This will freak your mind,” promises Dave Stewart as he sends me a Tweet from his Los Angeles office, where he is chief executive of Weapons Of Mass Entertainment, his own media business.

One half of the 1980s pop duo Eurythmics, Mr Stewart is a singer-songwriter and producer who has recently collaborated with artists such as singers Joss Stone and Martina McBride. The Tweet in question, a demonstration of a new interactive ecommerce platform currently in beta development, is one of a slate of ventures being developed by his company.

Mr Stewart is one of many creatives mixing performing with starting a business. Realising their star will not always be in the ascendant, they are typically seeking to maximise their brand value or scratch an entrepreneurial itch. Record producer and rapper Dr Dre is chief executive of Beats Electronics, a manufacturer of audio products and accessories, while the English model Lily Cole recently founded Impossible, an online social platform. They are all applying lessons they learnt in the spotlight to running their own businesses.