Music & Entertainment
Nashville is known around the world as Music City. With a diverse music and creative industry which includes all genres, Nashville has the highest concentration of music industry establishments in the nation. Nashville's music and entertainment industry is a combination of global corporations, small businesses and independent artists, songwriters and musicians, and includes music performance, composition, distribution, promotion, production, training and education, artists' rights groups, music organizations, live music venues and equipment. Why be anywhere else? Download our music and entertainment industry brochure.
CMA believes being a part of Music City means being a good neighbor. We launched our headquarters here in 1958 and, while our organization operates globally, we continue to host our events at local venues and invest in the community by working with other local companies. From renowned chefs and luxe hotels to family-friendly activities and a vibrant nightlife, Nashville has it all and more. Since 2010, our CMA Foundation has poured millions of dollars into Metro Nashville Public Schools to empower the next generation of Nashville and ensure every child here has equitable opportunity to participate in high-quality music education.
Nashville's Music Industry
- $15.6 billion industry within the Nashville MSA
- 190+ recording studios, 3,000 working musicians, and 80 record labels in the Nashville region
- 43,000 music industry jobs in the Nashville area
- 30x more music industry activity in Nashville than the nation overall
Music and Entertainment Industry Workforce
SOURCE: EMSI, 2020
| OCCUPATION | NASHVILLE |
# OF EMPLOYEES | AUSTIN | # OF EMPLOYEES | ATLANTA | # OF EMPLOYEES | CHARLOTTE | # OF EMPLOYEES | DENVER | # OF EMPLOYEES |
| Accountants | $35.57 | 11,132 | $38.48 | 11,636 | $42.71 | 27,290 | $43.47 | 14,560 | $42.70 | 26,059 |
| Arts, design, entertainment and media occupations | $32.53 | 26,879 | $29.39 | 25,930 | $28.75 | 64,994 | $29.01 | 20,062 | $29.34 | 34,428 |
| Audio and video equipment technicians | $23.92 | 1,038 | $20.69 | 726 | $23.08 | 1,911 | $24.45 | 502 | $23.07 | 788 |
| HR managers | $47.29 | 1,651 | $59.93 | 1,347 | $61.40 | 4,798 | $68.36 | 1,383 | $74.15 | 1,589 |
| PR specialists | $33.57 | 1,483 | $32.24 | 3,821 | $29.72 | 5,167 | $35.36 | 1,779 | $34.87 | 3,956 |
| OCCUPATION | NASHVILLE | # OF EMPLOYEES | INDIANAPOLIS | # OF EMPLOYEES | PHOENIX | # OF EMPLOYEES | RALEIGH | # OF EMPLOYEES | TAMPA | # OF EMPLOYEES |
| Accountants | $35.57 | 11,132 | $37.81 | 9,864 | $36.86 | 20,073 | $37.02 | 7,372 | $37.50 | 12,504 |
| Arts, design, entertainment and media occupations | $32.53 | 26,879 | $26.37 | 18,756 | $28.31 | 36,772 | $28.04 | 12,552 | $25.41 | 21,892 |
| Audio and video equipment technicians | $23.92 | 1,038 | $21.76 | 484 | $21.54 | 909 | $21.73 | 247 | $21.58 | 665 |
| HR managers | $47.29 | 1,651 | $53.54 | 958 | $57.16 | 2,660 | $60.02 | 708 | $58.95 | 1,267 |
| PR specialists | $33.57 | 1,483 | $30.93 | 2,078 | $33.08 | 3,398 | $30.93 | 1,541 | $27.92 | 2,183 |
For more information or assistance with your site selection process, please contact a member of our economic development team.