Don’t Retire…Rewire. Pivoting from One Successful Career to Another (Pollstar Live! Panel Recap)

Along with death and taxes, one thing that’s certain in life is change – especially for those working in the music business (and for anyone living through these turbulent times). This panel featured an entertaining discussion from three folks who have embraced change by pivoting from one successful career to another.

Chuck Morris has gone through countless transformations during the past six decades. He entered a Ph.D. program in Political Science at University of Colorado Boulder in 1965, then a few years later he dropped out of graduate school to follow his love of music and started booking up-and-coming talent that would go on to become some of the biggest artists ever including the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, Emmylou Harris, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dolly Parton and Richard Pryor at The Sink, Tulagi’s and his Ebbets Field club in Denver. He then went on to join Barry Fey’s Feyline Presents as senior vice president of promotion, followed by concentrating on his management company, with clients including Lyle Lovett, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Morris returned to promoting in the late ’90s and eventually joined forces with well-known Colorado businessman and philanthropist Phil Anschutz with whom he created AEG Presents Rocky Mountains. In a full circle moment, Morris also returned to education by building the Music Business Program at Colorado State University (now serving as Director) while continuing at AEG in the role of Chairman Emeritus, in which he works on special projects as well as providing general oversight.

Nick Forster’s journey in the music business has seen him go from working as an instrument repairman at the famed Denver Folklore Center to playing electric bass in the award-winning contemporary bluegrass band Hot Rize, followed by launching the radio show eTown. The show – which features live music plus conversation around sustainability, climate change, and stewardship – was initially carried on 40 NPR stations and 34 years later, eTown continues on, with roughly 300 stations carrying the show. Forster serves as host and music director of eTown, as well as the organization’s CEO. He is also still an active musician who performs at festivals, as well as being a record producer and songwriter.

Bill Mell spent 24 years working in the software consulting industry in a variety of sales and management roles including CEO/Owner of Rapid Technologies. After his company was acquired in 2021 by Synoptek, he remained there until he departed in February. Now he’s focused on his nonprofit he founded, Jam For Good, which has a mission “to support kids with cancer, their families and children’s hospitals through the power of live music.” Mell serves as Executive Director of Jam For Good.

One thing that connects all three of the panel speakers is a passion for philanthropy and lifting up others. Morris commented, “If I don’t give back, shame on me – I’ve been so blessed.”

Mell pointed out how cancer has probably affected everyone in the room in some capacity and shared that one of his best friends lost his daughter to cancer. “Since then,” Mell said, “It’s been a priority in reframing my career. … How do we give back in this industry?” After referencing the FireAid keynote panel that took place the day before at Pollstar Live!, Mell added, “It’s about rallying together as a community to support something good.”

The discussion turned to transferable skills as one switches up careers and Forster spoke about what he learned on the road: “The practical skills I learned by being a touring musician – including anticipating merch sales ended up … really helped me as a socially driven entrepreneur. … We’re living in times where we’re not certain what’s coming up. These outside forces change our expectations for our new careers.”

Mell added, “I started my career in sales right out of college, didn’t really know what I was doing. I think some of those transferable skills are about hustling, doing the hard things. Sometimes in our careers we get complacent. So this has been energizing to get back to the hustle. The drive, not being afraid of failure. If you’re on the edge, thinking about risk, there’s risk in everything.”

When rewiring one’s career it’s important to approach it as a learner with a growth mindset. Mell brought up that sometimes it can help to get out of the office and enmesh yourself in what you’re passionate about – especially when it comes to working in the live business.

“If you’re not learning, you’re not growing,” Mell said. “This has been, over the past year, I’m learning something new every day. … I’m just amazed at all the logistics that go into a show. Learning all of the back end moving parts, it’s been pretty interesting.”

He added, “Don’t be afraid to reach out to those potential mentors in that space you’d like to have a conversation with.”

Forster brought up how having a little bit of a vision can make a big difference. He explained, “If you can see situations and say that looks like a cool situation for me to be a part of – I know that sounds like some Boulder hippie nonsense … if you can get a little clarity about what kind of network you want to expand into, that can guide you.”

The panel concluded with the speakers reflecting on how lucky we all are to be surrounded by the music community and the hope of finding the truest, best versions of ourselves.

The audience applauded as Morris said, “I’ll end this by saying we are all lucky fucks.”