Acceptd Builds Growing Network of Aspiring Artists
Acceptd is connecting artists with opportunity
Acceptd, founded in 2011, is the largest performing and visual arts network in the world. The company connects artists with opportunities and streamlines the recruiting and review process for decision-makers from arts programs and schools.
Acceptd has served more than 250,000 artists, who can apply to and be discovered by colleges and universities, festivals, scholarships, and competitions operated by 600-plus organizations. From day one, the company has believed in bringing the right opportunities to any applicant, regardless of geography or socio-economic status.
“We’ve gone from being the industry upstart to being the leader in what we do,” said Don Hunter, Acceptd founder and president. “We are here to serve the marketplace and produce results. We aren’t just talkers, but doers who do with excellence. We are thankful for the arts community who has welcomed and adopted us.”
The Acceptd data base includes artists from six to sixty years old.
“We want to help artists through their entire artist lifecycle—from the first time a kid picks up a recorder or wants to go to summer music camp to helping them get into festivals and competitions during their K through 12 years,” said Hunter. “Then we want to continue with them on into college and after they graduate and launch professional careers.”
For Artists
The years of preparation that go into building a career as an artist, are far more challenging than any TV reality show could make them appear. Ask the aspiring ballerina who’s been at the barre since she was five or the teenage gospel singer who packs the church twice on Sunday, but knows he needs formal training.
“Acceptd makes it easy for artists like these to browse thousands of opportunities. Acceptd helps artists find programs they might not have known existed before,” Hunter said.
Joining the Acceptd network is free. The Basic Membership provides access to Acceptd’s easily searchable Arts Directory of hundreds of colleges and universities, arts programs, competitions, summer camps, and festivals.
Acceptd hosts a member’s digital media and resume information online, creating the Discover Me portfolio, the first of its kind ready to share instantly with thousands of directors who are looking for artists of all types. The system is safe and secure; artists determine what they want to show and who they want to show it to.
The Premiere Membership, available for $10 per month expands artists’ options with significant marketing resources that include expert advice, featured artist promotions, an enhanced Discover Me profile, and feedback about profile views.
For Organizations
Acceptd is a trusted brand. This enables organizations to reach a very targeted audience of thousands through email, mobile, and social media marketing.
With Acceptd’s industry-first applicant recruiting network, organizations can carry out customized searches of the thousands of talented artists who are members of Acceptd and then message candidates directly. Acceptd makes the whole process easier, starting with tools to create a simple, straightforward, and customized application.
Successful program recruiters must then sift through hundreds of candidates, portfolios, and audition videos to identify the best and most appropriate candidates. “An organization may receive 1,500 applications and invite 150 artists to come in for live auditions to extend offers to 15,” Hunter said.
Dealing with that many transactions can be overwhelming, but for organizations in the Acceptd network, the new scheduling platform creates the schedules for subscriber organizations, releases the requests for live auditions, handles the artist accepts, rejections, and waiting list, plus manages all the communications in-between.
“That’s the unique thing about us,” said Hunter. “We are a service that organizations can use to facilitate new relationships with prospective artists. They may be looking for an oboe player who is between the ages of 18 and 32 who can dance. We can help identify those artists who are in our network and those like them in the marketplace.”
And on the artist side, Acceptd helps redirect applicants who didn’t achieve their first choices to other opportunities, which may, in the longer run, turn out to be a better fit.
Acceptd has a 95 percent retention rate.
Acceptd has developed a team of reach out specialists. As a market leader, the company has amassed considerable knowledge and expertise, not to mention results, in a fragmented industry.
“People are very relational,” Hunter said. “We have really enjoyed becoming partners and collaborating with our clients.”
Acceptd is committed to protecting those relationships by developing additional services for existing clients as the company expands into international markets.
