What Nashville Got Right About the Music Business—And What New Orleans Still Has to Learn

New Orleans is the birthplace of American music. Jazz, Bounce, Funk, Brass, even early Rock & Roll—this city birthed the culture that shaped the global sound.

But if New Orleans is so musically rich, why doesn’t it have the industry to match? Why do our top artists move to Atlanta, LA, or Nashville when it’s time to scale?

Here’s why New Orleans has the soul—but not yet the system—to compete with cities like Nashville. And what’s finally starting to change.

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1. We’ve Protected the Culture — But Not the Business (Until Recently)

For decades, Louisiana failed to legally protect its artists’ rights in a business sense. That changed in 2022, when lawmakers passed the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act, establishing posthumous rights of publicity for artists.

In Tennessee, the state aggressively protects music IP. Nashville doesn’t just have studios—it has policy. It has lawyers, publishers, and a government that treats music like an industry, not a cultural ornament.

It was a major move — ensuring that families of icons like Toussaint could benefit when their name, image, or likeness is used commercially. It also made Louisiana more competitive with industry hubs like Tennessee and California, which have long protected artist IP.

But here’s the problem:
We should’ve passed this 20 years ago. And it’s still not enough.

Where Tennessee built an entire legal ecosystem around music—New Orleans is only just beginning.

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2. No Central Music Industry Infrastructure

Nashville has:

• Publishing giants (BMI, ASCAP)
• Record label headquarters
• Sync agencies, management companies, and recording academies
• A tight feedback loop between city government and the music business

New Orleans has:

• Culture
• Incredible local talent
• Isolated pockets of music activity
• A handful of overworked nonprofits trying to do the job of 20 companies

We have world-class musicians, but no business pipeline. Artists leave because there’s no coordinated support system for development, monetization, and scale.

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3. The Tourism Economy Overshadows Ownership

Tourism powers the music scene in New Orleans. Brass bands on Bourbon, Frenchmen clubs, and second lines bring in serious revenue—but that money often flows to bar owners, event promoters, and tour operators.

Musicians become service workers, not owners.

Nashville flipped the model. Their musicians license songs, own publishing rights, and earn royalties. In New Orleans, too many of our artists survive off tips and gigs.

There’s no passive income stream for most musicians here. No real commercial music IP flywheel.

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4. Fragmented Ecosystem, No Flywheel Effect

An ecosystem is only as strong as its coordination.

In Nashville, industry players talk to each other. A songwriter meets a publisher who connects them to a label that books them at a venue that’s already scouting new talent. This creates a flywheel—where everyone’s effort reinforces someone else’s success.

In New Orleans, talent is scattered. Media, A&R, grants, and sync opportunities aren’t connected. The people who could build the infrastructure often work in silos, unsupported by city-level investment or industry partnerships.

Until we build connective tissue, we won’t build velocity.

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5. Lack of Long-Term Public Investment

While Nashville invested in tax credits, business incubators, and public-private music tech partnerships, New Orleans spent decades celebrating culture without building infrastructure.

This city loves second lines more than startup capital.

But that’s starting to change—with the right leadership, we could build the first Black-led music industry ecosystem powered by culture and tech. We could create the Silicon Treme of the South.

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What Can New Orleans Do to Catch Up?

To terraform into the next Nashville, New Orleans has to stop trying to be a festival city and start operating like a music capital.

Here’s what we need:

• Public Funding for Music Tech + IP Hubs
  Grants, accelerators, and publishing support—not just performances.
• Sync + Licensing Programs
  Let local artists license to TV, film, and games with real industry guidance.
• Artist Co-Ops + Ownership Models
  Flip the structure—artists should own venues, studios, and their own data.
• One Central Music Industry Dashboard
  A true hub where musicians can find managers, funding, feedback, and sync deals.
• A Unified Music Commission with Power
  That can cut red tape, attract business, and support exports.

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New Orleans is not short on talent. It’s short on structure.

The Allen Toussaint Act was a start. But policy alone isn’t power—we need ecosystem-level action, bold leadership, and Black ownership at every step.

We don’t need to imitate Nashville.
We need to become the New Orleans the industry never saw coming.