Dwell music—the bedrock of New Orleans’ popularity as a music metropolis—is at risk of collapsing.

That is type of a fancy challenge, so bear with me.

OffBeat has at all times been centered on stay music. With out stay music, New Orleans wouldn’t be the music mecca it’s. Dwell music is the fist factor that teams who need to develop our music trade want to deal with. Yeah, it’s a gig economic system, nevertheless it’s a begin for any musician who needs to make a residing taking part in music. It’s elemental. However getting $100 a gig at the moment is just not the identical as making $100 three years in the past and even final 12 months. Prices of all the pieces—particularly housing, meals, insurance coverage—have skyrocketed. The stay music scene is de facto in disaster.

For nearly 4 many years OffBeat has been devoted to the music neighborhood—the musicians and bands; making an attempt to coach musicians on methods to handle themselves and their companies; creating alternatives for musicians, bands and music trade members to generate income making music; connecting members of the statewide music neighborhood to one another and to others exterior New Orleans by way of directories of musicians, bands, and music companies; recognizing members of the music neighborhood for his or her artwork and talent to achieve others via their music, and people music companies who’re making an attempt to help and elevate the music neighborhood. However there’s a lot extra to be executed. I like GNO, Inc. and its initiatives to draw music companies right here and to develop sync licensing fashions and mentality, in addition to schooling. However we’d like extra. We want a deal with one of many extra pressing issues: musicians can’t stay on what they’re being paid to play. Music venues can’t afford to remain open, a lot much less pay bands what they deserve.

Frenchmen Avenue. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons

COVID actually did a quantity on musicians and music venues. It nearly destroyed each. I’m grateful that the federal government stepped in to assist. However COVID additionally created a false sense of safety in that everybody thought that the post-COVID surge final summer season was going to final. It clearly has not, as there are a number of music venues which can be closing in August (this has not ever occurred to the extent it’s occurring this summer season: closing for not less than a few weeks throughout August are the Maple Leaf, d.b.a., Chickie Wah Wah and extra) as a result of the price of simply protecting their doorways open will merely kill their companies. After which there’s the horrible warmth—which isn’t going away in future years.

The music venues clearly aren’t the one ones: once they shut, musicians haven’t any place to play. The sound and manufacturing folks undergo. Doormen. Safety folks. Bartenders. Servers.

There are some pressing points which can be additionally coming to a head with many music venues, most likely due to the dearth of audiences lately (blame that on social media and streaming). Fewer vacationers are right here in the summertime (definitely a lot lower than final 12 months). The price of all the pieces, together with insurance coverage (for the venues) has gone up astronomically. However the musicians are nonetheless incomes the identical sum of money they had been paid 5 and even 10 years in the past.

This can be a complicated challenge. The musicians particularly deserve to make more cash. However that can by no means occur until there’s a resolution on methods to compensate bands and to additionally maintain the music venues. The usual observe now in our two principal leisure districts (Bourbon and Frenchmen) is to pay the band a share of the bar, or a small assure ($100 or $200 per band) plus a share of the bar in venues that don’t cost a canopy.

There’s a transparent relationship between how a lot bands are paid and whether or not or not there’s a canopy cost on the venue. Each the Bourbon and Frenchmen Avenue fashions (no cowl, open door coverage, bands paid a bar share) clearly profit the venues. Till musicians can get themselves ready to demand higher pay, nothing goes to alter, as a result of, frankly many of the venue operators are extra involved with their bar ring fairly than paying the bands who’re the draw.

Bourbon Avenue’s avenue celebration mentality.

If a music venue can’t afford to remain open as a result of their price of operation is an excessive amount of, then the musicians don’t have an opportunity in hell of creating a residing wage.

There’s been plenty of discuss musicians organizing to demand higher pay for stay music. The one manner this may ever work is to embrace the musicians’ union mannequin, and for all bands and musicians to work collectively to insure that everybody could make a residing wage. That’s a pipe dream, although, as a result of some bands normally will combat to get a (poorly-compensated) gig whether or not it pays nicely or not. There have been many musicians who refuse to play in these districts (I forgot to say St. Claude Avenue) as a result of they simply can’t make sufficient cash with the “share” pay. However positive sufficient, one other (normally younger) band will welcome the possibility to play for peanuts and ideas and take a poorly-compensated gig.

