RockAcad
RockAcad
Owner of online music academy RockAcad, David ‘Greenie’ Green thinks outside the box for his business and reaches new levels of success with the help of the Backing Essex Business Group2Grow Peer Network Programme.
First established in 2020, RockAcad evolved into a fully-fledged online music academy from an already successful online drum school. When the pandemic hit, the business was taken to new heights (and vibrations) with the boom of online learning, and boasted the added flair of professional teachers with real industry experience that were able to deliver live one-to-one lessons for anyone, anywhere in the world, no matter their experience or skill level.
On their mission, David said:
““We want to educate, support and empower students on their musical journey, regardless of ability or background.
We develop talent, build confidence and supply the knowledge needed for current and future musicians to reach their full potential.”
Built from the sound up
David had been a drum teacher since 2004, and he established RockAcad in September 2020 after stepping back from being heavily involved in the industry in 2018. Having recorded and performed with countless famous artists including, Sam Fender, Reef, Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), Little Comets, VANT, Smoove and Turrell, Ricky Warwick (Thin Lizzy) and Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper) and UK Factor as a session musician, teaching alongside being in the industry was a natural move and a way to do what he loved full-time.
His teaching career varied from working with music academies and schools to teaching his own one-to-one lessons, until the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll and wiped out his diary for the foreseeable future. Finding an opportunity in the crisis, David moved his drum teaching online – and the popularity of the lessons exploded. He found that being able to work from home, and his students taking lessons from home too, was beneficial to all when travelling was out of the question.
He began giving away free lessons each week to children that were stuck at home during constant lockdowns, and this started a snowball effect for his company, with more and more people enquiring about starting lessons.
Banding together to create RockAcad
With demand for his lessons now outweighing what he could fulfil, and taken aback by the immense popularity of the concept, David came up with the idea to create RockAcad. A large amount of his friends and contacts in the industry were music teachers on the side already, and all feeling the impact of lockdowns on their regular work in studios and touring.
After putting a team together covering all bases from bespoke lessons in specific instruments, singing, music theory, composition, music production and more, he also got a PR company on board to properly make a start on the marketing of RockAcad. Starting with a boom, they launched a campaign of giving free lessons to key workers as a way of giving back to those on the front line too. His accolade-heavy team, that spanned from working with Cliff Richard, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Sam Fender, James Arthur, Boy George, Culture Club, West End Musicals: ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, ‘Rock Of Ages’, David Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’to Pixar Soundtracks and Eurovision, created the added value of an offering that nowhere else had - teachers with real industry experience, working with the most talented musicians and artists out there, all while able to teach students from the comfort of their own homes all over the world, with some students as far afield as Australia.
‘It’s basically something I would have loved when I was 14 and learning the drums.’
‘Our students can learn from someone who’s really touring and recording albums - because it’s global and all over the world, it has lots of good factors to it.’
“It’s tailored to suit each student’s personal requirements and learning style. Our main objective is to give you the tools you need in order to progress, have fun, build confidence and maximise your learning experience.”
RockAcad, still in its early days in 2021, gained recognition just a year after establishing from the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for its contributions to online education amidst the pandemic. The ‘Points of Light’ award recognised the importance and value in the online music academy, and spurred the team to keep going.
Fast forward to the end of 2021, and the light at the end of the tunnel for lockdowns in the UK looming, the real test for RockAcad was to see if the business was to continue to be successful with a move back to in-person teaching - which it was. After winning the Points of Light award, some big partners entered the picture for the company - Trinity College London wanted to team up to make RockAcad their first online exam centre, sending a big signal that the team were doing something right, and this new way of teaching and learning music was here to stay.
Facing the music
David felt that with the resounding success of RockAcad, he’d hit a ceiling that he couldn’t quite get through. RockAcad had teachers and students all over the world, and to ensure he could keep the ball rolling on his venture long term, he began to look for help.
““The business got off to a great start and was still functioning at a high level, but I felt like I needed some help and advice.””
With his teachers and students all over the world, his marketing strategy had become more complicated; he’d previously used an agency to create campaigns, but the cost versus the success of these in the past made him question whether there was a better way forward.
““I’m an online business, so there’s no locations, and I felt a bit lost. I needed a lot of advice for the marketing side to make those smart decisions.
I was just needing some help. My background being a musician, there is an element of business involved and business skills, but I didn’t come from an academic business background. I didn’t study business at all, I just learnt through being in bands and teaching. I was looking for advice and help to get to that next level.””
Through his own researching and reaching out to free organisations and business advisors in the South East, David came across the Group2Grow programme from recommendations and thought it was just the thing to help him on his way with the business.
““I researched it a bit more and it sounded good. No pun intended, I’m a one-man band. I’m the only director, and it was very lonely. I saw there were other business owners involved, so I thought that would be really helpful – from what I do, I know you can learn from anybody.””
Fine-tuning RockAcad
The Group2Grow Peer Network Programme provided the opportunity for David to get together with fellow business owners in Essex, to talk through the issues he was having with his own journey with RockAcad, as well as share his own knowledge that he’d pick up on the way. The programme also offers participants 3 hours of one-to-one support with an experienced business advisor, something that drew David to the programme as he felt some professional advice was just what he needed.
““It was great to just be around other business owners and throw ideas around, and everyone telling their stories because everyone could learn something from each other. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses in the group, and so to chat through everything was quite therapeutic, because when you’re on your own like me, and run your own business, you don’t really talk to yourself.””
The Group2Grow programme, delivered by expert business coaches on behalf of Backing Essex Business, was specifically created to bring together business owners from across the county to help them to solve issues their businesses faced and find solutions. The cohorts of likeminded businesspeople come together once every fortnight to attend a session guided by their business coach, where they will discuss common problems faced in running a business and discuss how they can overcome it together.
The free 8 x 2 hour sessions centre around what the group participants feel they want to work on, with session content varying from marketing and sales techniques, to networking and confronting imposter syndrome, and participants are invited to contribute their own experiences and have input on topics to lead discussions, and work through potential solutions together.
““I had a vision and I wasn’t sure if it was right – through the group and through our advisor Graham, they helped turn that into something tangible, and create a strategy to get it moving. It was invaluable in that sense, and considering it was free was incredible.””
RockAcad is open to adults and kids of all backgrounds and skill levels, and offers bespoke sessions as well as group lessons.
“We are more than an online music academy, we are an online community made up of students, teachers and mentors from all over the world, sharing the same passion for music.”
Find out more at RockAcad - https://www.rockacad.com/
