What are some realities about being a musician in nashville ?

[u/IllustriousElk8436]

Hi all im from asia singapore and i have a dad that has been a musician all his life. He didnt make good financial decisions so he does not have any savings and has to work in his 70s partially disabled. A gig here you get around 150 to 200 dollars but the music scene is very small we dont have a strong arts scene and so i know people that are being paid 50 to 100 dollars for a gig sadly. It is very hard for artist to make it beyond my small country unless they go abroad

I have never been to the usa although i have family members who have moved there and i use to hear of nashville and texas being quite famous for country music . I like to listen to dolly parton, carrie underwood , ella langley , taylor swift although she is in pop now, pistol annies and for rock and pop three days grace , seether, Evanescence, fleetwoodmac, alice in chains, skillet and a lot of others which is too long to list.

1. What are some realities you can tell me about the music scene in nashville ?
2. How much do musicians get paid whether its for gigs, touring and being able to make a living out of music.
3. What is talent pool like - do you get musicians from all over the world trying to make it or mostly americans? How talented are they ?
4. Is everyone hoping to get noticed by a record label or a publisher ?
5. Are those guitarist or sound engineers hired to work for major label or big tour musicians more talented or knowledgeable vs those who work for independant artist ?
6. Is the music dream still alive ?

Sorry for so many questions im just really curious about the music scene and i hope to visit some cities in the usa and nashvile someday .

[u/Full-Commission4643]

It's all corporate now. Broadway is like City Walk at Universal Studios or Downtown Disney at Disney world....but country themed.

They don't REALLY care about the things they say they do. It's all about extracting as much money out of tourists through the current mainstream popularity of country music.

Nashville hasn't had its magic since 2013ish. It went downhill fast after the flood.

[u/danceswithshibe → u/Full-Commission4643]

It’s like this with literally everything. Everything just gets bought out and turns corporate as fuck and we all have to endure everything being unauthentic garbage.

[u/XenuWorldOrder → u/danceswithshibe]

I miss the good ‘ol days of the music industry when the labels were all a 501c3 and the artists played music simply for the joy it brought to others.

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/danceswithshibe]

Capitalism with no boundaries

[u/potatoboy247 → u/danceswithshibe]

The Industrial Revolution and its consequences…

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/potatoboy247]

More like unchecked capitalism where corporations are considered individuals (a human person), have more rights than actual humans when it comes to business, and are encouraged through legislation to be greedy....yea

[u/s_l_e_e_p_y_g_a_l → u/Full-Commission4643]

absolutely. peak nashville for songwriters was like 2010/11. i say the same thing, nashville is all corporate rat race now. ITS NOT FUN ANYMORE!

[u/Ragfell → u/s_l_e_e_p_y_g_a_l]

Man, I remember those days. Several friends of mine were already making waves as freshmen in college.

[u/Living-Prune8881 → u/Full-Commission4643]

Yes it's absolutely awful. Same bar same building own by the same 2 people playing the same goddamn songs. 😭

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/Living-Prune8881]

The city wouldn't save RCA Studio B where Johnny Cash recorded and Ben Folds of all people had to buy it and save it from becoming a condo.

Didn't the city allow for Earnest Tubbs Record Shop to be torn down and turned replaced with Kid Rocks All American Circle Jerk or some stupid shit?

They don't give a fuck about their history at all! Not unless it's at the Opry or the Ryman! Real talk, since I don't live there anymore, when's the last time you heard of ANYONE big having some kind of secret set at Blue Bird Cafe? There used to be stuff like that ALL THE TIME with lines going down the block.

Nashville blows. Republicans blow. The state government has sucked everything good out of that town possible.

[u/iUsedtoHadHerpes → u/Full-Commission4643]

The fact that I had to expand your comment to see it tells me that the socialites don't like your valid testimony here and have downvoted you out of sight.

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/iUsedtoHadHerpes]

I have 49 up votes!

[u/KentuckyWildAss → u/Full-Commission4643]

Nashville has been shit for 30 years...

[u/dansbydog → u/KentuckyWildAss]

I keep reading the comments and I keep coming back back to this one. I’m a true native.. you’re not wrong! The 80’s in this town and 90’s were amazing! Freaking fantastical.

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/dansbydog]

Yup. After the 2010 flood, it was decided they were going to get rid of the past and any history they couldn't profit from. I've never seen anything sell out that fast and that hard. Almost everything I liked about Nashville (going back ten years ago) is totally gone. Replaced by corporate bullshit and hipster cocktail bars charging $28 a drink. The NFL team doesn't even care! Worst owners other than maybe the Browns. All they want is a new stadium so they can attract a future Super Bowl. It's all smoke and mirrors. The place is dried up.

[u/Full-Commission4643 → u/KentuckyWildAss]

Not true