Fine Arts Education Data Leader Mike Danforth Retires
St. Augustine, FL (October 15, 2024) - CutTime, LLC, a leading provider of fine arts program management software, announces the retirement of Chief Data Officer and CEO of MTD Research, Mike Danforth. Over his thirty year career, Mike and his team developed the most comprehensive and accurate data set on school music, theater, and dance education programs in the United States. Mike began MTD with a core set of marketing services perfectly tailored to the dynamic nature of the performing arts education space. Gradually, he added custom analytics and research packages to help MTD clients to better optimize their acquisition spend. MTD was acquired by CutTime in 2022, further expanding its data ecosystem of K-12, University/College, and Community-based fine arts education programs. This strategic move empowers MTD to advocate more effectively for music education, leveraging a broader audience to influence policy, promote the benefits of fine arts programs, and provide essential resources to fine arts leaders, educators, and students alike. With this expanded platform, MTD is positioned to deepen its role as a leading voice for music education nationwide.
Recognizing the influence of quality data and information to create positive change in business and society, Mike devoted his analytics acumen to supporting the performing arts, particularly in music education. MTD gathers and maintains information for more than 120,000 public and private schools, and nearly 15,000 school districts providing arts courses. Their proprietary data is combined with the most robust economic, demographic, and educational data sets to provide unparalleled analysis and reporting capabilities to serve a variety of commercial, governmental, and cultural applications. Using the most up-to-date arts education database, MTD customers are empowered to target and reach very specific school program profiles with their offering. Most recently, Mike developed the Ideal Customer© profiling methodology for MTD's clients, further enabling organizations to perfect their sales and marketing targeting for maximum return on investment.
Fine arts programs are increasingly seeking out new and expanded options for core products and services. Mike’s multi-decade expertise has enabled us to enrich our data set, and tailor new consulting offerings to advance the goals of our industry and education customers,” said Corey Black, CEO of CutTime. “We are thankful for Mike’s leadership over the last two years and wish him a rewarding next chapter.
The fine arts education community is constantly evolving and growing,” said Danforth. “I’m honored to have helped thousands of businesses get better connected with these educators and equip them with the tools, products, and services they needed to be successful. Being part of CutTime these last few years has allowed me to identify new, exciting avenues for our MTD clients to thrive and grow.
Mike graduated from Northwestern University, in Evanston just north of Chicago, IL with a Bachelors of Fine Arts where he met his future wife and data scientist partner, Lisa. Mike grew up playing trombone in grade school, community and youth ensembles in the Detroit area. During his undergrad years, he was selected to play with the Disneyland All American College Band. Other notable performances as a young man were with the Charleston Symphony, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus Band.
About CutTime, LLC
CutTime, LLC empowers Fine Arts leaders with the technology and capabilities they need to maximize their teaching and advocacy impact. Together with our partners, we are helping to nurture the next generation of artistic talent with thoughtful technology craftsmanship and intuitive workflow solutions created by a passionate team of former fine arts educators and performers. Since inception, CutTime has managed millions of assets for thousands of fine arts programs across North America. Learn more at gocuttime.com, Facebook and YouTube @gocuttime and LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/cuttimellc.
###
