Ever wish networking could be more about building a great community around you and less about, well, networking? Stefan Aronsen co-founded the Balanced Breakfast networking events for music industry professionals. What started as a couple of friends getting a cup of coffee has developed into events in 33 cities in several countries and now goes beyond simple networking and includes music festivals.

Stefan discusses the importance of music professionals being able to get together, share ideas, and support each other and how Balanced Breakfast has evolved and grown so far beyond the original idea and vision. As a bonus, Jeremy Boyum, bass player for Shadow of Whales, spends a few minutes talking about why Balanced Breakfast is so important to him and the how it has affected his music career.

What’s cool is that this is a simple, practical idea that could probably be emulated in any location for any profession. If you’re not getting what you need from networking events – or don’t have any to attend – consider putting this idea to work and founding your own event.

After you listen, let me know your most important takeaway or a-ha moment from this conversation. Email me at [email protected] or tweet to @brocedwards and let me know.

 

Related episode: 007: Jeremy Boyum

 

Stefan Aronsen, Co-Founder of Balanced Breakfast, Music Promoter, Photographer, & DJ

Stefan Aronsen has a masters degree in Graphic Design from The Academy of Art in SF. He has worked for LucasFilm, Stitcher Radio, Magnifi, and many indie record labels. Currently, he is a music promoter, photographer, radio host & DJ who co-founded Balanced Breakfast and does freelance design in the Bay Area. His passion for the local music scene is evident in everything he works on.

He is passionate about music, but specifically the up and coming music industry scene. His goal is to help musicians succeed and for the community we work in to be more healthy. His vision for the future of BB is that it might help musicians feel more connected and supported. The music industry can be lonely and exclusive, but it doesn’t have to be. It has been his goal to use his design skills to bring education, support, and success to a music industry professionals that could most benefit from it. Hopefully, in creating a useful app that fills a niche in the music industry, we can see more success, support, and happiness in our local scenes.

Stefan has the passion for music but is unable to create it. This created a huge complication to his plan to be a rock star but was a huge win for the music industry. The industry has lots of rock stars, it needs more groupies with a purpose. Fans like Stefan are important to the music industry’s success.

A Bit More About Balanced Breakfast

Balanced Breakfast curates music industry meetups for professionals in 20 domestic cities and 2 international locations. Domestically BB is located in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles, San Diego, Nashville, Denver, Austin, Boston, Portland, Seattle, and more. In San Francisco, BB meets for breakfast every Thursday. Attendees talk about actions that can be employed that will help the Bay Area music scene become a place where musicians & industry professionals can make money doing what they love. (Music)

The first BB meeting was the brainchild of Stefan and Music Producer Andy Freeman. They didn’t know each other except for through Twitter, where Andy noticed that he and Stefan had very similar taste in shows and bands.