The New Orleans Music Economy (NOME) initiative, designed by Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), builds on New Orleans’ reputation as America’s premier music city. Through the development of a thriving music economy that provides jobs and wealth for musicians, IP managers, publishers, marketers, legal representatives, and all aspects of the business of music, NOME will open opportunities for New Orleans to capture the value of its musical culture – and re-invest it at home.
Entering the music industry is extremely challenging, and while New Orleans has a deep pool of music talent, our regional music ecosystem lacks the ability to absorb our music sector graduates. These graduates must move on to more mature markets like L.A., Nashville, and New York to gain “real world” experience and grow their careers. Directly related, our artists are often pushed to these other markets to access management representation.
The Music Industry Career Development University Program (MIC’D UP) will help solve this dilemma by providing turnkey solutions to talent development in Greater New Orleans. Apprenticeships will start in the Summer of 2022.
The program goals include:
- Music sector graduates gain access to critical entry-level experience opportunities
- Local management companies benefit from available labor, and the opportunity to grow artist portfolios
- Local management companies gain capacity to diversify artist portfolios and attract artists from outside our immediate market
- Artists have more access to local representation, creating a higher probability of long-term, sustained management
The Music Industry Career Development University Program (MIC’D UP) model will follow the GNO, Inc. “GNOu” approach, connecting local Artists Management companies with talent cultivated from our region’s higher education partners. GNO, Inc. will work with industry and higher education partners to facilitate curriculum topics, structure, and funding sources to sustain the program.
The model approach for the program is as follows:
- GNO, Inc. will facilitate roundtables between higher education and industry partners to build curriculum for apprenticeship program
- Candidates will apply to partner companies during their senior year
- Selected participants will work with their respective companies to build networks and gain real world experience, while also completing course work
- At completion, apprentices have a number of potential options, including continuing on with their respective employers as mutually agreed, or entering the job market