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Nashville producer sues city over home studio restrictions


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I remember when this was a big issue in the LA area... it looks like it is in Nashville too.

 

http://www.prosoundnetwork.com/music-production/nashville-producer-sues-city/48188

 

What do YOU think? Should engineers and producers be allowed to have studio setups in their homes where they can work with their clients as long as they are not causing a disturbance for their neighbors?

 

 

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I think that if you are at the point of making your 'home' studio a professional commercial venture, then you need to move it out of your home...although the studio I'm finishing up the final details on is in a garage in a residential neighborhood, so obviously there has to be some line of demarcation...the goal is to make money, and the investment precludes an easy move.

The key is obviously how running a commercial enterprise in a residential area will impact the local residents, and that should be the deciding factor. That means the studio operator has to be responsible for the activities of their clients inside and outside the studio environment.

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This is a big deal here (in Nashville) for certain. There are probably as many home studios (for-profit ventures) as there are churches in Nashville.

 

The biggest sticky point to this is people coming and going from a business in a residential area. That and those that own studios in commercial districts who pay way more in rent, taxes, etc. scream that it isn't fair to them for these "home ventures" to exist.

 

D

 

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The one key is getting a business license to operate in a non-commercial property. This is how many municipalities 'choke out' the home business people.

To be fair, the commercial studios that cry foul charge the same rate per hour for their rooms to a solo artist, a trio or an orchestra...and I don't know of any home studio operations that can accommodate a live orchestra or big band. So, like so many other facets of the music business being forced to change in the digital era [and in the marketplace], it may be time for a paradigm shift at both ends of the spectrum. Big studios may need to have a more reasonable sliding scale, little studios should have to be registered and licensed...

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The one key is getting a business license to operate in a non-commercial property. This is how many municipalities 'choke out' the home business people
I have to wonder if this ordinance was pushed out due to lobbying by either commercial recording studios OR (more likely in my mind) commercial real estate interests.

 

 

A few years ago, a house in a suburb of Dallas was raided for holding "swingers parties", local residents had been complaining for years because of the large number of cars that would clog the nearby streets. The justification for the raid by the cops was that the homeowners/orgy hosts were charging an 'admission fee' to attend these parties. The collection of an admission fee made the home a "commercial enterprise" and therefore justified the raid. It had NOTHING to do with any sexual behavior that may or may not have occurred on the premises. :eek:

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I have to wonder if this ordinance was pushed out due to lobbying by either commercial recording studios OR (more likely in my mind) commercial real estate interests.

 

I don't know if that's the case in Nashville or not, but there was quite a bit of conjecture about the commercial studios being the ones who were complaining about (and turning in) the home-based commercial studios in the LA area in the 90s and early 2000s.

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This is really nothing new. There have always been zoning ordinances that identify business districts and residential districts. As noted above, it is often done to keep traffic down in residential areas, especially where you may have children playing or other home owner activities. Residential property is typically taxed at a lower rate than commercial property (as they use less government services).

 

Businesses that have clients come in often have to face inspections by fire marshals (adequate fire exits, fire extinguishers), health inspectors, etc.to be sure they are safe to occupy, something not performed routinely in a private residence (in the case of the home studio built in a garage, does it have adequate exits in case of fire? Are they well marked and lit? Is emergency lighting present? I would venture the answer is probably no to all of these. This is important, because if you live there (a private residence) you know the way out of your house. If you are a visitor, you have to depend on the exit signs and emergency lighting to find your way out. Commercial businesses are required to meet these types of safety regulations). There is also the issue of parking. Most residential neighborhoods do not want the neighbors front lawn to be converted into an asphalt parking lot.

 

While this individual may be a good neighbor, the fact is he is a business. If the city lifts the band completely, chances are it won't be long before you have some folks who are not such good neighbors. I understand the arguments on both sides, and perhaps a compromise can be reached. But until then, I fear he will loose this law suit as there is nothing unusual (or apparently unconstitutional) about these types of zoning laws.

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Well given that in Nashville you now have all these new comers buying condos across the street from bars then complaining about the music and the city taking away more and more free parking to make way for paid parking lots this sadly doesn't surprise me. Not the town it once it was :(

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