Crescendo 2026
A six week music business intensive presented by The Ella Project and
the New Orleans Jazz Museum
SESSIONS RUN TUESDAYS, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. from October 13 to November17 at The New Orleans Jazz Museum at 400 Esplanade Ave, 3rd Floor
Designed and taught by musician and entrepreneur Lou Hill and attorney Bri Whetstone, Crescendo is a series of six free workshops targeting independent musicians held on successive Tuesday’s starting October 13. Sessions cover topics including copyright, licensing your music, collecting royalties, touring, festival gigs, album releases, and new technologies changing the music economy. There is no fee to attend Crescendo sessions, and though each session builds upon the last and artists are encouraged to sign up for the entire series, artists may pick and choose which sessions they would like to attend.
Though there is no fee, we do hope you will become an artist member of The Ella Project.
CRESCENDO 2026 SCHEDULE
For a detailed class schedule, please click here.
You can register for all six sessions of Crescendo here.
For individual sessions, please click the link next to the class.
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Tuesday October 13: Intellectual Property for Musicians
Copyright, Trademark and Patent, & their differences
Enforcing your Intellectual Property
The Registration Process and Recent Developments from the Copyright Office
The Difference between Publishing and Masters
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Tuesday October 20: Publishing and Revenue Streams
What Publishing Is and How Publishing Revenue Works
How to Use Someone Else’s Publishing Rights
Sound Recording Copyrights and What’s Covered
Common Revenue Streams from Masters
Royalties Derived from the Public Performance Right (“Performance Royalties”)
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Tuesday October 27: Record Deals and Contracts
Record Labels & What They Do
Basic Terms of Record Deals
How to Use Someone Else’s Master Rights (for a film/TV synch, or for sampling)
Contracts: band agreements, session musicians work for hire, venue agreements, co-writer agreements and/or split sheets
Pre-Release Paperwork
Common band/artist business models
Management: when’s the “right time” to get a manager
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Tuesday November 3: Case Study-How a Song Breaks in 2026
The Tik Tok’s Influence on the Industry
Streaming Services and Curators
Contracts and clearances
Touring adjustments and working with out of market media
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Tuesday November 10: Festivals and AI
Marketing/branding & live performance
Booking tours/ Working with Festivals
Merchandise
Artificial Intelligence in the Music Industry
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Tuesday November 17: Releasing, Pitching and Monetizing Your Music.
Releasing Your Music as an Independent Artist
Pitching Your Music to Record Labels & Publishers
Monetizing Your Music, After It’s Released
About Our Presenters
Lou Hill
Lou Hill was born and raised in the city of New Orleans, Lou Hill has been in the music industry for more than 20 years. Trained as a professional musician, Lou Hill has had the opportunity to work on multiple sides of the music business. As Founder, songwriter and drummer for the Billboard Top 20 charting band Water Seed, he has the proven experience to understand the ever-changing market. Formerly the head of marketing for Louisiana Red Hot Records, he is now heavily involved in helping the growth of the New Orleans’ music industry. Lou has presented multiple sessions for The Ella Project, at NolaMusicCon, and at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week.
Bri Whetstone
Bri Whetstone is an attorney at the New Orleans firm of Deutsch Kerrigan LLP. Before entering the practice of law, she worked LucasArts in San Francisco in Business Affairs where she handled Copyright applications, drafted contracts, managed international trademarks, and drafted the Lucas Companies’ social media policy. She is a 2013 graduate of Tulane Law School, where she served as an Honor Board Representative for three years, was a member of Tulane Inn of Court, and was the President of the Entertainment & Arts Law Society. She has been a longtime The Ella Project pro bono volunteer and has presented workshops for The Ella Project since 2017. In 2025, she was named one of The Gambit’s 40 Under 40, an annual celebration of New Orleans’ people under 40 whose work makes New Orleans a better place.
