March 25, 2025 – Photography, chorus, and ballet are all courses you can expect at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Now, that lineup also includes a new course designed to help students become business-savvy as they pursue their art careers –– Arts Entrepreneurship.
Students like Erin Perkins say being part of the school’s new Arts Entrepreneurship course has given her an unmatched opportunity to stretch and grow.
“With a lot of arts areas, you need to learn how to market and pitch to people,” shares Perkins, a junior in Performance Arts. “This class has helped me with public speaking (and) being able to present ideas.”
For others, the course is opening their eyes to the “business side” of the arts. Case in point? During a unit about copyright infringement, students engaged in mock trials to determine whether some of today’s most popular artists were unlawfully sampling other songs.
"We had to look at two songs and see if they were ripping off one another...if (the song) that came later ripped off the one that came earlier,” says Sophia Cabe, a senior in the school’s Vocal program.
"Before this, I didn't really have any grasp on what the behind the scenes of the business looks like in the aspects pertaining to arts,” says Alexa Meriwether, another senior in the Vocal program. “It's not really something you think about until you are put in a position where you have to.”
Arts Entrepreneurship: Marrying the Arts and Business
Teacher John Citrone describes the Career and Technical Education (CTE) course as “a fairly rigorous introduction to business concepts and entrepreneurship concepts.” While the class is commonly known throughout the district as “Business Ownership,” Douglas Anderson has become the first to adapt it to the arts, calling it “Arts Entrepreneurship.” Some topics of discussion include:
Business infrastructure
Corporate vs independent businesses
Roles of boards and board members
Understanding the roles of CEO, CFO, COO, etc.
Risk assessment
Creating prototypes and pitch decks for products
Citrone admits teaching the year-long class for the first time has presented some challenges, namely in finding ways to help arts students connect with the content. But through a combination of online learning and creative projects – like creating and pitching fictitious products – Citrone is working to strengthen students’ understanding.
“I think these projects that I've created connect with them in a way that they don't necessarily get from vocabulary lists or fill in the blank tests, (which are) important too,’ says Citrone. "It's striking this balance that I think helps the kids stay interested.”
That balance has included empowering students with the knowledge and “know-how” on how to protect themselves from being taken advantage of as artists. Student Sophia Cabe explains:
“So, say I was to get signed to a record label. You have to sign a contract for that. And I think like the whole Taylor Swift thing that happened...I think that she didn't really know how to read a contract, and she signed away something that she wasn't aware she was signing away.”
She adds, “I want to be sure that I can understand how the business is working with me. That way I can exist within it without being naive to it.”
Guest speakers has also proven to be an effective way to expose students to real-life fine arts applications. Among this year’s slate of guest speakers are:
Roger Butterly, Senior Music Producer for The Walt Disney Company and a Douglas Anderson graduate
Full Sail School of the Recording Arts representatives
Charlie Medure, an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry and known for establishments such as Matthew’s, M Shack, and Rue Saint-Marc
An Opportunity to Earn Industry Certifications and College Credit
As with many CTE programs and courses, students enrolled in Arts Entrepreneurship can seek to test for and earn an industry certification. In this case, the industry certification is Entrepreneurship and Small Business (ESB). According to the Florida Department of Education, some students can apply their certification toward college credit.
Whether they’re earning certifications or pitching a creative product, students we spoke to say the benefits of the course are hard to deny.
“I’ve definitely learned about how businesses run,” says Fiona Citrone, a senior in the Vocal program. “I feel like even if you don't go into business, or anything that has to do with business, it can help you with just life skills in general.”
“It’s really helpful and useful, even for people who don’t think they’ll need it,” adds Julia Lyles, a senior in Performance Theater. “Even if you’re not having the intention of running a business right now, you might change your mind down the road and be put in a position of leadership when you didn’t expect it.”
As for Erin Perkins, she says this course has helped affirm her own interests and drive her toward accomplishing her personal goals.
“I do want to end up going into business and going to college so I can take over my dad’s business,” she says. “I’m really grateful that I was put into this class. It's just really helped me...put myself out there and just feel more secure.”
All photos courtesy of John Citrone.