Music industry in disarray after the storm
Sat Sep 3, 2005 11:32 AM ET



By Bill Werde

NEW YORK (Billboard) - As flood waters rose in the
days after Hurricane Katrina's August 29 rampage
through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, so too did
concern for the myriad musicians, business associates,
friends and family in the region.

The scope of the loss and tragedy Katrina caused is
clear: It will be years before a locale renowned for
its entertainment industry is back to business as
usual -- if it ever is again.

For the music industry, the top priority became
tracking down the missing. Reports began to surface
that Antoine "Fats" Domino, songwriter Allen Toussaint
(who penned Patti LaBelle's hit "Lady Marmalade") and
others had not been heard from since Katrina touched
down. On Friday (September 2), Domino, the 76-year-old
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and his family were
reported safe, having been rescued by boat from
floodwaters near their New Orleans home.

The Neville Brothers, long associated with New
Orleans, were fine, but Charles Neville could not
locate his three daughters.

But it was not just well-known musicians who were
missing or displaced. The Gulf Coast, and in
particular the New Orleans region, is also home to a
thriving community of local musicians who make a
living playing jazz, zydeco and Cajun music,
especially for tourists.

"I just can't get ahold of anyone," said Jonno
Frishberg, a 45-year-old fiddler who earns his
livelihood playing Cajun music gigs. "You're talking
about a whole community of musicians like me, with no
unemployment insurance and no way to make a living."
Frishberg and his wife and two children are all safe.
"If I didn't have kids, I'd be looking to head far
away from here," he says. "I'll still have to go on
the road to make a living. I'm just looking for a way
to feed my family."

GRIM PROSPECTS

On Wednesday evening (August 31) retail music chains
were still scrambling to learn of their employees'
well-being, while wholesalers said they had not been
able to get through to check on their independent
accounts.

"We are in contact with our management team there, but
we are still trying to track down our employees,"
Tower Records senior VP of operations Bill Duffy said.
"We have heard from about half of them."

Phone calls to independent stores in New Orleans;
Biloxi, Miss.; and Mobile, Ala., either went
unanswered or offered only a busy signal.

"We have been unable to get through to any stores in
New Orleans," Super D indie sales manager Mark Grindle
reported. "We don't know how they are."

As for the retail locations themselves, executives
contacted by Billboard were assuming the worst: that
the stores were flooded, with massive damage to
merchandise.

The shape of live entertainment in the region will be
affected for months, if not permanently.

Among the large venues in the region hit by Katrina
are the Superdome, New Orleans Arena and Keifer UNO
Lakefront Arena in New Orleans; the Cajundome in
Lafayette, La.; the RiverCenter in Baton Rouge, La.;
the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi; the Mitchell
Center and Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Ala.; the
Pensacola (Fla.) Civic Center; and the entire
Mississippi Gulf Coast casino market.

Home to dozens of thriving music venues, New Orleans
is also home to promoters Beaver Productions and
Superfly Presents, as well as the site of the New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and the flagship
House of Blues club. "We believe everyone is safe,"
HOB's Kevin Morrow said; as of Wednesday, his club was
still dry. "We are looking to relocate some people
until we can figure out how long it will be till we
can start operations again," Morrow said.

"It's going to be a long road," said Don Fox,
president of Beaver Productions. "There won't be any
concerts in New Orleans for a while, at least three to
six months."

Katrina made a substantial impact on the radio
business in and around the Gulf Coast as well.
Entercom closed two of its four stations in the area
and received assistance from competitor Clear Channel,
which used a helicopter to help evacuate Entercom
employees from downtown New Orleans.

Broadcasters Clear Channel, Entercom, Citadel, Apex,
and the Louisiana State Network have partnered to form
the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans. Clear
Channel VP of news/talk programming Gabe Hobbs and
Entercom VP news/talk Ken Beck combined their staff to
produce news that will be broadcast over nine
surviving radio stations in the stricken city.

GOODWILL ABOUNDS

Many in the music industry not directly affected by
the hurricane set about to assist the victims. Some of
the higher-profile efforts included a September 12
Dave Matthews benefit concert at Red Rocks
Amphitheatre in Denver; a September 10 special on MTV,
VH1 and CMT; and "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," an
hour-long TV special scheduled that aired Friday
(September 2) on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, featuring Tim
McGraw, Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis and others.
"Our city will come back, but it will take the entire
country," Marsalis said. "When you take New Orleans
from America, our soul equation goes down."

Marsalis and special guests will highlight the Higher
Ground Hurricane Relief Concert, to take place
September 17 at Rose Theater in New York. The event
will be recorded by Jazz at Lincoln Center. A CD from
the event will be released by Blue Note Records with
all profits going to relief funds.

Putumayo World Music is also donating proceeds from
the sale of two records, "New Orleans," and
"Mississippi Blues," to relief efforts, through year's
end.

In the digital realm, Napster began selling a
"Download to Donate" compilation September 1, with
profits going to the American Red Cross. CD Baby,
where thousands of independent artists sell their
music online, set up a special page to sell CDs from
those who wanted their profits to go to the Red Cross.

And on radio, Clear Channel stations are airing PSAs
directing listeners to stormaid.com, where they can
make donations to the American Red Cross. In addition,
Clear Channel Entertainment is organizing benefit
concerts and collection drives.

In New York, the rapper Juvenile broke down at a
Thursday (September 1) press conference announcing a
September 9 telethon on BET. Juvenile lost his house
in New Orleans and had yet to locate certain family
members. The clothes he wore had to be purchased by
his publicist, and his label, Atlantic, had been
wiring money to his family, who lost everything in the
floods. "Like the effort we put toward war and the
tsunami," a red-eyed Juvenile said, "We need to put
forth the same effort to saving our own country."

Master P, rapper and head of the label No Limit, was
also at the press conference, and also lost a home.
Master P launched the organization Team Rescue
(teamrescueone.com) to get supplies to those left in
New Orleans.

And while the various factions of the robust New
Orleans hip-hop scenes had been competitive in the
past, Master P said he plans to do an album and tour
with members of the Cash Money label and Juvenile. "It
ain't about No Limit or Cash Money," Master P said.
"It's about New Orleans. We'll do whatever we have to
do for our people."

Reuters/Billboard





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