With the war in Ukraine, some musicians say they do not understand politics. They use that as an excuse for not standing up for their values. In many countries, music and the arts are protected in the constitution. Does that special protection not mean one should engage even more in the greater good of our communities? If you want to support #musicians4musicians, you can donate generously to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/help-musicians-ukraine. If you can host musicians, please...

Have you ever wondered why there are just so few female guitarists? You will find even fewer female composers whose works are performed. Heike Matthiesen changes both. She is a leading female guitarist who played all over the world. She is also an advocate for female composers. In that role, she is a board member of the Archiv Frau & Musik (Archive of Women in Music). Listen to a conversation with her about the female side of classical music. More about Heike Matthiesen:...

Negotiating fees is one of the toughest topics for any musician. Putting a number to us as person does not feel right. And then there is always someone who offers a concert for a lower fee. Bernhard Kerres introduces a different view point on fees and negotiating your contract.  If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com. To find out more about Bernhard Kerres...

With more and more live concerts happening, Bernhard Kerres is astonished about how "office like" many musicians behave at concerts. He has a simple remedy: smile! If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com. To find out more about Bernhard Kerres go to www.bernhardkerres.com.

One can wine about the decline in classical music audiences or look at the facts. Especially during the COVID19 pandemic, more and more people have turned to classical music. Streaming has long overtaken album sales. It is time for any musician to re-think their recording strategies and be present on all streaming platforms. Stop thinking about albums. Think playlists and share your music! If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for...

"I am a musician. I am free. I play what I want, when I want, with who I want." - Flutist Veronika Vitazkova in an interview with Bernhard Kerres. Veronika has over 50 different flutes and plays them all. She accepts the challenge to learn playing a new flute within weeks and to perform publicly with it or even record a soundtrack with it. Yes, she studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, but instead of going through the narrow - and crowded - door of orchestra...

We have been treating classical music performances stricter than any religious services. Isn't it time to to actually consider the audiences more? Why do people come to a concert? Can one only appreciate music by sitting completely still and silently? Bernhard Kerres ponders these questions in the latest episode of the BYOM Podcast. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details...

There is just so much we can achieve alone. Science has shown that peer groups are immensely powerful. We have not only implemented in the BYOM community but experienced Working-Out-Loud Groups as well as MasterMinds. In this episode Bernhard Kerres has tips on how to set up your own Successful Musician Group. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com. To find...

Luckily the world is opening up again. Live concerts are popping up again. A great joy for musicians and audiences. But with all the joy one can not neglect the anxiety of performing in front of a live audience after such a long break. Bernhard Kerres has five steps to overcome that anxiety. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Courses on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com. To find out more about...

Many presenters and musicians treat concerts and opera performances almost in a religious way. Only enlightened people are allowed to worship the high art of classical music. The end of the COVID19 pandemic allows us to rethink that. A great first step is observing audience members and listening to them.  The book, Bernhard mentions, is Value Proposition Design by Alex Osterwalder & al. -> https://www.strategyzer.com/books/value-proposition-design. If you are interested in the Be...

Bettina Aust is an outstanding young clarinetist from Germany. She won several prizes and has performed around the world. Bettina has just released her latest album Fin de Siècle with music from the beginning of the 20th century. Her brother, Robert Aust is the pianist on the recording. In the conversation with Bernhard Kerres, Bettina Aust talks about her new album, her research into female composers, how she coped with COVID19 and more. You find out more about Bettina Aust on her webpage:...

Meet three out of sixty artists behind the nexTus Festival. The singers Monika Kertesz, Sofia Livotov, and Benjamin Hewat-Craw are not only great musicians, members of the BYOM Community, but they are also part of the 10 people committee that organises the nexTus Festival in less than three months. The nexTus Festival starts on April 17th 2021. The idea only came up in January of this year. Hear about how the three of them coped with COVID19, how they put together the festival, and what...

In a recent Clubhouse discussion, Bernhard Kerres was asked, when the world would return to normal after the pandemic. The answer - probably never. In this podcast Bernhard analyses four trends around the pandemic and its impact on classical music. From that he derives tips for classical musicians to have a successful career post-pandemic. Curious about the upcoming nexTus Festival of the BYOM community? - Check it out: nextus.beyourownmanager.com. If you are interested in the Be Your Own...

Surprisingly to audience members, many musicians are introverts. They communicate through their instruments. Bernhard has some concrete tips in how to deal as a musician with being an introvert off stage. Curious about the upcoming nexTus Festival of the BYOM community? - Check it out: nextus.beyourownmanager.com.  If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Webinars on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com....

Driving for excellence is key to your artistic profile. But if you apply that drive for excellence to all your activities, you will be slowed down and frustrated. Bernhard Kerres offers a little exercise on where to utilise your drive for excellence and where to avoid it. And he looks forward to the results of the little exercise he has for you. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Webinars on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details...

Recordings have been technically limited by time. There were only so many minutes you could press on an LP or a CD. But with streaming taking over, that changes completely. This allows musicians to be significantly more creative in sharing their recorded music. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Webinars on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details here: www.beyourownmanager.com. To find out more about Bernhard Kerres go to...

With opera houses and concert houses closed in so many parts of the world due to the pandemic, on can question the almost cultist tradition of concert and opera performances. As beautiful as they might be to the illuminati, they might stop many people from enjoying classical music. The pandemic is a good time to re-think of how we share our music and what we can change to communicate musically with more people. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Webinars on career management...

Many musicians have amazing creative projects but keep them secret from the world. There are pianists writing pop songs. There are cellists finding their roots in folk music. Others are painting, cooking, writing etc. Bernhard Kerres argues that it is time to reveal and share your secret projects. They are an important part of your Lovemar. If you are interested in the Be Your Own Manager Webinars on career management and entrepreneurship for classical musicians, you find the details...

The COVID19 pandemic has been a massive challenge to classical music and performing arts. Musicians have, in our experience, reacted in three ways: like a groundhog hoping that things will get better when they wake up again,  like ostriches, ignoring what is happening, and hoping that everything will be back to normal when they raise their head, and like penguins, adapting to the harshest climate one can imagine. Bernhard Kerres talks about the three different ways of dealing with the...