Music Row

Music Row is an area just to the southwest of Downtown Nashville, Tennessee that is home to hundreds of businesses related to the country music, gospel music, and Contemporary Christian music industries. Centered on 16th and 17th Avenues South (called Music Square East and Music Square West, respectively, within the Music Row area), along with several side streets, Music Row is widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry. In this area, one will find the offices of numerous record labels, publishing houses, music licensing firms, recording studios, video production houses, along with other business who serve the music industry, as well as radio networks, and radio stations. MusicRow Magazine has been a music industry resource reporting on the location for over 30 years. Lacy J. Dalton had a hit song in the 1980s about one of the streets, 16th Avenue, while the area served as namesake to Dolly Parton's 1973 composition "Down on Music Row". Sometimes the words "Music Row" are used as a metonymous nickname for the country music industry as a whole, just as "Madison Avenue" often refers to the advertising industry.