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Nashville continues to grow and attract high-profile businesses, including Amazon.
Ayrika L Whitney, The Tennessean
They made Nashville world renowned as “Music City,” but these days the average single musician can’t afford to live in the city — or even the county.
Areas with plentiful apartments affordable for the average salary of single musicians are more than an hour from downtown, a new analysis of housing and income data reveals.
Cities in Hickman, Maury and Dickson counties, south and west of Davidson County, offered rents that matched 30% of the average $43,124 annual income of musicians and singers — or about $1,000 a month, according to a Zillow analysis of rents and federally reported wage data.
Sharing housing to stay near town
The data is no surprise to Nashville singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong. She has rented a room at a home in Madison for the past five years.
“I have to stay on the road touring in order to make my rent even here. The money is better on the road,” said Armstrong, 39. “It sounds selfish to want to live alone, but I would love that. A lot of musician friends I know who were living in East Nashville moved to Nashville, then Hermitage. They’re moving farther and farther away.”
Singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong has rented a room at a home in Madison the past five years. “I would love to buy a home, but that’s just not an option,” she said. “I’m funding my music business career so I can’t save up to buy a house.” (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
Nashville-area housing costs have nearly doubled since the recession, and the median rent for apartments listed on Zillow is currently $1,536.
But rents become much more affordable when two or more musicians share an apartment or home, according to the analysis. Most of the region is affordable for musician households with more than one income.
On average, single Nashville musicians have to pay 42.2% of their reported income to afford rent. That drops to 19.9% for residents of two-member musician households.
Affordable housing costs are considered to be no more than 30% of income.
For those musicians who can afford a down payment on a home, mortgage payments are also more economical than rents.
The Zillow analysis combined U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics profession and income data to determine current average income for musicians. It compared that with apartment and home listings in the 14-county Nashville metropolitan area on its platform.
“I would love to buy a home, but that’s just not an option,” Armstrong said. “I’m funding my music business career so I can’t save up to buy a house.”
The housing crunch isn’t limited to musicians, of course. In fact, the average musician earns more than the average Nashville-area resident, who takes home just $38,627 a year, according to the analysis.
‘Musicians are the last to benefit’
Many musicians receive cash payments when they perform that may not be reported, so their average wage in this analysis may be lower than reality, said bassist and Nashville Musicians Association President Dave Pomeroy.
Many also take second jobs or branch out into other fields of the music industry such as producing to make ends meet.
But finding affordable housing is still a widespread struggle, Pomeroy said.
“There’s no question that the Nashville housing cost explosion is definitely having the effect of driving people to the edges of town,” Pomeroy said. “I bought my house 22 years ago but couldn’t afford to buy it now.”
Musicians hired by major artists like Dolly Parton or Garth Brooks are “very well taken care of,” Pomeroy said. But those gigs can be short-lived, and the competition is fierce.
Singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong has rented a room at a home in Madison the past five years. “I would love to buy a home, but that’s just not an option,” she said. “I’m funding my music business career so I can’t save up to buy a house.” (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
Bank loans can also be harder for musicians to obtain because of their irregular income streams and undocumented cash payments.
The Nashville Musicians Association, the local office of the American Federation of Musicians, recently hosted a home-buying seminar to help its members. The organization works with a network of musician-friendly real estate agents and banks that help with the challenges.
“There’s always been an issue of documentation for musicians being in the gray area,” Pomeroy said. “It’s exponentially increased because of what’s going on with the city. Sometimes it feels like the musicians are the last to benefit unless it’s a good night on Broadway, and they’re good at guilting the audience into tips.”
Reach Sandy Mazza at [email protected] or 615-726-5962 and on Twitter @SandyMazza.
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