 Mayor Dean Moves Convention Center to MDHA for Planning Newly-elected Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced that he will formally assign the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) to develop a preliminary plan for the new Convention Center within the next 90 days. MDHA has been responsible for planning and building some of the city's largest projects in recent years, including the Sommet Center, Nashville Public Library Main Branch and LP Field. Mayor Dean also publicly acknowledged the Music City Center Coalition for its work moving this project forward. The NCVB and the Coalition will work closely with MDHA throughout the planning process. Inaugural Music City Songwriting Competition is Huge Success  The response to the inaugural Music City Songwriting Competition has been overwhelming, with almost 2,000 people submitting entries before the Aug. 31 deadline.
The entries were narrowed down to 25 for judging by a panel of top music industry professionals. Each song was judged on melody, composition, originality, lyrics and commercial appeal. The winning song titled "All Is Right With Me" was written by Alex Alberti of Miami, Florida.
Alberti will be flown to Music City this month to perform his song on "Music City Connection: Heroes Behind the Hits," a monthly radio show recorded and produced by the Nashville CVB and broadcast exclusively on XM Satellite Radio. The show will be hosted by Universal Records South recording artist Phil Vassar. In addition, Alberti will have a recording of his song produced by Universal Records South President, Mark Wright, and published by The Music Group International. American Songwriter magazine will include the competition winner in its November-December issue. The NCVB would like to thank Southwest Airlines, the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, and GAC for their generous support of this promotion. Brand Survey Results Reinforce Marketing Efforts The NCVB conducted its first brand promise survey in late August. Surveys were completed online and at the city's Visitor Information Centers by 307 participants. The responses were overwhelmingly positive and prove that the hard work of the city's hospitality industry doesn't go unnoticed by visitors. Music City received high marks when asked if it lives up to its reputation as the place where music lives. More than 95 percent of respondents said that the city did live up to its name and that their experience was authentic. Ninety-three percent said that Music City presents itself in a unique manner and 88 percent said that the Music City brand is represented throughout the Nashville community outside of live music venues. The survey also asked if visitors would visit Music City in the future. Eighty-eight percent said that they would visit Music City again and 92 percent said that they would recommend Nashville as a vacation destination. Thank you to all who work hard each day to make Music City a great destination for all to visit. |
Live Music Venue Sign  If you have live music in your venue at least four days a week, then make sure our visitors know. Call Allie Hardee at (615) 259-4734 or email her at Allie@visitmusiccity.com to order your guitar pick sign today. |
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Industry Indicators
August hotel occupancy was 66.6%, a decrease of 1.8% compared to August 2006. YTD hotel occupancy was 67.1%, a decrease of 0.1% compared to this time last year.  July hotel tax collections were $2,217,042, an increase of 7.3% compared to July 2006. Calendar YTD collections were $14,970,714, an increase of 8.1% compared to this time last year. |
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| The CVB Sales, Marketing & Membership Teams: Exhibited at ASAE in Chicago with six Hall of Fame members working the booth along with CVB staff. They made 162 contacts, including six immediate leads representing 14,198 room nights. The sales staff will also follow up on 13 future leads over the next few months. Held sales luncheon in Washington, D.C. Nashville singer/songwriter Tim Nichols entertained 42 clients and nine hospitality industry partners during the luncheon event. Participated in The Reunion Network Convention held at the Holiday Inn Select Airport/Opryland. The CVB helped with off-site event planning and hosted 85 attendees for a tour of Music City that included stops at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Ryman Auditorium, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and Wildhorse Saloon. CVB staff met 42 new clients during the event and held 33 appointments which produced seven immediate leads and 20 future leads. |
Update The sales team will host a Music City All Stars Weekend with approximately 50 meeting planners from around the country surrounding the ITME Tradeshow Conference and Direct Industry Insights meeting. The weekend will highlight the different "stars" that one can experience while visiting Nashville whether the stars are related to music, arts or sports. |
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Titans Weekend Packages on Sale Now  Titans Weekend Packages are on sale now exclusively through the NCVB. The packages include a minimum 2-night hotel stay plus Titans game tickets, encouraging fans to spend the entire weekend in Nashville.
For information on how to get your hotel included in Titans Packages, please contact Samantha Hunt at 615-259-4776 or Samantha@visitmusiccity.com. |
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Lithographics, a nationally-renowned commercial printer, is our October Brand Champion. The company, located near downtown, incorporated the Music City brand into its new advertising campaign announcing the addition of three new Heidelberg Presses. They also held a company-sponsored red carpet event, utilizing a Music City stars theme. Lithographics' use of the brand showed amazing creativity and originality. Congratulations to Lithographics, our October Brand Champion!  Performing Musicians Looking for some cool Music City art? These nine-inch bronze statues feature a seated musician playing a variety of instruments including: violin, trombone, bassoon, French horn or the tuba. They are regularly $44.99, but will be 20 percent off throughout October. The statues may be purchased in the Visitor Center gift stores at One Nashville Place and the Sommet Center. This offer is not valid with use of another coupon or discount. |
