Economy

The Secret to Nashville's Music Economy

Dissecting the rise of an activist, inclusive, place-based artistic community.
Harrison McClary / REUTERS

Nashville has long been hailed as one of America’s top music hubs. In addition to its wide-ranging cultural influence, the city’s music scene has grown faster than any other—including superstar cities like New York, L.A., and London. Despite having the most vibrant country music scene in the world, Nashville has also extended its reach into pop and rock: Taylor Swift got her start there, both Jack White and the Black Keys relocated there, and popular acts like El Movimiento and Paramore call Nashville home. Back in 2009, I went so far as to dub Nashville “the Silicon Valley of the music business.” To this day, Nashville continues to top various lists of America’s fastest-growing and most livable places.

Daniel B. Cornfield’s new book, Beyond the Beat: Musicians Building Community in Nashville, provides important new insight into Nashville’s music scene and broader clues to the city and region’s economic success. A professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, Cornfield digs deeply into the urban and community fabric that underpins Nashville’s music scene, drawing on detailed interviews with 75 Nashville music professionals.