Music & Arts has announced the acquisition on March 17, 2021, of Be Part of the Music, a nationally renowned music education advocacy organization led by Scott Lang and Andrew Hrynyshyn. Now under the umbrella of Music & Arts, the free services offered by Be Part of the Music will be more accessible to music educators nationwide than ever before. The announcement was made by Music & Arts President Jeff Gottlieb and reflects Music & Arts’ ongoing mission of expanding the scope of the resources they are able to offer the music education community.Founded in 2011 and currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Be Part of the Music provides a wide range of free content (videos, documents, advocacy materials) and “done-for-you” solutions (website builders, automated solutions, pre-built campaigns) for the recruitment and retention of music students. Known and trusted by music educators across the U.S., Be Part of the Music is more than a leading voice in music education; they serve as advocate, counsel, and champion to the 22,000+ music educators and hundreds of thousands of parents who use their content regularly.
“This strategic acquisition represents a significant and long-term investment into not just advocacy, but music education. As one of the nation’s leading school music providers, we felt it was important to add this crucial piece of the puzzle, in order to continue building a cohesive and forward-thinking advocacy program that provides value to music educators and the students they serve,” says Gottlieb.
The idea for the acquisition was born in early 2020, when Music & Arts National Sales Director Brian Wilson identified a need to provide better tools for Music & Arts’ Educational Representatives and a better experience for their educators. “During various discussions, we realized we could better serve our educators if we had two components that were missing before: a formalized recruitment and retention program, and a more intentional advocacy program. Once we understood this, acquiring Be Part of the Music became the obvious solution,” remarks Wilson.
Be Part of the Music Founder Scott Lang adds, “From the very beginning, we identified Music & Arts as the ideal strategic partner. We knew we had the content and materials to help start and keep more kids in music, but we lacked the resources and extensive national reach needed to truly move the needle. Music & Arts gives us the ability to move our mission forward in a way we could never do without them. This partnership truly is a win-win!”
As a part of the acquisition, founder Scott Lang has joined the Music & Arts team in a newly formed role as Director of Advocacy. He is reporting to Brian Wilson and serves on the School Services team. Scott is a veteran band director of 16 years and a nationally renowned voice in the field of music education. He spends almost 200 days a year on the road annually and works with some of the country’s finest educational groups and performing ensembles. Scott is also the author of more than ten music education-related publications.
Andrew Hrynyshyn has also joined the School Services team, where he is serving in the role of Product Manager, Advocacy. Andrew has a passion for music education as well as strong business acumen. In addition to his role at Be Part of the Music, he also helps support various music education advocacy organizations throughout the country, including serving as a board member for the Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts in Tempe, Arizona.
Even though the acquisition was finalized in recent weeks, Scott and Andrew have been hard at work consulting with Music & Arts since the start of 2021. They have already produced three significant program initiatives: Recruitment Roadmap, Musical Gateway and Understanding ESSER, three new offerings that impact not just educators but also the students whom Music & Arts serves.
Moving forward, these two great organizations will work together hand in hand to provide the resources resulting in more programs, more offerings, more solutions and more kids making music.
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