they deserve access to the business resources that help transform talent into thriving careers," said Scott Kelly, CEO of Black Dog Venture Partners. "We're excited to partner with Working Musicians Academy to help artists and music entrepreneurs navigate today's rapidly changing industry." Working Musicians Academy has trained 259 paying students across all 50 states, ages 16 to 70, with an 88% student success rate. Graduates work for music stores and have opened their own repair shops. The organization's work has been recognized with:
About Working Musicians Academy Working Musicians Academy is a workforce development organization that trains working musicians as certified instrument repair technicians and music sales professionals. Its mission is musician independence: About Black Dog Music Partners Black Dog Music Partners, a division of Black Dog Venture Partners, helps music businesses, music technology companies, and artists accelerate growth through funding access, business development, strategic partnerships, sales and marketing support, and executive coaching. Media Contact Working Musicians Academy Lisa Canning, Founder 773.756.2163 ext. 700 lisa@lisasclarinetshop.com WorkingMusiciansAcademy.com Black Dog Music Partners Scott Kelly, CEO 480-206-3435 scott@blackdogvp.com BlackDogMusicPartners.com End
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