This book examines how entrepreneurial strategies intersect with the realities of the contemporary music world. What does it take to turn creative ideas into viable music projects? What does it mean to create value through music, and how can music entrepreneurs redefine what music means to those who experience it and those who make it? Mads Walther-Hansen broadens the traditional understanding of what is often called ‘the music industry,’ offering a critical rethinking of the systems, conventions, and artistic norms that shape musical production and careers. Through concepts such as effectuation and lean entrepreneurship, the book shows how to move from ideas to opportunities and to discover new pathways for innovation in music. It offers a methodological and theoretical foundation for how music artists and cultural workers can create value – economically, socially, and artistically – within today’s music markets characterized by uncertainty and constant change.

Mads Walther-Hansen is Associate Professor of Music at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he teaches and conducts research in the areas of music listening, music production, sound technology, music aesthetics, and music entrepreneurship. His work explores how technological, cognitive, and cultural frameworks shape our understanding and experience of music and sound.