Upon arrival to Rochester, music
seemed to permeate the community: the Eastman School of Music, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the largest jazz festivals in the country, House of Guitars, Bop Shop Records, independent radio stations, surprisingly professional college radio stations, abundant live music...it was
seemingly everywhere. But the point of this blog is to avoid perception and focus on reality. Is there any statistical evidence for Rochester's music-centricity? A 2012
study analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on the concentration of musicians as well as figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on music and recording industry business establishments. The results were combined into a Metro Music Index which measured the concentration of musicians and music-related businesses. Among metro areas with over one million people, here are the Top 10:
- Nashville, TN
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Portland, OR
- New Orleans, LA
- Rochester, NY
- Minneapolis, MN
Spin magazine seemed quite
upset by Rochester's ranking. So I thought I would take the liberty of apologizing: "Dear
Spin, on behalf of all Rochesterians, I sincerely apologize for not being the beat up Rust Belt town that you thought we were."
Rochester is home to Lou Gramm and Joywave, the place where Teddy Geiger and Julia Nunes grew up, and a place where Metallica and The Empty Hearts have recorded albums. There are many more. To see a few, check out the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleterochestermusic.org/