MONEY

Music Row studios to begin offering group tours

Nate Rau
nrau@tennessean.com
Ronnie Milsap's grand piano is housed inside Black River Sound Stage at 10 Music Circle S.

In a first-of-its-kind partnership, 10 Music Row recording studios have agreed to work with local tour companies to give groups a behind-the-scenes look at where Nashville's music is made.

The goal is to create a new revenue stream for commercial recording studios, which have been struggling in recent years, while also giving visitors another uniquely Nashville tourism option.

The partnerships were forged in the wake of the discussion about how to save Music Row. Metro is in the midst of pondering land use solutions for the historic area, but advocates believe that boosting tourism on the famous music industry road will keep the studios thriving.

"One of our primary goals is the new source of revenue for the studios," said Carolyn Brackett, senior field officer with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "The other is to add an experience for visitors to Nashville that hasn't been available before, which is to get inside and see how the music is made."

Brackett said it's too soon to know how much revenue will be generated annually.

Dave Kinney, president of All in One Destinations, one of the participating tour companies, said recording studio tours have been a long time coming in Nashville.

“This is my 23rd year with the company,” Kinney said. “We always got questions about what goes on in Music Row behind those closed doors.”

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Kinney said tour companies in the past used personal relationships to occasionally get access to recording studios, but there’s never been a formal offering. He said the stumbling block has always been logistics.

"I think part of it is the nature of the beast," Kinney said, explaining why group tours haven't taken place yet. "They're in the business of renting out their rooms and they operate 24-7 based on when the entertainers want to be there. That makes scheduling visitors complicated."

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Caitlin Koch, right, prepares for a session with recording engineer Michael Corbett at House of David on Jan. 21, 2016. House of David is one of 10 Music Row studios that will be participating in group tours.

By partnering with 10 studios, the various tour companies are able to work around recording session schedules to provide a behind-the-scenes look. If a group wants a studio tour for a specific day in 2017, Kinney said he can work with participating studios to find a time that makes sense for them.

Some of the studios are offering special packages that will allow visitors to see how the recording consoles work, or even make their own recording.

“We find there’s a lot of interest from the public in seeing recording studios,” said Pat McMakin, director of operations at Ocean Way Studios. “People can come in and see the spaces where the music is made.

“When this idea came up, we chose to look at our least busy day and find hours that are (open). That’s Sunday daytime hours for us, and we’re going to offer tours in those time slots.”

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McMakin said Ocean Way, which is owned by Belmont University, and the other studios hope the tours provide an additional revenue stream. Recording studios have been struggling in recent years as home-based recording has grown more cost effective and improved with higher quality sound. Some studios on the Row have shuttered, and developers have been pursuing redevelopment projects on Music Row, threatening the viability of commercial studios.

Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. President and CEO Butch Spyridon said recording studios are a great untapped resource for tourism in Nashville.

"People will love it," Spyridon said. "The whole world is attracted to and driven by experiential opportunities. We have the best of experiential in terms of live music. We're missing the working side of the music brand in terms of, 'How can we let somebody experience the business side?' "

Participating studios in group tours

Ocean Way Studios, Omnisound Studios, House of David, Spirit Music, Black River Sound Stage and Ronnie’s Place, Catch This Music Studio, Jay’s Place Recording Studio, Columbia Studio and the Quonset Hut, The Tracking Room, Sound Emporium Studios

Participating tour companies

Sweet Magnolia Tours, All In One Destinations, Art Henry Tours, Flair Tours, Grand Avenue Worldwide, Let's Go Travelin'