Music and Business as Instruments of Peace

Thanks so much. I look forward to next steps and contributing in any way I can.

Thanks to all! It is a good journey.

Thanks so much to all!!

Great ideas. Happy to contribute in the future. Gisela

Enjoyed being here today! Thank you All!

As you know, this space remains open through the month. So while I am signing off to run another meeting that starts in about 30 seconds, you are free to continue this discussion for the next 10 days or so.

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A thousand thanks
This is a wonderful step forward.

Thank you. Interesting discussion

Thank you for the fascinating discussion.

Thanks for a great discussion everyone!

This could be a great idea for a potential case in the future. Maybe in a higher up business ethics class to create an organization to build the global infrastructure of peace through music.

I think this is a very interesting thought. When many people think of business, they most likely think of a more uniform structural way of work. They probably think of a stricter organization with less freedom due to rules and regulations. On the other hand, music is thought of to be very artistic and creative with all of the different combinations of sounds and rhythms. Putting these two seemingly different entities together could perhaps produce something greater than either one individually as the two opposites can come together and complement each other. Music could bring out the creative side of business and business could add some uniformity to music.

Thank you everyone for contributing to this discussion! I agree that business provides more rigid structure and complements the creativity that music provides. If you think of a professional orchestra, all the musicians (the violinist, trumpeter, drummer, flute player, etc.) can play fantastically on their own but if they donā€™t coordinate their intonations and rhythms and donā€™t have a conductor, the combined sound will not sound good. When the sound produced from an orchestra is melodic and harmonic and also resonates then it contributes to a peaceful atmosphere. The conductor utilizes leadership and critical thinking (principles heavily emphasized in business) to ensure that every section enters on time and stays in tune. Additionally, music organizations need to effectively market and advertise their events so that they gather an audience. The finance and accounting departments of music organizations are needed to account for the budget, food and beverages, audience size, ticket cost, and compensate the individual musicians.

Regarding the second 2 questions, I think a collaborative organization with individuals of different ages, ethnicities, and personalities could be beneficial to better cover the interaction music and business have on peace. Iā€™m sure if we took this discussion to China, Brazil, or India we would get some different perspectives that would offer up some ideas we wouldnā€™t have ever thought of! Providing a permanent discussion forum would be better than zoom because people would feel more comfortable sharing their personal thoughts.

Tim, this is an interesting concept. I am much more ā€œinvolvedā€ in the business realm; however, I think you bring up a great point. We as people can get ā€œcaught upā€ in the verbage/vernacular of the worlds we are in rather than understand the reality of what is going on. That is not to say that people are complacent - we definitely can be. I think having a perspective that includes different segment-defined words could be extremely advantageous for both the music and business worlds.

Realizing that we rely and base so many of our own personal ideas off the language used in the segments/industries around us, there is a huge opportunity to help change the perspectives of our people through the use of new language. Your example of ā€œharmonyā€ is a great one - in one word you capture the essence of leadership, team-oriented goal setting, synergistic qualities of a well-rounded team, and the image of everything coming together to create a ā€œfinal productā€ that is truly second-to-none.

Alain, this type of retreat has real potential to impact business professionals. Iā€™ve been involved with different businesses for several years. One thing I - as well as many of my peers - have struggled with is being able to access and leverage the innovative/creative parts of our minds. When you put like-minded people in the same room, itā€™s easy to get many things done, but it is also just as easy to only see an issue/problem from one perspective. What youā€™re proposing is to deepen these individualsā€™ abilities to portray ideas in ways that can be understood by different audiences. At the same time, from what I can tell, this retreat will enable each individual leader to view his or her role in new perspectives, which could potentially lead to them better understanding how they impact those around them and how their actions ultimately impact their business/company.

I really like this idea!

Sorry that Iā€™m late to the party everyone. Iā€™ve been really impressed by the comments so far. The different thoughts are forcing me to think. I wanted to answer the first question posed at the beginning of this thread.

