Columbus has the rhythm, the talent, and the stages. Its music scene pumps more than $1.3 billion into the economy each year and keeps over 9,200 people working full-time. But for all its energy and creativity, Columbus is still missing key parts of a music infrastructure needed to turn hometown heroes into household names.
What’s holding Columbus back from becoming the next Nashville or Austin?
Despite breakout acts like Twenty One Pilots, who launched here but had to leave to level up, critics say Columbus lacks the music industry infrastructure that powers true “Music Cities”—think record labels, artist management firms, music publishers, and a buzzing music-focused entertainment district. According to some in the industry, Columbus also has a venue gap, with great music venues large and small, but little else in between.
We’ll stagedive into what it would take to build that missing music ecosystem. Join artists, industry insiders, and civic leaders as they explore how strategic investment, coordinated efforts, and community support could help Columbus hit the high notes and claim its place on the national stage as a true music city.
Featuring Bruce Garfield, Executive Director, MUSIC MEANS BUSINESS INC.; Amy Holihan, Deputy Director, Music Columbus; Natalie Jackson, Co-Founder, Natalie’s Grandview; Rashad Thomas, CEO, Elev8tor Music with moderator Chris DeVille, Managing Editor, Stereogum, and Author, Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion.
If you would like to dive more deeply into this topic, our friends at the Columbus Metropolitan Library suggest checking out Love, Death & Photosynthesis, by Bela Koe-Krompecher (cofounder of local record label, Anyway Records).
