Nashville Mulls Protecting Music Row

Local music industry workers and a private nonprofit have joined forces to protect Music Row as a place of cultural and historical significance.

Photo: AP Photo / Mark Humphrey

Bob Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, speaks during the announcement the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live will open a Grammy Gallery in Nashville.

The Music Industry Coalition (MIC) and National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) submitted recommendations to local officials to designate the neighborhood as a “cultural industry district,” according to The Tennessean.

The recommendations suggested that the growth of Music Row could be nurtured through adoption of the “cultural industry” label, which could allow low-interest loans, tax credits and exemptions and a revamped tourism strategy.

MIC was formed in 2014 when Music Row’s Studio A was almost replaced with condos before independent philanthropists preserved the original structure.

The NTHP is a private, nonprofit organization with a focus on preserving areas of historical significance. Planning Department Executive Director Doug Sloan called the new recommendations “a vital step in planning an appropriate future for Nashville’s most iconic neighborhood.”