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# The Collapse Of Nashville’s Musical Middle Class
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/the-collapse-of-nashvilles-musical-middle-class/
- Published: 2015-01-08T11:59:00.000Z
- Updated: 2015-01-08T11:59:00.000Z
- Description: America's Music City is turning into Music Business City. Jim Reilley, independent songwriter and co-founder of the New Dylans knows the struggle of the uncertainty that plagues his profession. Every. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/01/the-collapse-of-nashvilles-musical-middle
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: DIY Advice & Tips, Indie Music, Music Business, Songwriting & Music Publishing, AdBrite, Aly & Fila, American Songwriter, Artist, Audience, Blake Shelton, E-book, songwriter, Twitter, YouTube, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-01-21 10:28

[![635559073473995696-Day-1-jim-and-reese](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b7c730f6eb970b-150wi "635559073473995696-Day-1-jim-and-reese")](http://hypebot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b36c69e201b7c730f6eb970b-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

****America's [Music City](http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.1666666667,-86.7833333333&spn=0.1,0.1&q=36.1666666667,-86.7833333333%20%28Nashville%2C%20Tennessee%29&t=h&ref=hypebot.com) is turning into [Music Business](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music%5Findustry?ref=hypebot.com) City. Jim Reilley, independent songwriter and co-founder of the New Dylans knows the struggle of the uncertainty that plagues his profession. Every September, he wats to hear if he has a job for another year. Reilley is no stranger to anxiety, "That's how I've lived for the last 16 years, living one year at a time," Reilley said. "You can't help but think about that every day." Do what exactly happened to music's middle class? The answer probably lies within your nearest electronic device.**

According to the [Nashville Songwriters Association International](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville%5FSongwriters%5FAssociation%5FInternational?ref=hypebot.com), **the number of full-time songwriters in Nashville has fallen by a staggering 80 percent since 2000.** The unrelenting decline in album sales hit a new low this summer when they went below 4 million in August – a first for the industry since it started tracking data in 1991\. Streaming services like [Spotify](http://www.spotify.com/?ref=hypebot.com), [Pandora](http://blog.pandora.com/pandora/?ref=hypebot.com), etc. have been a breath of life into a bleeding industry, but even as popularity rises, their sustainability has proved fleeting and their payouts certainly don't sustain careers.

[![Guitar-Music-Art-l](http://a1.typepad.com/6a01901b9a0100970b01bb07d4d659970d-150wi "Guitar-Music-Art-l")](http://a1.typepad.com/6a01901b9a0100970b01bb07d4d659970d-popup?ref=hypebot.com)

Nashville has notoriously been the epicenter of creative musical collaboration, but the once vibrant community is losing steam – and it's not the only one. **Unfortunately for the the blue-collar songwriters, bands, and studio musicians, what's happening in Nashville scales across the industry.** NSAI attributed the decline in songwriting jobs to the rise of music piracy, the decrease in album sales and increase in streaming services.

If there's a game changing move to be made, it would be to initiate and implement a fair market rate for singers, songwriters and musicians across the board. Without that standard, the collapse will almost certainly continue.

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