Nashville Country Music
Say "country music" and the first place that immediately comes to mind is Nashville, Tennessee! The city of Nashville has come to represent the height of country music and everything there is to achieve for a successful country music artist.
Nashville's nickname is Music City, USA, since a local radio announcer used the name in a 1950 broadcast to describe the city's vibrant music scene and it stuck. It has become the official nickname of the city as used by the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Legend has it that this name even dates as early as 1874 and was coined by Queen Victoria of England who, after hearing a performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, was reported to have said, "These young people must surely come from a musical city."
Nashville has had a long and important relationship to country music, as is documented at the famous Country Music Hall of Fame. The museum houses a large collection that documents the history of country music over two hundred years, including video clips and recorded music. Most notably, the museum hosts a frequent rotation of live country music performances. The Museum is an important icon of Nashville's country music scene and the building's exterior is decorated with images of music and windows in the shape of piano keys.
Nashville is also home to the Grand Ole Opry, a weekly country music stage concert that has hosted the biggest country music artists since 1925. The Grand Ole Opry show is considered an American icon and country musicians and country music fans flock to see the iconic show. The Grand Ole Opry is credited as being the show that made country music famous and membership in the Opry symbolizes a country artist's highest possible achievement. As one of the country's longest running musical shows and a one-time home to many of country music's biggest idols, the Grand Ole Opry is a name of much reverence in the country music world. Playing on the Grand Ole Opry stage is the high bright star that many new country music artists keep their eye on to inspire them to great success.
For any fledgling country musician, Nashville is the place to be. Country musicians will feel inspired by the enormous and vibrant country music scene. Musicians will find plenty of opportunities to hear great performances, join other musicians in a jam or establish a group for themselves. There are stages, performance venues, bars and honkey tonks to begin to make your entrance into the country music circle. Relocating to Nashville ensures that country artists will be at the center of the country music universe, right at the cutting edge where break out artists and performances are found and new stars are created.
Nashville has also become a major music recording and production center of the United States. All of the "Big Four" record labels, specifically Universal Music Group, Sony Musical Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group, are located in Nashville. There are numerous other independent record labels that also sign on country music artists. Nashville's music industry is worth multiple billions of dollars per year, and provides tens of thousands of jobs in the Nashville area. For blossoming country music artist hopefuls, Nashville is the place to go. Come to Nashville and maybe you too will land a record deal with any of the plentiful studios in competition for the next country music star.
In addition, with the many radio stations both large and small located in Nashville, a city which is estimated to be the 44th largest radio market in the United States, hard working and creative country music artists could score valuable air time and quickly jump to fame on the radio. Local radio competitions and small community run stations are excellent and ready ways for country artists to get access to an audience and fairly wide play. As Nashville is the capitol of country music, it is no surprise that the city also boasts the headquarters of both the Country Music Television and Great American Country national television stations.
Another great event on the country music circuit in Nashville is the CMA Music Festival held every June since 1972. Country music fans and musicians flock to the great Music City for four days of country music, and each year over 400 artists attend, perform 150 hours of concerts.
Nashville is recognized world-wide as the beautiful bustling capitol of country music. There is no better, luckier or more advantageous place to be for a country music artist looking for fame.