L.A. near top of music food chain

Based on concentration of musicians and number of music and recording businesses, Nashville is number one, followed by NY and then L.A., according to analyst Charlotta Mellander (and posted by the Atlantic's Cities site). The music business is often harder to pinpoint than movies or TV, in part because it's more decentralized (SF, Seattle, and Portland have pockets of activity).

Los Angeles -- still a hub in the pop music business, not to mention a hotbed of soundtrack recording for movies, television, and advertisements -- ranks third. There is the L.A. Philharmonic, which performs in Frank Gehry's landmark Disney Hall, and the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra; a burgeoning jazz scene, and of course a local rock scene that includes classic stadium acts, metal, middle of the road, nostalgia, and everything in between.

Rank Metro Metro Music Index
1 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 1.00
2 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA 0.97
3 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA 0.96
4 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 0.93
5 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 0.80
6 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 0.79
6 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA 0.79
8 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 0.78
9 Rochester, NY 0.76
10 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 0.72
11 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL 0.70
12 Austin-Round Rock, TX 0.67
13 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 0.66
14 Pittsburgh, PA 0.65
14 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 0.65
16 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL 0.63
16 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI 0.63
18 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 0.57
19 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 0.53
20 Denver-Aurora, CO 0.52
21 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC 0.50
22 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 0.49
22 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 0.49
22 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 0.49
25 San Antonio, TX 0.48