This isn’t how the complete music neighborhood can develop, produce a residing wage for bands and a thriving music scene. A union would doubtlessly clear up this drawback, however it’ll solely work if all musicians band collectively and refuse to pay for a crappy wage. That’s by no means, ever going to occur, sadly. It’s additionally worthwhile to notice right here that the native American Federation of Musicians Native 174-496 has solely 300 members (I might assume lots of them are LPO musicians). The union minimal pay necessities are extra vital for a company just like the LPO, or for session/recording work, not acting at a venue regularly. Furthermore, Louisiana is a right-to-work state and it’s in opposition to the legislation for any contractor (on this case, musicians) being required by state legislation to be paid a minimal wage. Can’t occur in Louisiana.

So what can we do to insure that each the venues and the musicians can earn each a cushty residing? We now have to alter the dynamic; the enterprise mannequin has modified.

Sticking my neck out—as normal—listed below are some ways in which I believe we are able to make some constructive progress (I welcome your enter and suggestions on this; simply e-mail me your feedback and concepts).

1. 1. The Metropolis ought to require all music and leisure venues to function with their DOORS CLOSED. This may eradicate the mentality that music is background noise for the road celebration, and never helpful and worthy of being paid for (open venue doorways do that). Once you cost a canopy, the patron will grasp that there’s certainly worth to our music and leisure. I doubt severely if any vacationer will cease visiting New Orleans if they’re required to pay a canopy at any venue on Bourbon or Frenchmen. However to check this concept, let the Metropolis require each venue with leisure to shut their doorways and cost a canopy for not less than in the future per week (Friday or Saturday) for say, six months to a 12 months. I do know that is radical, however it’ll display that this concept will or is not going to work. I can already hear the venues, bars and liquor and beer distributors gathering up their lobbyists to protest this concept as a result of they suppose folks gained’t eat as a lot alcohol. That is nonsense, IMO, buta take a look at interval of six months to 12 months will inform the story. Cowl prices (and ideas, if relevant) after all go to the musicians.
   2. Talking of alcohol, everyone knows that actually nothing occurs in New Orleans that doesn’t revolve round alcohol consumption: Mardi Gras, festivals, parades, occasions, you identify it. Alcohol guidelines each occasion that makes New Orleans New Orleans: all of it revolves round ingesting. Alcohol and beer producers and distributors are those benefiting from our present state of affairs. How about if we create a “New Orleans Gig Basis” that requires contribution from alcohol/beer folks (together with different non-profits) to assist pay? I assure that alcohol purveyors is not going to refuse to do that if it’ll assist their retailers keep alive. And, after all it’ll profit musicians, which the liquor/beer folks can use for their very own constructive promotion.
   3. The Metropolis ought to develop and implement standards for what’s a “music membership” and what’s a “bar with music.” A music membership—a “listening room”—is one which prices a canopy (both on the door or with an upcharge on every particular person client invoice that’s strictly paid to the band). A “bar (or restaurant) with music” is one that doesn’t cost a canopy. However right here’s how this may work: a venue that could be a “membership” will obtain much more advantages from the Metropolis {that a} “bar” doesn’t, reminiscent of additional promoting and promotion, particularly from entities like New Orleans & Firm. A “membership” will get an official designation from the Metropolis that demonstrates that it helps musicians and the town’s music tradition. This is also posted (with an official emblem) in venues’ home windows, and in their very own promotion and promoting. Additional, if “golf equipment” set up noise abatement insulation, in the event that they conform to necessities, in the event that they display their help of native musicians, they get vital tax breaks. Music “golf equipment” ought to get particular therapy as a result of they’re contributing to the tradition of our Metropolis and they’re clearly supporting native musicians. This will even be an incentive for the “bars” to transform to “golf equipment.” There ought to be developed an angle of respect for music and its influence on tourism in addition to our native economic system.

All of these things might be overseen and arranged by the Metropolis’s Workplace of Nighttime Economic system.

Once more, these are my concepts—for higher or worse—and I count on to get criticism (simply hold it respectful on-line, in case you would, and supply your counters or additions to those concepts). Would like to get your suggestions and strategies. We have to deal with these points now. It’s simply going to worsen until we are able to change the enterprise mannequin.