This week Sweet Home New Orleans presents an “Empower Musicians Seal of Approval” award to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s Ogden After Hours series. The award is presented to venues that demonstrate the most ethical practices in music presentation and the fairest treatment of performers. For the program’s first physical awards ceremony, Ogden Deputy Director/Southern Music Curator Libra LaGrone will receive the award  at Thursday’s regular Ogden After Hours event. Guitarist/songwriter Colin Lake performs after the presentation.

On SHNO’s decision to select the museum, Sweet Home Executive Director  Sue Mobley noted, “The Ogden may seem like an unusual choice for an initiative aimed at raising the bar for traditional music venues; however, the practices LaGrone has in place are exactly what we want to see. Musicians feel respected at the Ogden; they know there’s a contract, and that they will get royalties. A huge amount of care goes into doing things right.” The first three club venues that have received the Seal are d.b.a., Three Muses and Rock ‘N’ Bowl.

The Empower Musicians "Seal of Approval": Coming to a club near you?

Music venues that display the Empower Musicians Seal of Approval have been evaluated on a 30-point metric, which was developed by SHNO from musician focus groups. SHNO Program Director Sarah Gromko:  “These New Orleans venues have embraced music business best practices and excel in transparency and compensation of musicians, event marketing, venue sound quality, and social responsibility. “

The Empower Musicians Seal of Approval initiative is a fair-trade approach to live music performance.  New Orleans musicians make an average of only $17,800 a year, most of it from live performance, according to a SHNO survey. SHNO is now working with musicians to diversify and increase their revenue streams, while promoting professional compensation for live performance. The Empower Musicians Seal program is an attempt to involve local venues more in the process, as well as to give them an incentive to maintain integrity in the way they deal with musicians.

To receive an Empower Musicians Seal, venues must possess both appropriate city permits and be registered with performing rights organizations (PROs), such as BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. Applicants must meet certain qualifications that includes a metric that weighs many factors, including transparency as well as the amount of pay for music played. “There can be a need to educate, and that applies to musicians too,” says Gromko. “Some musicians don’t know that they can get royalties from their PROs if the venue is registered with the PRO. Musicians also need to be aware that marketing  and promoting shows is an area where both musicians and venues have responsibilities.”

SHNO’s Empower Musicians Seal of Approval initiative is supported by Fair Trade Music Portland and the Union of New Orleans Musicians AFM Local 174-496. OffBeat plans to note Seal of Approval recipients in its listings and advertising. Sweet Home plans to announce new venues on an ongoing basis, as they are evaluated and approved.  Venues interested in being considered can apply online here.