School of Rock students perform live at music venues in their respective markets.
Parents in Germany are "desperate" to find activities for their kids, says new School of Rock franchisee Bill Cole, and he believes the music education concept will prove appealing with its energetic approach and live performance opportunities.
Bill Cole and his wife, Bea Longworth, an executive at artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, started what he described as a “COVID band” with a senior vice president at Adobe and the head pilot at Lufthansa Airlines.
“We always joked that if anyone would have to pay our actual day rates for us to do a concert, we’d cost more than the Rolling Stones,” said Cole of his band, aptly named The Social Distance.
It was a fitting extension of Cole’s longtime passion for music—he started playing guitar when he was 12—and his next venture is likewise in alignment with that love.
Cole, who when he formed The Social Distance was a senior manager with the German arm of auditing and consulting company PwC in Munich, is now one half of the duo bringing School of Rock to Germany. He and Dominik Ueblacker signed a master franchise agreement with the music education concept to develop at least 35 locations across the country over the next 12 years.
Cole said School of Rock contacted him and he already knew about the impact the brand could have on its students.
School of Rock President Stacey Ryan says part of the brand’s mission is to instill confidence in students.
“I had a close friend in Detroit whose daughter was actually in School of Rock and did extremely well through the program,” said Cole. She blossomed “from a shy young person into a powerful musician, an incredible singer who toured all around the U.S.” with School of Rock.
Originally from Canada, Cole moved to Germany more than 20 years ago to help a division of Ford Motor Company integrate some new computer systems. He later met Ueblacker, a Munich native and digital product developer, as the two led a design and innovation team at PwC. As they thought about the next phase of their careers, Cole said he reflected on his musical ties.
“I know the impact that music had on me, on my confidence, on my creativity, on my ability to find community through music, and it has always really helped me through life and also professionally,” he said.
Cole and Ueblacker formed Stein & Semmel, which translates to “rock and roll” in German, and are preparing to open their flagship School of Rock later this year in Munich. They’re working to finalize a lease in a part of the city called Candidplatz, near Grünwalder Stadium, a large soccer venue, and a key transit hub.
They’ll operate it for the first 12 months and make sure it’s an “absolute bombastic success,” said Cole, before determining if school No. 2 is another company location or if they’re ready to sign sub-franchisees. Munich, Germany’s third largest city with a population of 1.5 million people, can hold multiple School of Rock locations, continued Cole, and they’ll also look to develop in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Dresden and other markets.
Germany’s rock music roots run deep. An unknown band at the time, The Beatles arrived in Hamburg in 1960 and they played venues such as the Indra Club and the Kaiserkeller, honing their skills and sound. Queen front man Freddie Mercury lived in Munich for many years and recorded his solo album, “Mr. Bad Guy,” at the city’s Musicland Studios. The country has a vibrant live music scene, noted Cole, and needs School of Rock.
“This isn’t a nice to have. This is going to be solving some real problems that parents in Germany have,” said Cole. “The school day in Germany is half of what it is in the U.S. … leaving several hours in the afternoon that parents have to bridge every single day. They’re desperate for finding activities and safe places for their kids to go.”
There are also numerous holidays and school breaks where parents are “scrambling” for activities. In doing their research, Cole and Ueblacker spoke to dozens and dozens of parents, talked with kids across a range of ages and assessed the competitive landscape. Public schools provide free music programs but are largely outdated, said Cole, while private lessons are expensive and focus heavily on classical music and music theory.
“Now, compare that to what School of Rock can do,” he said of the brand’s extensive range of music and opportunity to perform live in popular venues. Students “play rock and roll music, play Motown music, play rap, play a Taylor Swift song. It just doesn’t even compare.”
From left, School of Rock master franchisees for Germany Dominik Ueblacker and Bill Cole gather with Anthony Padulo, the brand’s chief development officer, during a visit to Berlin. Ueblacker and Cole formed Stein & Semmel, which translates to “rock and roll” in German, and plan to open 35 School of Rock locations.
While there’s no brand awareness for School of Rock in Germany, Cole and Ueblacker are planning a strong marketing push and will use live performances to help generate word-of-mouth interest. Hans Thomann, whose father founded Germany-based Thomann Music, one of the world’s largest music retailers, is a good friend, added Cole, and already expressed interest in a partnership.
In addition to playing the music of famous rock artists, the schools in Germany will embrace other genres favored in the country, including folk and “schlager,” a type of German pop music. And Cole noted he’s already working with the School of Rock team to ensure compliance with stricter data privacy laws in Europe.
“Parents are fiercely, fiercely protective of their children’s data, of data privacy issues and things like this,” said Cole. “So we worked very long and hard with the School of Rock team to get these things in place where we can fine tune the offering in that way that German parents are going to look at it and go, OK, it’s an American company, but we still can follow European values.”
A fit in many markets
School of Rock, which opened its 400th location in March and has schools operating in 16 countries with commitments in another seven global markets, is making inroads in Europe. It has a presence in Spain, Portugal and Ireland, and is close to making its debut in London. The development in Germany, said President Stacey Ryan, is key as the brand targets more international growth.
“The German market is passionate about music and youth enrichment as a whole. It just seems to fit in really well there. The commitment, how parents are raising children, how they prioritize education, experiences, life learning. It’s honestly hard to find a place, a culture where School of Rock may not be a good fit,” said Ryan. “Where doesn’t this experience of music education that brings all these life learnings along with it, help with depression, with confidence levels, with public speaking, with learning responsibility to yourself and others … It’s hard to find places where that doesn’t make sense.”
Cole and Ueblacker are ideal franchisees, said Ryan, because they are able to apply their corporate experience and strong business acumen to a passion-driven concept. The pair bring deep local knowledge, she added, and conducted robust due diligence to determine demand for School of Rock’s programming in the German market.
School of Rock has 98 international locations open following the launch in April of its first unit in Uruguay. Matias Puga-Hamilton, already the master franchisee for Latin America, is the owner and will further develop the brand in Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Puga-Hamilton is also the master franchisee for the United Kingdom.
Roark Capital-backed Youth Enrichment Brands acquired School of Rock in 2023.