Dave Kusek | |
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Born | Southington, CT |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Connecticut |
Occupation(s) | Business executive, entrepreneur, music educator, author, software developer, online music business courses |
Years active | 1975-present |
Organization | New Artist Model |
Known for | Founding Passport Designs, MIDI software development, founding Berkleemusic.com |
Website | NewArtistModel.com |
Dave Kusek is an American business executive, music educator, author, and software developer known for his work in the music industry. [1] [2] After working as chief engineer at Star Instruments in the 1970s, [3] in 1980 he became the founding CEO of the music software company Passport Designs. [3] With Passport he helped develop Master Tracks and Encore, [3] and also co-developed software and hardware that utilized the then newly introduced MIDI interface. [4]
From 1997 to 2012 he taught music business at Berklee College of Music, [1] [3] becoming a vice president [4] [1] and founding its online music school Berkleemusic.com. [3] [4] In 2005, Kusek co-wrote the music business book, The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution. [5] In 2014 Kusek launched New Artist Model, an online music business school, [6] which has been featured in publications such as Billboard, [2] CMJ, [6] and the Boston Globe. [1]
Dave Kusek was born in 1955 in Southington, Connecticut. [1] From 1974 until 1980, Kusek studied music, communication, and computer science at the University of Connecticut. [3]
From 1975 until 1979 Kusek worked as chief engineer at Star Instruments, which made electronic drums such as the Synare. [3] He became the founding CEO of Passport Designs in 1980, also taking on the role of president. [3] The company developed music software allowing musicians to record and produce music using home studios. Among other programs, the company developed Master Tracks, Encore, MusicTime, Alchemy and the Soundchaser. [3] While with Passport, he co-developed software and hardware interfaces using new the then new Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) industry standard. [4] He worked with Passport Designs until 1995. [3]
In 1997, Kusek founded and became managing partner of Digital Cowboys, a digital media consultancy. Clients over time included companies such as AOL, IBM, Nokia, A&M Records, BMG, Polygram, Nettwerk, Roland, Yamaha, Boston Acoustics, Liquid Audio, Kaman Music and Berklee College of Music. [3]
Kusek started teaching music business at Berklee College of Music in 1997, where he continued to teach for 14 years [1] [3] and became a vice president of the college. [4] [1] As founder and CEO of Berkleemusic, now called Berklee Online, [7] [3] Kusek created educational curricula as part of the first online music school. [8] [4] Berkleemusic won the award for the Best Online Course from the University Professional & Continuing Education Association for eight consecutive years. [9] Kusek wrote a music business book, The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution with co-author Gerd Leonhard. [5] Kusek left Berklee in 2012 [3] [4]
Kusek is currently founder and CEO of New Artist Model, an online music business school for musicians, [2] songwriters, producers, and managers. [2] According to Billboard, Kusek started the course "to help build a next generation of independent artists." [2] The first eight week Essential online course debuted in early 2014, [6] and topics include "licensing, publishing, e-commerce, concerts, promotion and networking." [2] In April 2014, Music X-Ray, Bandzoogle and CDBaby became affiliates of New Artist Model. [10] The program has been used by artists such as Eden Kai, who won the Brown Bags to Stardom award in Hawaii in 2015. [11] By 2018, enrollment in the school reached 3,700 members from 60 countries. [1]
Year | Title | Authors | Publishing details |
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2005 | The Future of Music | Gerd Leonhard, Dave Kusek [5] | Berklee Press (Jan 1, 2005) / ISBN 978-0876390597 |
2015 | Hack the Music Business | Dave Kusek [5] | New Artist Model (Jan 1, 2015) / |