An alternative for touring musicians

Branson, Missouri overs over 100 show, most of them playing six days a week, 50 weeks of the year. A musician is able to work full-time without having to tour.

News-Leader.com, 1/28/07 - The call of the stage: "Some of the most critical pieces of the Branson puzzle are the musicians who've come from all over to live there, says Dan Lennon, vice president of marketing for the Branson-Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and a longtime performer himself.

'There's not a lot of places in the country where you can make a living as a musician, live there, and have your kids go to school and have a relatively normal life,' Lennon says."

live music

A Destination Marketing Resource

Destination marketing is marketing a place/city/location to attract tourists and visitors. Both Austin, Texas and Branson, Missouri have used music as a primary element in their branding compaigns.

Here's a white paper on best practices in destination marketing.

The REAL Live Music Capitol

While Branson doesn't have the hip image of Austin, it has found success delivering lots and lots of live music.

7/15/06, Branson Daily News: Repeat visitors on the rise

“The percentage of repeat visitors is currently at 76.1%,” said Dan Lennon, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations with the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We posed the ‘Why Branson’ and ‘why not Branson’ questions in a branding study (of the area), and came up with three answers,” Lennon said.

Lennon called the first answer to the question the, “Live entertainment bonanza.”

Branson has 49 theaters with more than 100 shows to choose from, as well as a myriad of other attractions ranging from museums to amusement parks.

“Only 45 percent of the music offered for entertainment is country these days, with more and more musical variety to choose from,” Lennon said.

The theaters actually have more seats New York City’s Broadway district, with more than 57,000 available.