Mayor Karl Dean and the Nashville Music Council held it’s first public meeting on June 29th at the W.O. Smith Music School. The NMC was created by the mayor and the local Chamber of Commerce, and is made up of 50 music industry professionals ranging from Mark Montgomery (2007 Nashville Business Journal’s Entrepreneur of the Year) to Tim DuBois (Pollstar’s Record Executive of the Year). The council’s goals are to expand the Music City brand, grow public education music programs, increase live music presence, and produce more ‘creative types’ in Nashville.

Nashville Music Council certainly understands the role technology plays in the new music business – or the “wild west” as Ken Levitan (President of Vector Management) calls it. In an attempt to bring in more creative businesses, plans may already be in the works for entrepreneurial tax incentives in designated areas. Other efforts for small business and ‘starving artists’ have been underway such as developing a support infrastructure, namely housing. It is reported that meetings with Metro Development have already taken place.

One thing is clear about the branding of the music city – to avoid being pigeonholed as the ‘country capital’. In the latest YouTube video from the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the phrase ‘all genres’ is used 3 times. The Nashville Music Council competes with other similarly formed groups in cities like Austin and Chicago, all with goals of being a music epicenter.

However, not everyone is excited about the music council. Some people have concerns that the city can barely support the starving artist types now, and that bringing more in will not help music in Nashville. Although the expansion might have its growing pains, it can certainly aid in the future and buy Nashville the Music City title it so deserves.