As Nashville's economy continues to grow, the acceleration brings not only an influx of new businesses to Music City, but also concerns for musicians, as many in the greater Nashville music community face ongoing struggles with issues such as the cost of living and housing and issues influencing live music venues across the city.
Nashville Musicians Union AFM Local 257, Music Venue Alliance Nashville, Belmont University, Broadway Entertainment Association and Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT) partnered with Sound Music Cities, which has conducted similar surveys in 20+ cities , including Austin, Texas and Chattanooga, Tenn Greater Nashville Music Census in 2024.
According to Website for the Greater Nashville Music Census, the initiative aims to “gain a better understanding of the current needs of the Nashville area's music community. The census will capture key information about our Nashville music economy to help the city and community make better-informed, data-driven decisions to support our music ecosystem moving forward.”
The census is set to go live in mid-February and will survey the greater Nashville area, which includes the 13 counties in and around Nashville.
Fueling the need for the census are concerns that as Nashville's economy booms, rising housing costs are forcing many in the Nashville music industry out of Nashville.
CFMT vice president of communications Kelly Walberg said in one statement, “In recent years, many of our music industry have migrated to surrounding counties where the cost of living can remain more affordable. So we think it's paramount to survey the entire geographic area to really understand the current landscape of our Nashville music ecosystem.”
“The economic growth fueled by our amazing music scene in Nashville is also causing many of the workers to be left behind,” said Belmont University Adjunct Professor of Music Business and LoveNoise Founder Eric Holt. statement. “Our hope is to give each of them a voice in this inventory and to come out of it with a clear path toward the solutions that are needed most and soonest.”
The results of the census are expected to be released in the summer of 2024 and will include three sections: a summary report, a data report and a DEI report.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/greater-nashville-music-census-announced-1235586731/