Dave Kusek
Dave Kusek is an American business executive, music educator, author, and software developer known for his work in the music industry. After working as chief engineer at Star Instruments in the 1970s, in 1980 he became the founding CEO of the music software company Passport Designs. With Passport he helped develop Master Tracks and Encore, and also co-developed software and hardware that utilized the then newly introduced MIDI interface. From 1997 to 2012 he taught music business at Berklee College of Music, becoming a vice president and founding its online music school Berkleemusic.com. In 2005, Kusek co-wrote the music business book, The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution. In 2014 Kusek launched New Artist Model, an online music business school, which has been featured in publications such as Billboard, CMJ, and the Boston Globe. Early life and education Dave Kusek was born in 1955 in Southington, Connecticut. From 1974 until 1980, Kusek studied music, communication, and computer science at the University of Connecticut. Business career Star Instruments and Passport Designs (1970s-95s) From 1975 until 1979 Kusek worked as chief engineer at Star Instruments, which made electronic drums such as the Synare. He became the founding CEO of