A look back at the year in Nashville music news
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After a year when Nashville saw some of its most iconic mom-and-pop concert venue operators lose their leases and scramble to find new locations, Metro is embarking on a long-discussed study to see what the city can do to stabilize its tumultuous live music industry.
Driving the news: PennPraxis, a nonprofit research organization affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, won a competitive bidding process and will lead the study.
State of play: In 2022, long-running independent concert venue operators have been forced out of their buildings and pondered relocations.
- Rising real estate costs and ever-growing corporate competition threaten those venues.
- The study will examine the health of the concert industry and possible government solutions to stabilize the independent operators' business.
What he's saying: "The study of our local independent music venues is ground zero for the creation of local policy-making efforts to support our music industry and ecosystem," Metro Councilmember Jeff Syracuse, who pushed the idea for the city to do the study, tells Axios.
- Syracuse says the study will look at policies, tax incentives and other support the government could offer.
- It will also examine private partnerships the city could pursue to help the broader live music industry, including the stagehands, booking agents and touring musicians in Nashville.
The fate of the live music business was one of several major stories Axios Nashville followed this year that shone a light on the state of the city's music industry:
📌 Improving diversity in country music: The Country Music Association's efforts to improve diversity and inclusion were front and center at this year's CMA Fest.
- More Black artists than ever before are emerging in country music. After a report found some people of color reported racial profiling or harassment at country events, the association banned confederate flag imagery at this year's festival.
- The CMA also hosted a showcase highlighting LGBTQ+ artists.
🎟 Government vs. Ticketmaster: Fan furor over the online sale of tickets to Taylor Swift's 2023 tour sparked government scrutiny from state and federal officials.
- Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti opened an inquiry into the online sale. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and other congress members are also looking into the issue.
As we look back on 2022, we also remember the Music City legends who died, including Country Music Hall of Famers Naomi Judd and Loretta Lynn, crossover icon Olivia Newton-John, Fisk Jubilee Singers director Paul Kwami and renowned journalist Peter Cooper.