Music-based entrepreneurialism

There aren't a lot of opportunities for entrepreneurialism in impoverished areas. One that comes to mind is the informal economy of product sales, including food. Hip-hop influenced clothing stores is another. The no longer open Imagine U Unique on H Street is one example. So is Universal Madness (I love the name) on Georgia Avenue NW in Petworth. (See this story, "Clothing Stores Boast A Unique Style," from the Howard University student newspaper. and "Tempest in A T-Shirt," from the Post.)

Another is music, recording studios etc. In the past few months, including the current issue, the Washington City Paper has had cover stories on music-related entrepreneurialism in the area. The current piece, "Breaking the Code," discusses this through the rubric of black and white and normally opposed gangs coming together. The other article was about a group selling bootleg CDs. See "Repro Men by Sarah Godfrey, from 10/6/2006 (payment required for access).

Now overlooking some of the negative aspects (counterfeiting music, intellectual property, etc.) this screams opportunity to me. It's clearly an area that our entrepreneur support programs in the region ought to thinking about.

Index Keywords: entrepreneurialism