Music Entrepreneurship Competition

The UNT Music Entrepreneurship Competition provides an opportunity to promote student engagement, entrepreneurial thinking, and innovative action. Students will prepare music business plans utilizing a variety of resources including online business-plan writing tutorials, existing entrepreneurship courses, competition workshops, and faculty mentorship. $20,000 in cash prizes will be distributed among the top competitors.

Our 2022 Music Entrepreneurship Competition will be held on Saturday, April 2nd and Sunday, April 3rd, 2022. Our guest judges for the competition will be Michael Archer, UNT alumn and owner of the Manhattan Innovation Lab, Jeffrey Nytch, composer and director of the Entrepreneurship Center for Music at The University of Colorado-Boulder, Jason Levi, UNT alumn and founder of Rise8 Studios, and Kristin Yost, piano teacher, author, and presenter in Frisco, TX. The competition is open to all College of Music students. UNT students outside of the College of Music may be eligible to participate as long as they are working in partnership with a College of Music student.
To view details and to apply, click here

$20,000 in Cash Prizes!

Undergraduate track:
Kawai Pianos 1st prize: $5,000
2nd prize: $2,500
3rd prize: $1,000

Graduate track:
Kawai Pianos 1st prize: $5,000
2nd prize: $2,500
3rd prize: $1,000

SPECIAL ADDITIONAL AWARDS: Thanks to the sponsorship of Sweetwater Sound Inc, there will be a $1,000 "Audience Choice Award”. An additional $1,000 "Honorable Mention Award" will also be awarded to the winner in the honorable mention category. Finally, thanks to the sponsorship of Rise8 Studios, there will be a $1,000 award granted to the best music products business plan. This award will also include mentorship opportunities from Rise8 Studios founder, Jason Levi. The two first prizes in the undergraduate and graduate categories ($5,000 each) are awarded by Kawai Pianos.

Kiwai Logo

Winners

2018

Graduate Track
  • Sus-4 Productions by Drew Sutherland (1st prize $5,000)
  • Collab Source by Johanna Stull (2nd prize $2,500)
  • Unique Studio by Matthew Fallesen (3rd prize $1,000)
Undergraduate Track
  • The Beginner's Guide to the Drum Set, by Ben Ehrlich (1st prize $5,000)
  • Velvet Fog by Stephanie Hansen (2nd prize $2,500)
  • FINKTank by Sarah Finkle (3rd prize $1,000)
Honorable Mentions:
  • Shed Light, Inc., by Albert Harris (honorable mention award $1000, Sweetwater Sound, Inc Audience Choice Award $1000)

2017

Graduate Track
  • The Jazz Apprenticeship by Sarina Bachleitner (1st prize $5,000)
  • Penny Patron by Jesse Myers (2nd prize $2,500)
  • The Musician’s Bookkeeper, LLC by Kyle McKay (3rd prize $1,000)
Undergraduate Track
Honorable Mentions:

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