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I just saw a Rachel Ray show which took place in Nasheville. They showed the various music venues and it looks like a place to check out. I can't believe we've not been there yet.
Is Nashville mostly country music or is there also lots of rock, jazz, and blues? How does it compare to Austin's music scene?
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI)
10 Music Square East
Music Row in Nashville developed in the 1950s as a center of the recording industry. According to the BMI History Book, "Nashville was rapidly becoming one of the nation's major music centers. Business was so brisk that when WSM announcer David Cobb casually referred to Nashville as 'Music City U.S.A.' during a 1950 broadcast, the term stuck. Furthermore, while it has become common to think of country music as antithetical to rock & roll, it is not only one of its main roots but mutually supportive of its development in many ways. Elvis's signing by RCA Victor was facilitated by Julian and Jean Aberbach, owners of the prestigious Hill & Range publishing firm, in exchange for the publishing rights. With his signing, RCA acknowledged the need for a branch office in the Southeast and chose Nashville as the natural location. It was there Elvis's first RCA recording sessions occurred. Nashville played an even more crucial role in the career of the Everly Brothers. Sons of country musicians Ike and Margaret Everly, they had come to the attention of Chet Atkins in 1955, and he, in turn, introduced them to Wesley Rose, who signed them as songwriters to Acuff-Rose. Rose's friend, Cadence Record owner Archie Bleyer, heard the duo and teamed them up with one of Acuff-Rose's foremost songwriting teams, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The result was a string of classic hits, including "Bye Bye Love" (#2 on the pop charts in 1957), "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Wake Up Little Susie," and "Bird Dog." Nashville's stature was clearly growing in the music industry, and any number of New York and Hollywood-based publishing companies set up offices in the city. However, as rock & roll now dominated the airwaves, country sales dropped. Record executives realized that country must modify its format to compete in the marketplace and "cross over" onto the pop charts. Two of the chief architects of this transformation were Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins. Bradley, a former staff pianist and bandleader for WSM, was owner of one of the first recording studios on what was soon to be known as Music Row, Nashville's Sixteenth Avenue South. Atkins, a virtuoso guitarist, had been working part time as an A&R assistant for RCA since 1952 and was appointed to run its new Nashville studio in 1957. Each found a way to soften and sweeten country music, thereby facilitating its wider public acceptance. Mellow strings and vocal choruses were added, and the smooth, sophisticated result was eventually dubbed the Nashville Sound." (quote from BMI 50th Anniversary History Book)
ASCAP
2 Music Square West
ASCAP
2 Music Square West
Sony Music Publishing
8 Music Square West
TN2 Entertainment
Music Square West
Its great for tourists and music lovers. Horrible for musicians. There are people living in their vans there. There are honky tonks where people are playing from 6 am to 6 am .
A lot of the veteran songwriters act high and mighty with chips on their shoulders and don't like new folks gettin' on their turf. You go to the Bluebird Cafe and you'll see what I mean....
It takes forever to get booked in Nashville- esp if you're out of town. Avoid Nashville if you're a musician. Play a few open mics there, but try other places. That town is slick, slick, slick !
The Blue Bird has open Mike night every Monday Night. I have nbeen there a few times. Many stars have been discovered there. Its in the Green Hills section in a strip mall, right across the street from the upscale Mall @ Green Hills.
Diane In Music City
Ok...I currently live in Florida and I gotta jump in on this one.....
If you have a band that plays any variation of punk, or mellow acoustic rock, Gainesville, Florida is a good place....lots of bars and tons of college kids hungry for music. Now, if you are a producer, or recording engineer, this is no place to "make it" in the music biz.
Miami, Florida is perfect for tropical latin acts (salsa, reggaethon, merengue, bachata, etc...). It is also a good place to make it in the music biz if you are interested in latin music.
In my case, I love indie, underground, weird rock like Harvey Danger, The Decemberist, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, etc... and nothing beats the Pacific Northwest for this type of music (Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., all the way down to San Francisco). This region have the best non-mainstream music scene in North America. There's a Seattle radio station named KEXP 90.3 owned by the University of Washington that constantly play local alternative music from this region. The Verge in XM radio constantly play music from Vancouver unsigned bands.
The city you choose depends on the music you are into and if you either have a band or you are more into the business side of music.
Art1979 and Vasinger, you're both right. I'm from NY and I'm a singer and musician. It's not the place to come for a music career like it used to be maybe 15 or 20 years ago. Great and I mean great bands and artists are rarely seen or heard here anymore. The music and art scene has been replaced by expensive rent, Starbucks and Banana Republic. Xpat, I'd go for Nashville or LA. I've heard Texas also has a good music scene. Good Luck!
Wow, the west coast is really getting the shaft here LOL. L.A., San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle (and up to Vancouver) all have pretty vibrant music scenes.
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Xpat's music quest
