Guaranteed base wage for musicians.
New Orleans City Code § 70-822
in effectSec. 70-822. - Guaranteed base wage for musicians.
(a) For purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Musician" means any person engaged in the act of musical performance, whether individually or as part of an ensemble, and includes vocalists, DJs or deejays, conductors, and persons playing musical instruments. The term does not include non-musical accompaniment, such as back-up dancers, or individuals employed to produce a musical performance, such as sound technicians, managers, and other staff; and
(2) "Musical act" means one or more musicians engaged to provide a musical performance and includes bands, marching bands, orchestras, and any other type of musical ensemble or group.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, any musical act compensated with public funds for a musical performance shall be paid, excluding tips or other gratuities, at least $200.00 per musician, per hour of actual musical performance, with a minimum compensation of $200.00 per musician for a performance. A musical act with ten musicians or more shall be paid at least $2,000.00 per performance. Nothing herein shall prohibit the city or any public agency from paying in excess of the minimum wage or preclude the city from paying additional monies, at an agreed-upon rate, to compensate non-musician members of a musical act or for the time associated with non-performance elements of an engagement, such as loading, unloading and sound checks.
(c) The musician minimum wage set forth in the preceding subsection shall be required in circumstances where the city, a political subdivision established in the Home Rule Charter, or a city-owned corporation:
(1) Contracts directly with a musical act for a musical performance, or
(2) Contracts with a third party to stage an event featuring a musical performance, unless the contract contains a provision asserting that no public funds payable under the contract will be used to fund or subsidize the cost of the musical performance.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to performances by groups whose members are uncompensated volunteers, such as school musical groups and musical groups affiliated with religious institutions.
(e) Nothing herein shall prohibit any musical act agreeing to provide services to the city without compensation, or at a reduced rate, provided that the city shall not unreasonably solicit uncompensated musical performances from musical acts or otherwise engage in practices intended to circumvent the minimum wage set forth herein, such as engaging a musical act to work on a tips-only basis.
(f) The musician living wage thresholds established herein shall be annually adjusted for inflation, as defined by the Consumer Price Index calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as applied to the South Region, except that in no instance shall the living wage be adjusted downward. The first adjustment shall become effective on January 1, 2026 using the Consumer Price Index figures provided for the preceding calendar year, and on January 31 each year thereafter.
(g) When the city, a political subdivision established in the Home Rule Charter, or a city-owned corporation expends public funds for a musical performance, each entity shall submit a quarterly report to the clerk of council listing the name of the musician or musical act, the duration of the musical performance, and the amount of compensation provided to the musician or musical act as well as any additional compensation provided for services including but not limited to loading, unloading, and soundcheck.
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 29990, § 1, 7-25-24)
Source: City of New Orleans, Code of Ordinances and Home Rule Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH70FI_ARTVIIILIWAOR_S70-822GUBAWAMUFetched: 10/28/2026