We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Telg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I grew up in the Gainesville community but I often say that I became who I am as a member of the Gainesville music scene. I connected with the music and arts community in high school. Meeting all of these incredible people opened my mind up to new ways of interacting with the world and with others. Because of what this community has meant to me, I’ve worked hard to give back to it. In other words, I try to leave it better than I found it.

In particular, I have done a great deal of work in the music space in Gainesville over the past decade or so. I’ve run festivals, concert series, supported artists directly in a number of different ways, and have acted as a community liaison. But my work really hit its stride with the launch of MusicGNV. In 2019, several members of the music community and I identified that a nonprofit to support our music scene didn’t really exist, so we banded together to create one and solve that problem. We had this grand vision for what we would do, but then in 2020, the world shut down, so our plans were forced to shift. We reacted to what was directly in front of us. We created mechanisms to provide paid opportunities to artists in one of the most difficult moments in the music industry’s existence. We built partnerships that had not existed before to support artists.

These programs have evolved and are still active to this day. Some of the things we do are that we support artists through a quarterly recording grant where we send artists into the studio for free, we host community events showcasing Gainesville’s talent, and we advocate on behalf of the music community.

Five years in, MusicGNV is well-respected in this area for supporting the music community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My way into community work and music work (which I see as distinct but inextricably linked for myself) is like most things in my life, a twisting journey that has a throughline but did not follow an “A to B” prescribed path.

As I mentioned, I have carried a passion for music with me from a young age, but my initial vision for my career was that I would work in the theater. I got a Bachelor’s Degree in Stage Management from the University of Central Florida, envisioning a future on Broadway. That degree equipped me with experience and knowledge on how to put together and manage large-scale events, which is something that would come into play later in unexpected ways. After graduating, some life things occurred that took me back to the town I grew up in, Gainesville, Florida. I got a day job that paid the bills, but spent pretty much all of my free time engaged in community work. Fairly quickly, I got involved in the nonprofit community, hosting and organizing storytelling events. My educational background in large-scale event management came in handy immediately. The ambition of these events grew quickly and it pushed me slowly into the music space. This was exciting for me, as I care deeply about the music community in Gainesville. Once that door was open, I walked through it fully. In my spare time, I was hosting storytelling and music events all over town. Once a reputation had been built for myself, I was invited into different opportunities, such as directing a music festival for a couple of years and managing an internationally acclaimed artist.

All the while, I was still working a traditional day job in a different field. There’s bills that need to be paid, after all! So I sort of split myself into three: my community/storytelling/music self, my work self, and my home self. It was not until late last year that I was able to integrate all of these versions of myself by getting hired at the UF Center for Arts in Medicine, bringing all of my expertise in arts management to bear for a beloved arts institution doing amazing work for the world. (And I still do all of that community work in my spare time, too!)

Did I follow a traditional path? Not at all. Did I get somewhere that I knew existed when I started? No, I got somewhere better. A younger Brandon would not believe I could have done all of the things I’ve had the opportunity to do. I can summarize the way I’ve gotten here in these three points:
1) Do what you say you’re going to do
2) If you see something that needs doing, do it
3) Once you’ve done these two things and shown others you are reliable, say yes to opportunities that come your way, even if they are a bit outside of your comfort zone.

Simply put, if you put in the work and show yourself to be someone that folks want to work with, you’ll end up in a place you could never have conceived of. Going off the “traditional path” might take a while to get where you’re going, but you will get there. Frankly, if you follow the path everyone else is told to walk, you may actually have a harder time because that is what everyone is doing!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Showing up and doing the work!
In the music space, it is easy to see the glamour and the glitz. In fact, the way that music is typically presented, that’s all folks generally are allowed in to see. But for about 5% of glamour, there’s 95% of hard work, sweat and tears. That is true in every corner of music, whether you are offstage or on.

I built a reputation over time for doing what I say I’m going to do, and doing it well. It sounds simple and, honestly, it is! However, in my decade and a half of music work, I have found that very few people are interested in doing all of the “95%” work. If you are, you will go far!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

One of the most important books I’ve ever read is The Defining Decade by Meg Jay. The book is billed as “why your twenties matter and how to make the most of them,” but I find that the concepts in the book apply to anyone of any age. (It’s just that many of the examples are 20-somethings because of the book’s core audience, so just be aware of that.)
Jay popularized the concept of “identity capital.” Identity capital is the set of personal assets and skills that one builds over time. She describes how you can build a career in very practical ways. As an entrepreneurial person, thinking about the work that one does in this way is extremely liberating and inspiring! Trust me on this: you’ll never look at the way you spend your time the same way again!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandontelg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brantelg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-telg-6896092b/