Philippe Renan – the founder of Possible-Music – fused music art and business to write the sales story of a lifetime. “It started the day a rogue music publisher stole all my savings,” says Philippe Renan. As a college freshman in 1990, he had his sights on fame, placing his trust in an unscrupulous publisher who lured him with the promise of a stint with the famous French television presenter Michel Drucker, but required Renan to cover the studio production costs.In just a few days, he lost all his savings and left college before graduating. 

Two goals then came into view: first, develop his musical art and second, earn a living so he could afford to buy the musical instruments and equipment he needed. That’s when Philippe Renan began a work-study program in business and secured his first position: a direct salesman.“I had to call fifty clients every day, then knock on twenty doors to find new clients.

That canvasing experience – both by phone and in person – made me to want to explore every opportunity that came my way,” says the founder of Possible-Music. Two years later, Philippe Renan decided to apply the prospecting technique he had learned to find a new role. “I took out a subscription to Keyboard, a must-have for composers, and sent out my resumé to dozens of companies that ran advertisements in the magazine. ”What was the outcome? The artist-turned-salesperson landed his first job in a store at the forefront of musical creation. In just two years, he became one of the country’s most highly respected experts in computer-assisted music. 

Gradually and until 2012, Philippe Renan rose through the ranks starting as a sales representative for a small family business and working his way up to sales and marketing director for Audio-Technica’s consumer division, collaborating with prestigious brands such as Thomson, Electrolux and Panasonic. But his music never took a back seat. Sometimes he channeled his musical skills to perfect his business acumen (Sonamix, Audio-Technica), sometimes he composed songs to enhance motivational seminars for teams (Creative Labs). When the Audio-Technica project came to an end, Philippe Renan became a senior international manager, laser-focused on Orchestral Management.

His skill at fusing music art and business created something truly unique, and built the foundaitons for Possible-Music.  “Becoming a leader in an international company was the highlight of my career. I had dreamed of achieving that goal, but I was still just as nervous as I was before performing on stage. So I called on my friend Philippe Sarrazin, an executive coach with unparalleled expertise. We first met in 2010, during a training course at ESSEC. I will always remember that fateful day when I came to see him and said: ‘Philippe, I need your help. I have 100 days to prove my worth, can you tell me how I can earn the trust of the management committee?’ The coach’s reply was brief, ‘Finish working on your album and everything will be fine.’”

Philippe Sarrazin wanted Philippe Renan to realize that his music was the key to him finding personal balance; that in pursuing his passion he would be liberated to perform better in business.  “The most beautiful epilogue in this story,” adds the director of Possible-Music, “happened one evening, when my CEO came across my album and played it for all the members of the company’s international management committee.

As soon as I had given them a glimpse of my life as a composer, people began seeing a different side of me. A side that I had kept hidden for many years. They saw me as a composer-manager and I gained new credibility for the way I managed business projects.” Orchestral Management was born that very day, as a seamless blend of composition techniques and sales methods!

“On top of all that, I finally realized that I had to stop trying to separate music and business. In fact it became crystal clear that I should be bringing them together as best I could, to build on my experience in both fields at the same time. The business world boosted my credibility and brought structure to my artistic career, while my art allowed me to develop my unique creativity for business … which had been impossible before! I founded Possible-Music to share this insight into selling, which renders the impossible possible, through the most wonderful aspect of music: composition.”