We've all heard Nashville referred to as "Music City" before, but what's fascinating is how predominantly the industry as a whole is concentrated there.

In an analysis of music industry establishments – including record labels, distributors, recording studios, and music publishers – urban studies theorist Richard Florida reveals that Nashville, the top ranked city, is literally off the chart when compared to LA and NYC. It has over "180 recording studios, 130 music publishers, 100 live music clubs, and 80 record labels."

The next runner-ups are LA and Montreal, which don't even come close. Nashville has roughly 3x as many music establishments as LA. Because of this, Florida deems Nashville the "Silicon Valley of the music business." He also notes that the city has established itself as mecca for genres beyond country music, it now has large concentrations Christian, pop, rock and punk too. Take a look: 

The Evolution of Nashville:

"Over the past several decades, Nashville transformed itself from a rather narrow country music outpost in the 1960s and 1970s into a major center for commercial music.

By the mid-2000s, only New York and Los Angeles housed more musicians. Nashville's rise is even more impressive when you look at its ratio of musicians to total population.

In 1970, Nashville wasn't even one of the top five regions by this measure. By 2004, it was the national leader, with nearly four times the U.S. average.

Today, it  is home to over 180 recording studios, 130 music publishers, 100 live music clubs, and 80 record labels." (Read On.)