According to Jazz Fest figures, this was the best Jazz Fest ever, attendance-wise. The official headcount was 466,500 at the Fairgrounds, and this year, just to make sure that some big record was broken, the Jazz Fest producers added another 50,000 or so (people who attended workshops and night concerts) to the figure so that they could say the attendance topped (“for the first time ever!”) the half-million mark. I can’t recall having seen that second number ever added to the attendance figures, but it’s not exactly accurate (Okay, sure, those 50,000 extra people came in specifically for the workshops and night concerts, and not for the Fest itself, right?).
Come on, guys! Why is it really necessary to have to top those attendance figures every single year? Are the attendance figures some kind of public “proof” that the Festival was successful this year? Quint and Company: Just relax, we all know the Jazz Fest is a winner! I usually ask the local musicians, clubs and record retailers how they did–that’s a better indicator than those questionable attendance figures–see sidebar.
In fact–and feedback from our readers and Jazz Fest attendees (see our message board at offbeat.com) seems to prove this assertion–I think most of us who go to Jazz Fest would settle for quite a few less people every year. I’m sure Festival Productions and the Jazz & Heritage Foundation can figure a way to make at least as much money through sponsorships, with less people. Surely there are other sponsors as willing to ante up multi-millions of dollars to reach the lucrative Jazz Fest market. Or maybe proof that you’ve crammed as many bodies as possible into the Fair Grounds is a prerequisite for world-class sponsorship dollars.
One of the most noticeable differences this year was the very corporate Acura presence (see our “Jazz Fest Redux” feature this issue). A lot of old-line Jazz Festers thought this was reprehensible on the part of the Festival. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation (a non-profit organization) engages Festival Productions (a for-profit business) to produce the Fest, book the talent and generally make the whole event take place, as well as to sell the tickets and sponsorships. And Festival Productions’ main objective as a for-profit concern is to make as much money as possible. (Admittedly, they have a very delicate job balancing art with commerce, and overall are to be congratulated for doing a superior job).
So if Acura ponied up millions for a stage sponsorship that also ultimately generated more bodies (read more revenue) at the Jazz Fest, then Festival Productions is doing its job, and brilliantly, if money is the prime objective. Apparently there’s a profit split of some kind between Festival Productions and The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. That’s great for Festival Productions: if they perform well, they are compensated well.
But the question is and has been among locals for years: how exactly is the profit generated by the Festival used by the non-profit Jazz & Heritage Foundation? The Foundation finances the fine Heritage School of Music; to a certain extent, WWOZ (although even WWOZ lost out this year with the ban on their webcast due to a previous contract commitment to Acura); various street festivals; community grants (last year they totaled $93,000); their entrepreneur S.E.E.D. program; the Jazz Journey concerts; and the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic.
Festival Productions and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation tout the Jazz Fest’s contribution to the New Orleans economy. Its impact as an event that attracts visitors to the city is certainly very significant. And because the Festival is second only to Mardi Gras in attracting visitors, both the Foundation and Festival Productions heft a lot of political weight that they use to their benefit and to their business associates’ benefit. The two entities are, in effect, the city’s 1,000-pound Musical Gorilla.
Speculation regarding the Jazz Fest–and a lot of local bitching and grousing–would stop if the Foundation, as a non-profit organization, would publicly inform our community on exactly how much profit the Jazz Fest actually generates, how much of that profit is actually pumped back into the community the Foundation says it supports, and how much is used for its operating budget.
The Jazz Fest is as important to our local economy–if not more so–than Mardi Gras. But the Jazz Fest really isn’t like Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is not controlled by a “non-profit” Foundation board that consists of a few people and its business partner. If you’re going to operate with that much power and control over the business community, government and the local music community, then I humbly believe you should provide your constituency with that information. Ditto the Audubon Institute (but that’s a whole other issue…).
Louisiana Music Directory
It’s traditional in this issue that we begin our biggest annual project: the Louisiana Music Directory, which attempts to catalog every musician, band and music business in the state of Louisiana. It’s an awesomely tough job (keeping track of notoriously transient musicians is not exactly an easy task). So if you are involved in the music business in Louisiana, and you’re not listed in last year’s LMD, please take a moment to complete the form on page 83 of this issue and mail or fax it back to us before July 31. You can also add or change your listing by using our web site: offbeat.com. All listings are free in the print and on-line versions.
Vitamin E(urope)
Stephanie Nix of White Oak Productions is now also working up a Louisiana roster for Europe’s number one music download service, Vitaminic.com. With over 8.5-million page views per month, over 600,000 downloads per month, and eight separate country specific sites, according to Nix, “Vitaminic is New Orleans’ window to record sales in Europe.” Vitaminic’s policy of “absolute freedom” means the service is free, non-exclusive, and there is no long-term commitment. For more information contact Stephanie Nix at 504-891-0109, email: [email protected] and check out the Vitaminic website at www.vitaminic.com.
