This week, I had the opportunity to visit two local universities and present to music students about managing professional music teaching studios. We had rich conversations about how to establish your worth as an independent teaching professional. Here are some of the key concepts that we covered:
There is a shortage of music teachers in the United States.
With public music education being routinely cut from public school districts, fewer and fewer school children are receiving quality music education in their schools. This means that the burden of music education is moving into the private sphere, increasing the demand for private music lessons. In fact, according to NAMM, there are 68 million American households that participate in music performance, 21 million music students of lesson age, and 5.5 million actively taking private lessons. That's a lot of students for private music teachers to work with!
According to our Duet data, the average private music teachers has about 25 students on her roster. This means that the United States alone needs 275,000 independent music teachers to serve this population of music students. While data on the number of current music teachers is hard to pin down, it's very likely that we don't currently have 275,000 independent music teachers in the United States right now.
Add to this that, according to the last census, only 12% of music teachers are under the age of 30. That means that the older teachers will retire faster than they are replaced, leading to even more demand for new teachers.
So there's room for you! You are needed!
Better professional tools lead to a stronger industry.
Better tools - like a studio management tool like Duet - lead to a virtuous cycle: better tools lead to the professionalization of an industry, professionalization leads to happier customers, and happier customers lead to a thriving a rewarding business. Approaching your independent music teaching studio like it's a real small business (because it is!) helps everyone in the industry. It helps create a more stable and viable career path for future music teachers, and it helps your studio families treat you with greater respect.
What you change is shaped by where you live, how long you've taught and how much education you have.
The Know Your Worth form on duetpartner.com can help you compare average rates based on a combination of these three factors. Of course, other factors go into deciding how much to charge - such as how much you want to teach, your style and genre, what kind of students you want to attract - but understanding these three contributing factors will help you get a baseline. And don't forget: as you gain more experience, you can give yourself a raise!
Establish your worth now!
Even if you're just starting your studio, don't wait to start acting like a professional. Do you need a studio policy with just a few students? Yes! Do you need to have a plan for dealing with cancelled lessons or unpaid invoices? Yes! As you set expectations with just a few students, you'll be able to adjust what's not working. And you'll be able to set a precedent that will shape how you grow your studio in the future.
For further discussion on these and other ideas, join one of our monthly webinars, held every first Wednesday at 10am PT/1pm ET.
Are you a music teacher? Boost your music teaching business with Duet Partner. Register here.
