Workshop Scheduled to Teach Musicians Steps to Increase Earnings
The New Orleans Business Alliance and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation announced on Wednesday their collaboration for a workshop to help local musicians earn more money for their art. Presenters will focus on teaching local artists how register their copyrighted music and how to place it into film and TV productions. Details were shared in a press release.
“Nearly all New Orleans musicians and composers want to license their music for digital sales and for use in films, TV productions, commercials and videogames, but it requires the artists’ music be properly copyrighted, something many local artists neglect to do,” said Don Marshall, executive director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
Leading the discussion on how best to approach film and TV productions will be Robin Burgess, manager of Terence Blanchard and Quiana Lynell; film composer Jay Weigel; entertainment attorney Tim Kappel; and Victoria Adams Phipps of the New Orleans Business Alliance.
For the second part of the workshop, bounce artist Big Freedia and her manager Reid Martin of Midcitizen Entertainment explain the importance of registering copyrights for musicians and songwriters, and how to do it.
Attendees can sign up for free assistance sessions with the ELLA Project, a nonprofit that uses volunteer lawyers to help artists protect their copyrights. The attorneys will help musicians and songwriters organize their catalogs, and take the necessary steps to register their copyrights.
In addition, the first 50 artists who register, attend the Sync Up, sign up and complete an ELLA Project assistance session will earn a grant from the New Orleans Business Alliance to substantially offset the fees for copyright registration.
Attendees will be first in line for future meetups and showcases with music supervisors (who select the music licensed into film and TV productions) during the New Orleans Film Festival.
“Economic development only matters because people matter. For too long, local musicians who are important parts of making New Orleans known across the globe have not been fully able to realize the financial fruits of their artistry. We want to help change that,” said Quentin L. Messer, Jr. president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance. “When we increase the earnings of local musicians, we not only begin to recognize their value to our economy but also we position our city to be more economically competitive for everyone.”
Additional sponsors include: LED, GNO, Inc., The ELLA Project and the Recording Academy (the GRAMMY’s).
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