Figures
Greater Nashville · 14 counties · 2023
- 41,425
- Creative workers: 26,948 + 14,477.
- 26,948
- Operate on their own. Census Nonemployer Statistics: businesses with no paid employees. One person with two such businesses counts twice. Data file, metro area 34980 ↗ Table ↗
- 14,477
- Have an employer. Census County Business Patterns: paid employees in the pay period including March 12. One person with two such jobs counts twice. Data file, metro area 34980 ↗ Table ↗
- 65%
- Of creative workers operate on their own: 26,948 ÷ 41,425.
Counties in the metro area: Census delineation file, July 2023, metro area 34980 ↗
United States · all industries · 2023
- 18%
- Of workers operate on their own: 30,427,808 ÷ (30,427,808 + 139,831,742).
- 30,427,808
- Businesses with no paid employees, all industries. Census Nonemployer Statistics, U.S. file ↗
- 139,831,742
- Paid employees, all industries. Census County Business Patterns, U.S. file ↗
Greater Nashville · 2023
- $3.56 billion
- Revenue earned by creative workers who operate on their own plus annual payroll paid to creative workers who have an employer.
- $1.87 billion
- Revenue, creative workers who operate on their own. Census Nonemployer Statistics ↗
- $1.69 billion
- Annual payroll, creative workers who have an employer, at 1,676 workplaces. Census County Business Patterns ↗
Categories counted · Greater Nashville · 2023
| Category | Operate on their own | Revenue | Have an employer | Annual payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent artists, writers and performers | 18,961 | $1,395.2 million | 1,090 | $170.8 million |
| Performing arts companies | 1,471 | $67.2 million | 3,332 | $524.0 million |
| Sound recording | 1,925 | $88.6 million | 2,876 | $348.7 million |
| Promoters and venues | 1,159 | $77.5 million | 2,944 | $110.8 million |
| Film and video | 1,876 | $99.4 million | 1,697 | $99.9 million |
| Agents and managers | 1,093 | $119.4 million | 1,278 | $317.7 million |
| Broadcasting | 463 | $21.4 million | 1,260 | $123.8 million |
| Total | 26,948 | $1,868.8 million | 14,477 | $1,695.8 million |
Independent artists, writers and performers (industry code 711510) includes independent lighting technicians, special effects technicians, stage set crews, set and costume designers and artistic photographers. Census industry codes ↗
Broadcasting: count of those who operate on their own uses industry code 516 (2022); employer count uses code 515 (2017).
Healthcare
- 84%
- Artists who had access to health insurance; 29% could not get needed medical care; 17% hold medical debt. NORC, National Survey of Artists, October 2025 ↗
- 85%
- 2025 Wellness in Music survey respondents with health insurance. MusiCares, September 2025 ↗
- 59%
- People who operate on their own whose income varied from month to month, against 28% of people with an employer. Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 ↗
- Income estimate
- Advance premium tax credits are calculated on expected income and reconciled at filing. IRS letter to Congress, January 2016 ↗
- 61%
- Marketplace enrollees who find deductibles and out-of-pocket costs hard to afford. KFF Marketplace Enrollees Survey, November 2025 ↗
- $7,476
- Average bronze plan deductible, 2026. KFF, January 2026 ↗
- 50%
- Year-round marketplace enrollees who are underinsured, against 29% on employer plans. Commonwealth Fund, March 2026 ↗
- Business of one
- An individual and spouse are not employees of a business wholly owned by them; a plan with no employee participants is outside federal benefits law. 29 CFR 2510.3-3 ↗
- 15.3%
- Self-employment tax rate. IRS, Self-Employment Tax ↗ The self-employed health insurance deduction is not subtracted when figuring self-employment tax. IRS, Instructions for Form 7206 ↗
Map
- Named people
- Names and links from public records and the Foundation’s lists. MusicBrainz ↗ Wikidata ↗ SoundCharts ↗
- Boundaries
- County and state outlines. Census Cartographic Boundary Files ↗