Most New Orleans musicians need other jobs to make ends meet, survey says
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Most New Orleans musicians rely on jobs outside the music industry to make ends meet, according to a new city-led survey.
Why it matters: Music is one of New Orleans' most beloved cultural assets — and one of its most valuable, helping drive the more than $9 billion in tourism spend in 2022.
The latest: The city released its first-ever music census on Monday, offering a demographic and creative profile of New Orleans' musicians.
- The full report gets pretty granular, with details on how many shows certain venues host per year to how musicians get access to rehearsal space.
- But the most telling details, says Ashlye Keaton, the co-founder of the Ella Project, one of the partners on the survey, make it clear that life in New Orleans is getting more expensive, but musician wages aren't going up.
What she says: "The city can't fix this problem," Keaton tells Axios New Orleans. "And it's a very big problem."
- "If Joe Schmo in his mansion on State Street loves living here and all the art and music and all the things that make it special," Keaton says, "then maybe it's in your best interest to have some understanding as to the welfare of the very people that create the thing that's special that attracts you and keeps you here."
Stunning stat: A whopping 86% of New Orleans musicians say low or uncertain pay is a "major issue," the survey data says, despite 89% of respondents saying they had at least a decade's worth of experience in the industry.
Between the lines: The data isn't exactly shocking, Keaton says.
- "It's no secret that musicians don't make a ton of money," she says, but the data is valuable for resource-providers who can align with what the community says it needs, especially in the survey results around what kind of financial assistance or policies are helpful.
How they did it: The survey was available to adults working in any capacity in the music industry across the New Orleans metro between May 10 and June 29.
- It received 1,504 responses.
Yes, but: Survey respondents were voluntary, so it wasn't exhaustive, and Keaton suggested some concern the demographics may not be reflective of the broader music community.
- That's alluded to in the report.
- "Most musicians who care and are talented enough to prosper don't trust taking this survey for fear it will be used against us to make things worse," reads one write-in response.
What's next: That's the big question.
- "What are we going to do with it? That will be the telling thing," Keaton says, "whether or not people who have the ability to address these challenges actually do it."