NEW ORLEANS – In partnership with local organizations, music festivals and business leaders, New Orleans & Company will host New Orleans Music Month — a monthlong celebration of music, culture and technology — throughout October at various locations. Programming will include NOLA MusiCon, a new music industry conference scheduled for Oct. 24-27.
“Every day of the year, we instinctively know that music underlies our entire cultural landscape in deep and meaningful ways,” said Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the city’s destination management organization. “In designating October formally as ‘Music Month,’ New Orleans & Company is dedicating resources to market our live music scene and the industry that surrounds it with a focused conference to complement the many music-centric events that are ongoing during that same month.”
NOLA MusicCon will include panels, interviews, demonstrations, mentor sessions, live performances and networking. New Orleans & Company said the goal of the event is to educate artists and highlight New Orleans as a viable place for the industry.
In its third year, NOLAxNOLA will begin Music Month with two weeks of concerts at various locations. Other events include the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (Oct. 13-15) and NOLA Funk Fest (Oct. 20-22). During the month, leaders will officially unveil plans for the Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, a new 120,000-square-foot museum to be built near the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
“Louisiana has the strongest suite of incentives for music industry growth in the country,” said Reid Wick, the Recording Academy’s New Orleans-based membership and industry relations representative and an organizer of NOLA MusiCon. “From recording, touring and jobs growth via payroll tax incentives, the New Orleans music industry deserves recognition and a seat at the table similar to other industry sectors across the region.”
The 2017 passage of the Quality Music Company payroll tax incentive in 2017 set the stage for this new focus on the city’s music industry. Music community leaders and Greater New Orleans Inc., an economic development organization, established the New Orleans Music Economy (NOME) initiative. Josh Fleig, vice-president of business development at Greater New Orleans Inc., oversees the program.
“New Orleans has always enjoyed a robust live music scene with a vibrant festival and club scene but hadn’t really focused on other income streams derived from music creation and music business,” said Fleig.
NOME commissioned a year-long study by Sound Diplomacy, which resulted in a plan to grow the New Orleans music industry. The plan calls for development of a major marketing campaign, music industry hub and business development outreach efforts. It also recommends support for a significant music conference and industry incubator, along with networking, mentorship and financial assistance opportunities.
