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Specific areas of the US are associated with specific industries. In those places, people who work in those industries can make a lot of money.

For example, Silicon Valley is known for tech. Software development is so lucrative for so many people there its driven the cost-of-living sky high.\\xa0In Los Angeles, the TV and movie industry creates enormous wealth for actors, directors, and a large number of allied careers.

New Orleans is famous for its music. But, with literally one or two exceptions, you\\u2019ll have a hard time meeting a musician or anyone else in the local music business who\\u2019s getting wealthy.\\xa0

Why is that?\\xa0

Reid Wick, Senior Membership & Project Manager at The Recording Academy \\u2013 the people who own the Grammy\\u2019s \\u2013 says its because when we were at the pinnacle of nationwide musical importance in the 1950\\u2019s, nobody had the foresight to develop a music business infrastructure. And we\\u2019re still paying the price for that today.

How do we fix it? Reid has ideas.\\xa0

It\\u2019s not like Reid or other people in the music business are sitting on their hands, doing nothing to change the status of musicians in New Orleans.\\xa0Take, for example MACCNO, Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans.

MACCNO was formed in 2012, spearheaded by musician Kermit Ruffins\\u2019 angry response to the city\\u2019s proposed crackdown on live music permits.\\xa0The organization has been a highly visible and vocal advocate for musicians\\u2019 and other artists\\u2019 ever since.\\xa0The Executive Director of MACCNO is Ethan Ellestad.

We know only too well that consensus alone doesn\\u2019t bring about change.\\xa0We all agree, for example, that there should be equal pay for equal work. But women are still paid less than men.\\xa0

Similarly, you won\\u2019t find a single person in New Orleans who disagrees with the notion that musicians should be paid at a level commensurate with their importance as some of our most valued citizens.\\xa0And yet, year after year, decade after decade, we\\u2019re still having this same conversation about musicians\\u2019 struggles to make a decent living here.

At some point this has to change. And when it does, it\\u2019s going to be because of the tireless efforts of people like Reid Wick and Ethan Ellestad.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at\\xa0NOLA Pizza\\xa0in the\\xa0NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can\\xa0 find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur\\xa0at itsneworleans.com

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