Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I submit my band’s information to be included on the Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange web site?

A: The Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange is open to all Louisiana-based musicians.

We currently have the ability to host one song per artist or band.

All band information and data is posted by Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange administrators.

To have your band included, please send the following information to talent(at)jazzandheritage.org:

1. Your name
2. Your address (including City, State and ZIP code)
3. Your telephone number
4. Your e-mail address
5. The band’s or artist’s name (if different from 1 above)
6. Band’s address (if different from 2 above)
7. Band telephone number (if different from 3 above)
8. Band e-mail address (if different from 4 above)
9. Band web site (if you have one)
10. A brief (500 words maximum) artist biography
11. One complete song in MP3 format. Choose a song that best represents your band’s style. If possible, choose a song that you wrote and/or to which you control the rights.
12. Name of song
13. Name of album on which the song appears
14. Name of the song’s composer(s)
15. Performance rights organization affiliation (e.g., ASCAP, BMI, SESAC)
16. Genre of the song. See www.talent.jazzandheritage.org for a list of examples, but you may suggest genres that are not yet listed on the web site.
17. Mood of the song. See www.talent.jazzandheritage.org for a list of examples, but you may suggest moods that are not yet listed on the web site.
18. Key signature of the song (A-G, sharp/flat/natural, major/minor).
19. Tempo of the song (slow, moderate, fast, waltz, etc.)
20. Record label name, contact person, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (required). For independent bands, this may be the same as the artist or band (if you make and own your own recordings). This information refers to the owner of the master recording, and is necessary for securing “master use rights” when licensing music for film, TV, commercial and videogame productions.
21. Music publisher name, contact person, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (required). For independent bands, this might be the songwriter (and possibly the same as the artist or band). This information refers to the composer and/or music publisher of the song, and is necessary for securing “synchronization rights” when licensing music for film, TV, commercial and videogame productions.
22. Booking agent name, contact person, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address (required). For independent bands, this may be the same as the artist or band. This information is necessary for securing live performance engagements.
23. Tour dates you may have currently on your schedule. Please provide date, name of venue, city, state and country.
24. If you have a video of your band posted at a video sharing site like YouTube, provide the embed link and we’ll add it to your band page at the Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange.

Q: Are you giving away my music?

A: No. The Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange offers music in streaming audio only – no downloads.

Q: Are you giving anyone the right to use my music in a movie, TV show, commercial or videogame?

A: No. The only way a film, TV show or other production can gain the rights to use your music is by contacting you (or your representatives) and making a deal for the “master use” rights and the “synchronization” rights. 

Q: Are you charging me for this service?

A: No. This is a pilot program, and at this stage in its development the Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange is a completely free service of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. We have funded this project with our own resources and with grants from various agencies of the Louisiana state government.

We don’t charge artists a fee to post their music and information on the web site, and we don’t charge a commission for gigs booked or music licensed through the site.

But we’re also only hosting one song per artist. In the future, if we host more songs per artist we may need to introduce a fee to cover the costs of bandwidth and hosting.

And if a large amount of our staff time is taken up with facilitating gigs and licensing generated by this site, we may introduce a small administration fee.

But for now this is a pilot program that is completely free.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission that includes economic development. If we can leverage our brand visibility and recognition to connect the independent musicians of Louisiana with festival buyers for live performance employment, and with film/TV production to generate music licensing income, then we’re doing our job.

Disclaimer and Liability Waiver

The Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange is an information resource. It is a directory of Louisiana whose goal is to connect Louisiana artists to professional music buyers for live performances and licensing music to visual media productions.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, which established and maintains the site, is neither a booking agent nor a music publisher.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation makes no promises of employment or income to artists who are listed on this directory.

The Foundation accepts no responsibility for communications or business dealings among users of this web site.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation accepts no responsibility for verifying the “master use” and “synchronization” rights ownership of music posted on this site.

All users accept responsibility for their own actions and hold the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation harmless and free of liability for any business dealings arising from the use of this site.

The Jazz & Heritage Talent Exchange is intended only as an information hub that helps connect Louisiana musicians with professional music buyers (for live performance engagements and music licensing) in the larger marketplace. The Talent Exchange is not a music distribution site.

By submitting copyrighted material, you acknowledge that the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation may use that material in connection with the Talent Exchange on a royalty-free basis. We disclaim all liability for any royalties that might otherwise result from the use of your material on the Talent Exchange. This may include Public Performance, Digital Performance and/or Mechanical royalties. Please DO NOT submit any material for which you are not authorized to waive such royalties.