DEA Music & Art Aims To Expand Throughout New York

DEA Music & Art, a childhood education franchise for music and visual arts, is a classic New York success story looking to spread its pitch-perfect investment opportunity from Staten Island to other boroughs and beyond by franchising across the state.

DEA Music & Art founder Magi Kapllani has run the studio since 2003 in the Rosebank neighborhood of Staten Island and is now looking to grow across New York City, Hempstead, Brookhaven and more. With some students still restricted from going to school and education becoming a tedious series of Zoom calls, Kapllani’s business is more relevant than ever before.

Not even the pandemic could stop Kapllani from finding fun, engaging ways to educate children with music. Now, her brand is looking to create more studios across the state so more students can learn and grow with the brand.

Kapllani’s story starts in Albania, where her parents were famous musicians who raised her as a classically trained pianist. Her family’s story echoes those of millions of other New Yorkers who came from abroad for opportunity, and Kapllani is now proud to offer training to students and aspiring business owners alike.

“In 1999, I came to the U.S. to attend the piano performance master's program at the University of Illinois and performed all over Chicago,” said Kapllani. “After moving to New York City, I decided to establish my own school where students could receive the absolute best music education possible like my parents did in Albania.”

DEA Music & Art hopes to franchise across New York so that Kapllani and the brand’s support staff can work closely with the franchisees to execute on Kapllani’s profitable and in-demand business.

Kapllani has long dreamed of opening several franchises nearby because, as a New Yorker, she understands the city is big enough for several studios, and she believes there’s untapped talent in millions of children within the state. Kapllani wants her first franchisees to be located near the brand’s existing locations specifically so she can personally spend time with them and be on call in case any issues come up in the business.

Additionally, New York is home to 19 million people as the country’s fourth-largest state. New York City alone has 8 million residents and hundreds of thousands who commute in every day. The city has a world-class reputation for arts and music, so music schools in and around the city speak directly to what New Yorkers love about their home.

With in-person classes coming back and the COVID-19 vaccine making its rounds, DEA Music & Art’s offerings have become more in-demand than ever before.

DEA Music & Art now provides “microschooling,” which allows parents to drop their kids off at the brand’s locations not just for classes in music and the arts, but to complete their other schoolwork as well. These educational, safe and fun classes represent a win-win for children who want to learn in a school environment and parents who need time to work from home themselves.

Once kids get involved with DEA Music & Art, they become hooked. The classes work towards recitals, where children get to perform. During the pandemic, this form of “microschooling” took off by giving hundreds of children something to work on and look forward to.

“I received so many messages from parents telling us how much their kids needed it and how great it was to see,” said Kapllani of her classes. “It is so great to see how much the kids and parents put into it even though they were at home.”

For Kapllani, opening a new DEA Music & Art franchise would keep her family’s dream alive while helping other families reach their potential.

“I have seen firsthand how all types of students can flourish when given the chance to shine on stage, and in a year that’s been made dull by the pandemic, seeing your child excel in music and art and expressing themselves is a bright spot in people’s day,” said Kapllani.