School of Rock | EXECUTIVE Q&A
Executive Q&A: Rob Price, CEO
What drew you to School of Rock?
I was immediately hook, line and sinker into the concept and have a deep belief in what School of Rock does. It was clear to me that I had to do this job; it was a calling. I also was interested in the brand’s franchise growth and strategy—it’s an exciting time at School of Rock with it being so early in its growth path, and I look forward to helping shape the future. But most importantly, I am a deeply passionate musician. As a parent, music was central to my parenting strategy. Music played a role in shaping my boys into young men.
What makes School of Rock Unique?
School of Rock has the power to enrich lives in so many ways. You have students, instructors and franchisees who all get to experience the joy of music. Our key differentiator is our performance-based education model which combines students working on individual creative projects while practicing with their fellow musicians as they prepare for future shows. This model also allows us to create a borderless community outside of our four walls. Our 27,000 students play over 4,000 shows around the world, at fundraisers, clubs, restaurants and concert venues, which allows others to share in this joy.
How does School of Rock support franchisees?
We understand the enormous investment and risk our franchisees are making when they sign on with School of Rock. We are committed to providing our franchisees with comfort and stability for the long run and we are putting systems in place that are only going help us grow stronger and help us provide more support. Right now, we are creating a pool of technological resources that can help create an environment in which problems can be solved jointly between individual owners and our corporate headquarters. We are always looking for new technological tools that can help our franchisees function and communicate more efficiently so they can continue to be successful.
What does success look like to you?
For me, success is waking up each day and feeling a drive to make an impact. It’s being committed to a deeply inspiring mission and going to sleep feeling like you have made some progress along the way. For School of Rock, that success is three-fold. One, we need to continue to create music not anchored in the U.S. or in English. We are the roots of modern rock and we need to continue to unlock talent and genius across the globe. Two, we need to continue to prepare students for a complicated world. I don’t have any illusions that 100 percent of our students will become professional musicians, but I do know that 100 percent of the kids who learn with us will be more confident and impactful. Three, we need to continue to expand. We recognize that today there are too many kids who don’t have the privilege of experiencing what we do. We need to scale so we can continue to create great young musicians prepared to change world however they choose to change it.