New Orleans & Company has announced the launch of New Orleans Music Month, a month-long celebration of music, culture and technology that will take place in October 2023. The event is a collaboration between local organizations, music festivals and business leaders to support the music industry’s growth in the community. As part of the festivities, New Orleans & Company is introducing a new music industry conference, NOLA MusiCon, from October 24-27, 2023, to provide a platform for industry professionals to share knowledge and network.
The conference will feature informative panels, interviews, interactive demonstrations, mentor sessions from music industry professionals and live performances from emerging and established local talent. The conference aims to educate and inform artists and music industry professionals and promote New Orleans as a viable place for the industry. This is an idea that has been an ongoing goal for several decades: to establish New Orleans as a music industry hub. LMNOP in the late 1990s attempted to create a South by Southwest-type event during the week between Jazz Fest weekends, and that attempt lasted three years, headed by by the late Louis Jay Meyers, who was one of the founders of SXSW. It failed because of lack of funding, politics and the fact that the SXSW model did not transfer well to the Jazz Fest period. There’s also the Cutting Edge Music Conference, which has existed for 30+ years (this year that conference takes place from August 24-26), but has never achieved the level of exposure and success of SXSW. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation also hosted the SyncUp Conference for years during Jazz Fest. That event foundered after its organizer, Scott Aiges (who was the Programs & Marketing Director at the Foundation), left the Foundation. A New Orleans Music Month effort is long overdue.
Other events planned for New Orleans Music Month include the annual celebration of music venues, NOLAxNOLA, and the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival. The festival will feature the public announcement of The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, a new 120,000 square feet museum proposed for a site near the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The festival is part of an effort to attract and support music companies in Louisiana, which has the most substantial incentives for music industry growth in the country.
New Orleans Music Month is an initiative that is part of the New Orleans Music Economy (NOME) plan to grow the music industry in the city. NOME commissioned a year-long study that resulted in a 30-pronged plan to promote the city’s music industry. The plan calls for an effective marketing campaign, a music industry hub and business development outreach efforts.
New Orleans remains a birthplace for amazing musicians, with multiple Grammy nominations and wins each year. With New Orleans Music Month, the city hopes to further promote and support the local music industry to visitors and locals. For more information about events, festivals, and conferences during New Orleans Music Month, visit their website.
