How Artist Museums May Expand Business Opportunities In Downtown Nashville
Categoria: Musica
From Dolly Parton to Johnny Cash, museums are taking over Nashville.
Por Billboard | 02/11/2026
Over the last decade, Nashville’s downtown honky-tonk district has exploded with bars boasting brand names related to artists, including Garth Brooks , Eric Church and Blake Shelton . The next wave of artist venues might well be museums. Related Dolly Parton’s Manager Details the Business Ventures ‘She Had Yet to Fulfill’ Kenny MacPherson, Veteran Music Publisher and Big Deal Music Co-Founder, Dies at 71 Diddy Moved From New Jersey Prison to Similar Facility in Pennsylvania The Alan Jackson Museum and Distillery opened in June, occupying part of a building already devoted to the Johnny Cash Museum, which officially unveiled a second-floor expansion on Oct. 13. Additionally, Dolly Parton’s Life of Many Colors Museum, and the late singer’s new SongTeller Hotel, had a joint ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 9. There are some barriers to entry — new artists, for example, aren’t likely to have enough stuff to fill a serious museum. Plus, not every artist is diligent at keeping pieces of their past. Still, there’s clearly a market for country music tourists who want to visit Nashville for more than just a good buzz, or who bring kids who are legally prohibited from entering a tavern. “We need more family attractions,” says Icon Entertainment Group founder Bill Miller , whose firm owns the Cash Museum. “We need more non-food-and-beverage attractions.” The artist-focused museums are not alone in Nashville’s downtown, which offers three different establishments that document broader genres. The National Museum of African American Music opened in 2021, the Museum of Christian & Gospel Music launched in 2025, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — the grandaddy of them all — became one of the district’s centerpieces 25 years ago, after operating for more than three decades in a barn-like structure on Music Row. The Country Hall has, in some ways, set a precedent for other outlets to follow. In addition to selling tickets and merchandise, it has developed other means of generating income, including Hatch Show Press, which prints concert bills; a publishing wing; and several spaces that are rentable to outside interests. It also changes exhibits on a regular basis, providing incentive for customers to come back for a different experience. The Jackson Museum’s distillery operates similarly, providing visitors the option to fill a personal bottle of Jackson’s Silverbelly whiskey, hosting private events and running a tavern with drinks designed specifically by Jackson’s daughter, Mattie, a master blender. It feels a bit like a neighborhood bar, but the tourist-based nature of the clientele often finds total strangers from separate parts of the world bonding as they share their experiences with Jackson’s music. “People sit up here 45 minutes, an hour, and they’ll just talk and tell their stories,” says Jackson Museum/Silverbelly CEO Robbie Goldsmith . “That’s one of the coolest parts of working here. You hear how he’s impacted so many lives. It’s