That is the conclusion of a year-and-a-half-long study commissioned by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Music Associations Task Force and carried out by Belmont University.
While it is a large number, the $6.4 billion figure is likely much smaller than some other industries’ impacts on the area, such as healthcare’s. The chief purpose of the study, however, was to give the broader business community a general sense of the music industry’s size and impact on the community – one worthy of being fostered more.
The study recommended creating a center for music industry development along with a directory of those in the industry. It suggested looking into incentives for creative talent, such as prizes and grants.
Belmont broke the results down into direct, indirect and tourism spending. Dr. Patrick Raines, dean of Belmont’s business college and professor of economics, said the methods used were the same as those used by other cities in measuring the impact of music and entertainment business.
The music industry’s direct impact – salaries, taxes, office space and so on – was put at $2.64 billion. The indirect impact totaled $1.32 billion. This is the ripple effect of money spent by the music industry and its employees. Music-related tourism added $2.42 billion.
Belmont’s study didn’t take into account the effects of consolidation among the four major record labels, primary economic drivers in the industry here. “We didn’t attempt to measure the shrinkage,” Raines said.
This study was the next step in an effort to bring the music industry and the broader business community closer together.
Tony Conway, president of Buddy Lee Attractions and leader of the task force, said there was unprecedented cooperation from the music industry and others in business to get the necessary information for the study.
“This has never been done before, and hopefully it can get better,” Conway said.
Nashville’s music industry and the city’s business community have traditionally had an uneasy relationship, with little interaction between the two.
Music labels and publishers have tended to operate as an island outside the mainstream business community. And there has been little understanding of how the music industry does its business. Mike Neal, the chamber’s CEO, noted in his opening remarks that the music industry was one of the most unrecognized industries in the city.
Yet Nashville has used the industry as part of its brand as Music City. Several years ago, music industry executives pressed for more involvement with the chamber and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Neal organized the task force. Butch Spyridon, the CVB’s president, included more music industry executives on a newly constituted board once the CVB split from the chamber.
You must be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, you can join our esteemed subscribers.