Play It Forward Sessions
Get a FREE Recording Studio and Video Package!
Artist Submissions Open til Tuesday, Sep 30th
Program Overview
Play It Forward Sessions was developed to help support independent music artists create and produce new original songs. We provide independent music artists with FREE full-day recording sessions (8-10hrs) and live-in-studio video packages to professionally record at locally owned studios and share new music with the world. Watch previous Play It Forward Sessions on YouTube.
What Do Participating Artists Receive?
• FREE full-day recording session (Full 8-10hrs of recording and mixing)
(Recorded at professional, locally owned recording studios in Nashville)
• Audio engineer to run the session
(You can still bring your producer with you)
• Record NEW Original Songs
(Must record at least 1 brand new, unrecorded, and previously unreleased original work of music)
• Artists will OWN and have RIGHTS to all of the audio recordings
(Includes raw audio stems/recordings, mixes, masters)
(Artists choose who mixes and masters the recordings)
(Artists remain in full ownership and control of their music)
• Our team handles all the bookings and coordinates with the studio
(We want to help ensure you have a smooth and successful session, so you can just focus on creating new music!)
• FREE Supplementary Live-In-Studio Video Package
(Includes a professional live performance video for EACH song recorded)
Artist Qualifications
1) Must be an independent music artist
(Not signed to a major label or receiving financial support to record new works of music)
2) Must be a resident of Middle TN
3) All participating musicians for the session must be 18+ years of age
4) Have 1-3 new, unreleased, previously unrecorded original song(s) to record during the session
5) Be able to record the songs with as much live instrumentation as possible in the studio (including drums, bass, guitar, etc)
6) Haven't participated in a previous Play It Forward Session in the past 24 months
7) Be able to schedule the full-day (8-10 hours) recording session sometime between November 2025 through April 2026
Want to Participate in a Play It Forward Session?
Watch Overview Program Video To Learn More
Why Did We Start This Program?
Due to Nashville's rising cost of living, the financial barriers for independent music artists to be able to professionally record new works of music are deepening. This problem is causing musicians to move away from Nashville in order to be able to continue pursuing their music careers... which is a huge loss to our city's culture! To help address this issue, this program provides independent music artists with FREE Full-Day Recording Sessions AND FREE Live-In-Studio Video Packages at professional Nashville recording studios to continue pursuing their artistry and building their careers.
We designed this program to help give independent music artists a lift to further their artistry and careers. It's often difficult for artists to do everything on their own. They not only have to pay for everything themselves, they also have to create content, plan and conduct marketing campaigns, manage their social media, book shows, submit their EPKs to share their music with media outlets, and all of the other hats that's needed to sustain a career in music whether that's part-time or full-time. We believe that artists need people in their corner to help them with all the tasks necessary to be a modern-day musician. We care about the music artists that make Music City awesome! It's important to us for all artists to know their music has value and that their art matters.
This year's sessions are made possible with funding from the
Tennessee Arts Commission,
Metro Nashville Arts Commission, and donations from our generous supporters.
How Do We Select the Artists?
To help us select the artists that participate in this program, we created an Artist Curation Committee. We created this committee because we wanted the community to have a voice in how we allocate our funding and to help us get more connected to the different music communities that make up Nashville's local music scene. This committee is comprise music artists, music industry professionals, and local residents who simply love music.
Check Out Our Previous Play It Forward Sessions
