We Built This City on Rock 'n Roll
It's undeniable Athens enjoys the soundtrack of an infinite playlist, that our resident musicians are one of our most precious commodities. But artists need more than a steady stream of coffee, cheap beer, and a vast selection of vintage T-shirts to make a life here. They need places to practice and record albums, people to help them get their music heard, others to advise them on how to protect their work — to really make it, they need nothing short of a small army.
Strip away for a moment the public face of the music scene, the musicians. Behind the estimated 600 bands in Athens, there's a cadre of support, from venues to promotions companies, record labels, production studios and media outlets — the makings of a music industry.
Far from being the sole province of major hubs like Los Angeles or Nashville, music is big business in Athens. While it's safe to say most people involved in the music scene in Athens work as musicians, there are many who make their livings (yes, it's possible) backstage and behind the scenes.
Changes in the way the music industry works over the last decade have opened up the field to anyone with a computer, regardless of locale (though a laptop and an Internet connection alone don't equal a business), and for that reason, it's no longer a requirement to set up shop (or studio) in a "music industry center," like New York or L.A., says Bruce Burch, director of the Music Business Program at the University of Georgia. Dozens of music-based businesses operating within the 125 square miles of Clarke County speak to the strength of the resident creative class and the viability of music as an industry in Athens.
Nelson Wells keeps a close eye on the Athens music scene as president of Team Clermont, a music promotions company with offices on College Square. With his shaved head and athletic presence, Wells looks more like he should be scarfing energy bars and zooming around town on a bicycle than caught in the crush of rock show at the Caledonia Lounge. But after 12 years of running one of the top indie music promotions companies in the country from a small city in the Deep South, he knows just about everyone working in music in Athens.
"No other town I've come across has as many musicians, painters, artists and industry packed into such a small footprint," says Wells. "Everyone in Athens knows at least one musician. I think that is pretty unusual." He estimates that three or four dozen music-related businesses operate in the area, though most go unnoticed by the average citizen. While relatively inconspicuous on the local level, the influence of such businesses is international in reach.
"This excerpt is reprinted with permission from Athens Magazine."
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