The Commercial Music Industry in Atlanta and the State of Georgia: An Economic Impact Study 

Kelly D. Edmiston

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Marcus X. Thomas

Georgia State University

Abstract

The state of Georgia has a long and rich musical history with a multitude of native artists, writers, and producers contributing greatly to our nation’s country, rhythm and blues, and rap music traditions. Atlanta exists at the epicenter of Georgia’s emergence into a national music industry powerhouse, serving as a home-base for highly successful record labels like LaFace Records and So So Def Recordings; Grammy-winning artists and producers such as Outkast and Jermaine Dupri; and all five major record distributors, whose offices in Atlanta serve as a hub for the Southeast region. Atlanta offers a plethora of live performance opportunities thanks to its body of renowned performance venues; possesses a radio market that has grown into one of the nation’s largest; and Georgia at-large is home to over three-hundred professional recording facilities. The authors, who conducted a study to analyze the extent of the music industry’s economic impact on this area, found that the aforementioned sectors employ close to nine-thousand people, generate almost $990 million in output and nearly $95 million annually in tax revenue.

Keywords: Atlanta, Georgia, economic study, music business, music industry

Edmiston, Kelly D., and Marcus X. Thomas. “The Commercial Music Industry in Atlanta and the State of Georgia: An Economic Impact Study." Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association 4, no. 1 (2004): 61-82. https://doi.org/10.25101/4.4

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