On January 25, 2018, Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), along with music business leaders and economic development partners, launched the New Orleans Music Economy (NOME) initiative.
The New Orleans Music Economy initiative was created to jumpstart a thriving full music economy in Greater New Orleans that provides jobs and wealth to support musicians, intellectual property managers, publishers, agents, labels, professional services, creative services and all other aspects of the “business of music.”
“While New Orleans has a global brand for music, that brand has largely been based on live performance and festivals,” said Michael Hecht, President & CEO of GNO, Inc. “By developing and executing an action plan to build the underlying business of music in Greater New Orleans – IP Management, Agents, Publishers, etc. – we will not only keep our musicians here, but we will build real jobs and wealth.”
Sound Diplomacy, a London, Berlin and Barcelona-based music policy consultancy and global expert in developing long-term and productive music strategies has been selected to develop a Music Economy Action Plan for Greater New Orleans.
Sound Diplomacy will manage a quantitative and qualitative 12-month process that will deliver a detailed, critical-path action plan with steps needed to fill in the gaps and realize the full economic potential and vision for the Greater New Orleans Music Economy.
Sound Diplomacy will develop an economic impact assessment of the music industry in Greater New Orleans (with a focus on intellectual property management). To do so, GNO, Inc. and Sound Diplomacy will bring together and work with the breadth and depth of New Orleans’ creative and business community, to provide the statistical data and modelling to quantify music’s value, in its totality, to Greater New Orleans.
The Music Economy Action Plan will provide a comprehensive mapping of the Region’s music-related assets, including, among others, local performance, recording, and rehearsal spaces, industry professionals, and educational institutions. On the other hand, an economic impact assessment of the overall music sector will be developed. Drawing from the data collected and stakeholder feedback, as well as global best practices, this effort will result in a strategic plan to engage New Orleans music makers, industry stakeholders, and audiences to support the industry’s future growth.
As part of this work, Sound Diplomacy will conduct an analysis of existing opportunities for local music businesses and an assessment of local music policies. The firm will also engage the city’s stakeholders through an online survey and interviews conducted in site during in the coming weeks. Currently underway, the Music Strategy project will be completed by December 2019.
The Project will start on January 24, 2019 With the visit of Dr. Shain Shapiro, CEO of Sound Diplomacy, and will continue with a week-long field trip conducted by senior researchers of the firm Spring 2019.
NOME’s goal is to brand New Orleans as America’s premier music city, not only for live music, but as a sustainable music industry ecosystem.
This project is supported by Iberia Bank, The Helis Foundation, New Orleans & Co., Loyola University, Louisiana Entertainment, the Downtown Development District, Kevin Lin/Noise Fest, New Orleans Business Alliance, the City of New Orleans and others.
You can find more information about the project at: https://www.sounddiplomacy.com/new-orleans, or read more at NOLA.com here.