  1. What is your view on the positive ways music and business can contribute to peace and to reinforce each other?
    From what several others have said, I think it is clear that both business and music can learn from one another. Business can help to provide an infrastructure for music to take place, while music can allow for creativity and an environment where business can grow in unexpected ways. I am personally involved more on the business side. However, I think that as a leader in any industry, it is paramount that individuals are able to access different perspectives when looking at their roles/jobs. One thing Tim brought up was ā€œlanguageā€. I think another variable that is often missed in business is the ā€œwhyā€ behind leadershipā€™s actions. In music, Iā€™m sure there are several desired outcomes ā€“ great music, profit for oneā€™s ability to compose/perform music, etc. From what I can tell, there is something intrinsic about the arts ā€“ to create an art piece, one develops a sense of ownership over it. In business terms, the profitability isnā€™t the driving factor. Just like language, I would be interested to know how businesses would change if the driving factor shifted from ā€œprofitā€ to (fill in the blank).
    Ultimately, business provides the ability for an artist to continue to grow in his or her craft ā€“ the world we live in requires a certain amount of funds be met, and art ā€“ like almost everything else in this world ā€“ can help create those funds. Music, one might argue, embodies the ā€œmindsetā€ or ā€œfoundationā€ in which new businesses are potentially built on. As stated above, music (and the arts in general) help one stretch his or her mind. It creates new perspectives and grows oneā€™s creative abilities. I think these qualities are what are lacking in business today. The synergy between these two areas is what could create the ā€œpeaceā€ being asked about. In a way, music enables business and business enables music.

Hello Everyone! There has been some great insight in the posts thus far. I would also like to add on the questions posted in the beginning of the thread as I never considered the correlation between Music and Business for Peace before this event.

What is your view on the positive ways music and business can contribute to peace and to reinforce each other?

  • I think music and business can contribute to peace by both being ways that advance society. Music has the intellectual power and functions that flow creativity and allow others to express their creativity. Business on the other hand progresses society with capital and innovation and in a sense Music is a Business. But together both of them have a unique impact on society that can cultivate peace.

Business allows individuals to share their music with the masses It provides them with the industry, suppliers, and consumers in order to share their works of art. Music allows individuals to bond and come together around a common theme or experience. Music also helps business by businesses using music to sell products. Companies use business to sell products, use it in advertisements, or even use famous musicians in order to promote their brand.

After reading the comments and the presentation I have been able to see how Music and Business connect in order to create peace. Business helps Music and in return, Music helps Business to advance in their fields and help society.

Music and business both demonstrate the values we hold as a society. The issue for business arises when they lose touch with the cities and communities that house them. As technology continues to evolve, the human interactions within business tend to decrease because it is more efficient to buy something on Amazon than drive to a store. I believe this is why people often view large corporations as heartless and the anti-corporation movement has continued to increase (especially amongst younger generations). The companies have an armā€™s length relationship with the consumer and often do not see the harm they do. The biggest example of this is to the environment which is rarely given priority in business. Music on the other hand is much more personable and a direct connection between artist and listener. Businesses need to adopt a musical model because it has proven successful for thousands of years. Music does not sacrifice in order to appeal to listeners. Each artist puts his/her heart and soul into every single song. I think businesses often lack heart and soul when they take short cuts to make an extra buck.

All of this being said, I believe very strongly in the power of business. Companies are a much better driver of change and advancement in society than government. The market economy speeds up processes that take bureaucratic political systems years and decades.

I also havenā€™t thought much about the connection between music and business before this conversation, but now Iā€™m intrigued. They are both such natural parts of most peopleā€™s everyday lives, yet we often take them for granted. Both music and business thrive on creativity and on seeking to serve consumers or bring them joy. They both make life more enjoyable and give people with passions and skills a healthy and productive way to share them.
Few things unite and bond (or tear apart) people as much as music and business because they are so closely linked to peopleā€™s enjoyment and values. The artists and managers responsible for writing music and conducting business have such a unique opportunity to impact society for the better. They also have a big responsibility to make the most of their platforms and use them to advocate for peace and a healthy, loving community.
This conversation has definitely helped me think more critically about how seemingly unrelated fields may have a lot more in common, and potentially a lot more influence on each other, than may initially meet the eye.

Music is a medium to bring everyone together and Business builds relationships. Both of these definitely play a role in promoting peace. Music explains oneā€™s thinking, background and emotions. Music creates empathy. When music brings empathy people will have less misunderstandings and more tolerance toward one another. On the other hand, business is a cycle. It links everyoneā€™s lives together. Business seems less emotional than music, but itā€™s the mechanism that brings music to everyone. Business promotes and causes music to spread. Business provides access to music people would not have otherwise been able to hear. Most businesses are prone toward being socially responsible, so they generally mediate real-world problems. I believe less problems in the world means more peace in the world. A good example of how music and business reinforce each other is how a lot of the K-pop groups in Korea actually promote their fans to do charity and promote a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. The K-pop group ā€œBTSā€ spoke before the United Nations to promote world youths you speak for themselves. The K-pop group is doing business but at the same time theyā€™re spreading peace through their music.