Third Man Records Nashville Detroit TMR the Blue

Third Man Records Nashville * Detroit

TMR & the Blue Room The Blue Room is a live venue in Nashville, Tennessee with the capacity for live music, film, recording, and other events such as poetry reading and album release parties. Essentially it is a gathering space for fans and artists to comingle and enjoy art in a safe and fun environment. The venue is small with space for 100 people or so, depending on the event. It includes a stage, a recording studio with direct to acetate capabilities, and a photography wall where most of the TMR album covers are shot.

The Blue Room Model Owners Staff Artists Fans Facilities Inputs Live Events Tangible Art Outputs Outcomes Program Sustainability Economic Improvement Education

Inputs Owners Third Man Records is owned by Jack White and Ben Blackwell. Both are artists from Detroit who relocated to Nashville in 2003. Staff Although there isn’t an official source, having visited the Nashville location TMR employs roughly 100 people and growing. The minimum wage for employees is $15/hour and all employees receive health insurance. Artists There are over 30 artists who have recorded for the Blue Series and 18 TMR recording artists. Fans The TMR Vault is a fan club that allows members to preorder items, with prizes, and connect with one another.

Inputs Facilities The TMR storefront and Blue Room is more than a venue that produces excellent programming, it’s a cultural center for musicians and fans of TMR music. It’s a place where new artists can play to sell out audiences, it’s a place where little known artists can have a live recording on vinyl, it’s a place where poets can read new works, and it’s a place of unplugged fun. There is a focus on authenticity and old-fashioned. There is a focus on musical roots and artistic passion. The facilities make the program. Without the space the program wouldn’t exist.

Outputs Commodities 7” Singles Brittany Howard Ruby Amanfu Lillie Mae Rische Cherie Currie Courtney Barnett LP Comedy Books! Stickers Memorabilia…

Outputs Events Direct to Acetate The vinyl industry struggled post 1980 for nearly 30 years. The Blue Room work helped revitalize the industry and new record sales. Album Releases The Dead Weather album release party for Dodge and Burn was held in the Blue Room. Light and Sound Machine The Director of the Brycchouse Community Center 2014 in Kentucky and TMR fan said of the Light and Sound Machine, “the blue room has made the multimedia micro cinema experience accessible for fans of quality contemporary big name acts. ” Poetry Readings TMR partnered with “The Contributor” to publish a book of poetry written the homeless writers of the local Nashville Paper.

Outcomes Short Term Joy! Money in the pocket of artists Ticket sales fund future Blue Room events Publicity and funding for other programs Interim More Joy! More money in the pocket of artists Funding for bigger projects such as vinyl pressing plant in Detroit Employment for people who love art (especially young women!) Long Term Lasting Joy! Economic Development of Nashville and Detroit Revitalization of vinyl industry Working class jobs in depressed economy

Outcomes

While Economic Development can benefit all citizens, it almost always has the effect of disenfranchising the most vulnerable, and while the work TMR is doing is inclusive, there has been a great deal of economic development in Nashville resulting in bulldozed homes and driving rent prices up. While not directly related everything is connected.

“Future members of bands like Lambchop, Wilco, and Ryan Adams were regulars. The bass player from Jason & The Scorchers lived there. The alternative music scene actually was an alternative music scene, and touring bands relied on a nationwide network of kindred spirits to provide crash pads. Black Flag, REM, the Goo Dolls—the list goes on. ” - Chuck Allen Artists look for affordable rent, aesthetics, and character. “In this regard, numerous case studies of gentrification demonstrate that artists are not simply attracted by cheap rents alone, but by places that appeal to the ‘artistic habitus’ or a lifestyle rooted in the aesthetic of older often industrial neighbourhoods that contain buildings with historic architecture and adaptable, open floor plans and which are typically found in walkable, mixed use central city locations. ” - Polèse “The rich will get richer, and you can’t stop progress. All those clichés, which are, incidentally, probably correct, fundamentally. Culturally, you’ll price out a lot of the quirkiness that East Nashville prides itself on. ” - Timothy C. Davis While times have changed, inequity doesn’t. There are some things TMR could introduce into its programming that might combat this, although I would add that they have already gone farther than many successful businesses in terms of equity. This home in contrast belongs to one musician. Above: Former home of George Morgan, Carl Smith, Faron Young, Roger Miller, Stonewall Jackson, Hank Cochran, Hank Garland, Grady Martin, Jimmy Day, Butterball Paige, Lightnin’ Chance, Shorty Lavender, and more. It rented for $. 75 a night in 60’s and 70’s. – Muddy Roots Records

Polèse found that while arts clusters contributed to over all metropolitan economies, the artists themselves didn’t directly contribute to neighborhood level gentrification as artists were uniformly attracted to older houses in less developed neighborhoods. Arts clusters were more likely to occur in nonblack neighborhoods in areas with residents of higher education levels. This suggests that the gentrification started before the arts clusters started. Although I think this interpretation is flawed. Ashley explored the idea that arts economic development was not a new occurrence and suggested that artists have long been employed in the United States to drive industry, beautify neighborhoods, and revitalize cities. Nelson et. al. suggests that the knowledge class is drawn to the artistic class and it is this interaction that drives economic development.

Improvements “What would happen if homeless people were suddenly able to paint and play music and write in collaboration with other communities? ” Nicole Brandt, Founder of Poverty & the Arts Nashville, Tennessee. The program empowers Nashville’s homeless through structured creative interaction with artists and students. TMR works with the Contributor and throws events to support the Mission, a homeless shelter in their neighborhood, and I’m sure that this is just what is publicized. TMR also works with local schools. The Poverty & the Arts nonprofit work that Nicole Brandt is doing would be a great fit into the outreach efforts of the community, TMR could provide space for her program. There are probably many artists at the Mission who would love an opportunity to make a record.

What I Learned! Cultural programming takes many shapes and while artists are often blamed as the cause of gentrification they are more of a harbinger of a process deep seated and long rooted in corporate greed, graft, and corrupt politics. But one person can make a difference! While I already had this impression being a TMR fan, I was surprised to see that there was someone working in the shadows to bring art to disenfranchised communities (Poverty and the Arts). Also greed sucks… Here’s the inside of that house.

References and Resources thirdmanrecords. com nashvillearts. com/2013/06/poverty-the-arts/ nestinginnashville. com/changing-nashville-demographics/ muddyrootsrecords. com/mr_rambler/articles. php povertyandthearts. org/our-artists/ WHERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD? Who knows? But it looks like a complicated road ahead By Chuck Allen & Timothy C. Davis theeastnashvillian. com/article/where-goes-theneighborhood Polèse, M. (2012). The arts and local economic development: can a strong arts presence uplift local economies? A study of 135 Canadian cities. Urban studies, 49(8), 1811 -1835. Ashley, A. J. (2014). Beyond the Aesthetic The Historical Pursuit of Local Arts Economic Development. Journal of planning history, 1538513214541616. Nelson, A. C. , Dawkins, C. J. , Ganning, J. P. , Kittrell, K. G. , & Ewing, R. (2015). The Association Between Professional Performing Arts and Knowledge Class Growth Implications for Metropolitan Economic Development Quarterly, 0891242415619008.