Describing Nashville as an "industry town" is simplistic to an extreme. Nashville's arts scene is much more than a place where country artists go to record. While it is true that most recording of country and Christian music occurs in Nashville, if the overall arts scene is considered, it is one of the most vibrant arts communities in the country. By mere coincidence I happened onto a report done by SMU's National Center for Arts Research that ranked large and medium/small communities according to arts providers (independent artists, arts and culture employment numbers, and arts organizations), arts dollars (program revenue, contributed revenue, total expenses, and compensation of staff and artists), and public support (state, local, and federal government support for arts programs). Nashville was ranked 2nd nationally, behind Washington, DC, but ahead of NYC. Austin made the list for the first time, ranking 18th, just ahead of Kansas City. Anyone in the top 20 isn't doing badly at all, but Nashville is on a roll. I have friends working in the (non-country) music business there, and they describe the scene as amazing.
Nashville is unique and many of the factors that led to its cultural preeminence don't apply here, but it is a very good example of a city leveraging its position in a specific genre to promote growth overall.
Coincidentally, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center is a virtual clone of Tulsa's PAC. The Nashville Symphony gave up on trying to make the lousy acoustics of the Andrew Jackson Hall work and built their own symphony hall, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The problem with the TPAC wasn't its size, it was its design. Chapman Music Hall in Tulsa and Andrew Jackson Hall in Nashville are very flexible spaces with many moving parts, but no configuration allows sound to project from the stage to the audience.
The summary for Nashville follows:
#2 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (pop. 1,792,649) Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN,
has long been known for its expansive music scene, but the emergence of world-class visual
arts and performing arts options has put Nashville – Music City – on the map as an artistic and
culturally rich destination. Nashville claims to be the largest songwriter community in the world,
with a strong presence of Americana-focused artisans and artists. There is robust public support
for the arts at the local level, and individual philanthropists have helped propel growth of
some of the larger cultural institutions in the last decade. To attract and nurture emerging artists in
all genres, Nashville leaders recently pooled funds to create Periscope, a six-week artist boot camp
that provides artists with pre-IPO startup training. Music and recording activity in Nashville exceeds
the level found in 99% of other communities. The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is the anchor for a rapidly expanding
visual arts scene. The Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center are main
performing arts venues. Nashville is in the top 5% of all cities on the Arts Dollars, Arts Providers and Government
Support measures.
The entire report can be read here:
http://www.smu.edu/~/media/Site/Meadows/NCAR/NCARWhitePaper-ArtsVibrancyIndexII