Things That Make You Go Buh?!? Conservatories Getting Into The Artist Management Racket

At first, I thought it might be a joke but sure enough, Norman Lebrecht’s post from 7/20/21 about Curtis Institute going into the artist management business is entirely legit.

I still have nothing but unanswered questions about the San Francisco Conservatory acquiring Opus 3 Artists as some sort of value add for students and now Curtis is apparently getting into the game.

On the surface, these decisions scream “bad idea.” But since the conservatories have been tight-lipped about these programs, it may require reaching out for a chat to learn more.

One of the most immediate concerns is good old-fashioned exploitation. It’s not difficult to imagine that someone took a hard look at the revenue model behind college sports and thought “how can we get in on that sweet money deal using free talent?”

Beyond that are no shortage of lesser, but still important, concerns. If nothing else, it’s tough to miss how all of this is moving academia one step closer to parody becoming reality.