New Orleans City Council pushing for musicians to be paid a higher wage

NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans musicians are the cultural bearers of this city; they carry part of its allure on their shoulders. But many of them say they can’t afford to live there. The New Orleans City Council is pushing for musicians to be paid a higher wage.

When you say ‘New Orleans,’ you think of the culture; you think of the music. But do you ever think of the musicians playing the music we all love and how they struggle to make ends meet?

Danovon Calhoun-Bettis, who goes by Bettis and is a musician, says it’s unfair for musicians to contribute so much to the culture of New Orleans but not get paid for it. He said, “It’s a struggle, literally a struggle. It’s a struggle day-to-day to be a musician in this city.”

He went on to say, “Musicians right now spend upwards of over 50% of their income on rent alone… If we’re spending the majority of money on rent, we’re not including food or health insurance or things of that nature.”

“There’s no way you can have the lifeline of the city providing you everything you need while not providing the basis of what you need.”

At a city Economic Development Committee meeting members approved new legislation that guarantees musicians working city-sponsored events get paid.

Councilwoman Helena Moreno says the ordinance requires each band member to be paid $200 per hour.

She said, “The airport is paying, where they are paying $175 for a musician for three hours… We’re going from $55 per musician at the airport to $200 per musician now.”

Councilwoman Moreno says our musicians are worth it, so she’s pushing for the new rules to be implemented sooner rather than later. She said, “Look, if there need to be budgetary requirements, then the council will make budgetary adjustments.”

As for Bettis, he says he loves his city. He just wants to be able to afford to live here like the rest of us, saying, “We lead this nation in music. We can go everywhere and be appreciated at top dollar. We want to be able to stay in our city and do that.”

The ordinance now needs to be voted on by the full council, which will happen on July 25th.

According to the City, some departments have already been paying the $200, but this ordinance will require all departments to pay this amount. The City says departments can pay more than $200 if they wish, but $200 is the base amount.

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