Music Row

Music Row is a historic district in Nashville, Tennessee, that spreads across several residential streets between 16th and 17th Avenue South. The converted Victorian-era houses hold recording studios, record labels, and music publishers in buildings that have largely kept their original residential character.

The district began in 1955 when Owen Bradley opened the first recording studio in a converted house on 16th Avenue. Over the following years, more studios and music companies settled in the neighborhood, making Nashville the center of the country music industry.

The name emerged in the 1960s when the concentration of recording studios made this neighborhood the main address for country recordings. Today you see music professionals moving between studios while visitors photograph the building facades where many famous albums were produced.

Most studios are not open to the public, but walking along the streets shows the exterior architecture of the historic buildings. Several small museums and souvenir shops at the edge of the district offer insights into the music history of the area.

RCA Studio A from 1965 still operates with its original equipment and large recording hall where artists record albums today. The studio was saved from demolition in 2016 and continues to serve as a working recording space for contemporary productions.