Manitoba Music
Meet the MusicWorks Panelists: Michael Falk and Nathalie Kleinschmit
Strategic planning is a key element to building any successful business. Setting goals and planning ahead is as necessary for an artist as it is for any other entrepreneur; But what is a realistic timeline for writing, recording, grant applications, releasing an album, and touring? Michael Falk and Nathalie Kleinshmit will discuss how to establish attainable short term and long term goals in our MusicWorks session on September 19, DIY Series: Strategic Planning & Goal Setting.
Michael Falk is the artistic director of Jazz Winnipeg, co-owner of Paintbox Recording studio, and owner of Head In The Sand (label and management).
Nathalie Kleinschmit, founder and manager at Prairie Mix, brings to the table 25 years of business consulting and training for multinationals. After receiving her MBA in Change & Innovation with a focus on strategic planning in the arts industry, she decided to trade in her business suit for a pair of jeans and work with artists full time. She was the acting executive director of Le 100 NONS, Manitoba’s Francophone music organization, from Oct 2015 to March 2017. She founded Prairie Mix as a vehicle for developing and showcasing Western Canadian talent. She manages William Prince, Justin Lacroix, and Del Barber.
Get to know them better with our little Q+A...
If you could spend a day with anyone in music, who would it be, and what would you do?
Michael: I'd hang out with Elvis Costello somewhere in the UK, spinning records on our phones and stumbling around from pub to pub.
Nathalie: I would love to spend a day with Sting, an Englishman in New York... I'd want to hear his stories of how songs like Russians came to be, learn more about how he reinvented his career and grew with the times. Ask him about his own personal growth as a world citizen with strong roots in multiple homes. I think I'd have to have more than a day... maybe take a week's holiday with him?!
What is your favourite material object that you own and why is it special?
Michael: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, baby! We're all just floating on a breeze in a temporary haze. Ha, I kid. Probably my Hammtone acoustic. Jeremy and I designed it, modelled on Elvis Costello's guitar. Geez, I sense a theme here. But other than that, anything is replaceable.
Nathalie: When my cottage burned down two years ago, my favorite objects (book collection, childhood dolls and teddy bear, artwork) went up in flames. I was surprised at how little that loss mattered (I was just so grateful no one died).
If you were a city, town, or village, which one would you be and why?
Michael: Berlin. I'm easygoing and I like new things, with an eye to both the past and the future.
Nathalie: I would be Buenos Aires. I've often described it as New York and Paris morphed in one, with creative energy and old world elegance. I embrace my paradoxes even if sometimes, others find them disorienting...
What is the best part about your job?
Michael: Getting to work with and around great music every day.
Nathalie: I love being an advocate for artists, being able to help feed a positive working environment where they can thrive and share their music!
What is the most challenging?
Michael: I generally take on too much and sometimes hit that wall from working too hard. Juggling being a parent now also presents challenges in time and energy management.
Nathalie: Not being a "mama-ger" which my 96-year-old grandma calls me when I get too involved. Making sure I carve out time for myself and my loved ones.