Historic Music Row studio where Johnny Cash recorded hits the market for $4.65M

USA Today

03-07-2025

The Music Row building where artists such as Johnny Cash and George Strait recorded songs is now on the market for $4.65 million.
The studio at 1033 16th Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee is a landmark of music history.
Once home to Emerald Sound Studio, the building was built in 1920 with another portion being added in the late 1970s expanding it to 8,500 square feet. Utley said he purchased the building on a 0.32-acre property in 2007.
'At the time I bought it, it was actually in bankruptcy,' said owner Mark Utley. 'It did need some work. We went in there with the intention of doing all the renovations.'
Among its many landmark moments in music history, country music supergroup The Highwaymen recorded their 'Highwayman 2" album at Emerald Sound Studio in 1989. The group included Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.
The building now has three recording studios, multiple sound isolation and vocal booths, rooms for songwriting and areas with advanced sound dampening.
'It could probably be perfect for an artist, a publishing company or a record label,' Utley said. 'The building is in incredible condition and everything's been updated.'
The soundproofing makes it perfect for someone looking to continue the building's connection to the music industry, according to Mike Jacobs, the Avison Young broker leading the listing.
'It may be another music producer that can just slide right in,' Jacobs said. 'One of the main points here is that they've got pretty advanced sound dampening in several of the rooms, and that is pretty rare.'
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Utley said the soundproofing not only blocks sound from leaving the room but protects recordings if anything outside happens.
'If you're in the middle of a big production and something would happen outside, it would not disturb it,' Utley said.
This makes the building ideal for anyone working in the music industry, according to Jacobs.
'It is kind of a turnkey for the music business,' Jacobs said.
On March 9, 1989, The Highwaymen were recording in one of the studios when shots were fired on the street below. Kevin Hughes, a country music chart director, was killed while getting into his car. Inside, the band did not hear the shots and had no idea that a murder had transpired just outside the studio.
The band's harmonica player said no one heard the shots because of how well insulated the studio was and had no idea a murder occurred just outside. They only realized something had happened when one of the band members walked outside to smoke a cigarette and saw the police tape lining the street.
In addition to the sound benefits of the building, Jacobs said it has a unique amount of parking.
'Not every building over there on Music Row has this type of parking, and he's got 17 parking spots,' Jacobs said.
The wood inside the building is oak, and there are also hardwood floors that Utley said show the building was built in a different time.
'We want to get in the right hands because of the history,' Utley said.
Many gold and platinum albums were produced over the course of the building's more than 100-year history. While Utley loves the building and its history, he said it is time for him to move on.
'I have a farm in Ohio and I live in Florida," Utley said. "My ex-wife is the co-owner and she doesn't live in the area now. We've just decided we want to pass it on to the next person.
'It's got all the modern amenities with the historic charm that you're not going to find in most places," he said.