Image via Flickr/ The DEMO Conference

Motivational business music? What the hell, right? Not to Groupon founder and ex-CEO Andrew Mason. Just three months after he was booted from his own company, Mason confirmed his upcoming album, “Hardly Workin” will go on sale via iTunes and Spotify by the end of the month. Last month, Mason blogged of the album’s inspiration:

“I managed over 12,000 people at Groupon, most under the age of 25,” Mason wrote. “One thing that surprised me was that many would arrive at orientation with minimal understanding of basic business wisdom. ‘Haven’t you read any business books? Good to Great? Winning? The One Minute Manager?’ I’d ask. ‘Business books? Not really our thing,’ was the typical response. I came to realize that there was a real need to present business wisdom in a format that is more accessible to the younger generation.”

But present it in song? Apparently so. Mason spent a week in Los Angeles recording his seven-song album of “motivational business music targeted at people newly entering the workforce.” According to Mason, the songs will help introduce young workers to ideas he’s “found to be a key part of becoming a productive and effective employee.”

Why music? Mason is actually a talented pianist and majored in music at Northwestern University, during which he played in a rock band and directed a production of “Jesus Christ, Superstar.” And thanks to his fame in business, he doesn’t feel he needs a label to represent him. Instead, Mason wants the album to “speak for itself.”

Mason’s time hasn’t solely been spent recording the album, however. In fact, he’s been a busy bee since leaving Groupon. Thanks to his 6.9-percent stake in the company—worth about $350 million—he’s had the freedom to work on several projects, including a part-time partnership with Y Combinator, as well as the development of a new company, possibly related to e-commerce, based on many of his ideas during the past seven years.

Samantha Lile

Samantha Lile is a 2002 Missouri State University graduate of journalism and mass media. She has served as a reporter and editor for various newspapers throughout her journalism career. She made the leap into writing full-time after working for a major financial institution since 2000.

Because of her banking background, Samantha is knowledgeable in finance reporting, but is also strong in commentaries, personal profiles, youth studies, horticulture, history and entertainment-related works.

Samantha lives in Ozark, Mo. with her husband of nine years, four dogs and two cats.

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