{"id":4948,"date":"2013-06-20T17:21:52","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T17:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/magazines\/vanderbilt-business\/?p=4948"},"modified":"2015-07-17T13:37:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T13:37:50","slug":"nashvilles-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/nashvilles-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Nashville\u2019s Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ryman<\/a>
Ryman Hospitality Properties Executive Vice President Steve Buchanan at the historic Ryman Auditorium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The man the crowd knows as Deacon from the popular television show Nashville<\/em> takes the stage at the Grand Ole Opry to screams of recognition. He starts with a sensitive ballad, and women of all ages stream past the lip of the stage and take his photo before being urged by ushers to make way for the next in line. Charles Esten looks to be having the time of his life. Is he a country music star, an actor playing a country music star or something in between?<\/p>\n

Who knows, and really, why would it matter? Everybody is having a good time. Esten segues into a drinking song. \u201cPour, pour, pour some more,\u201d he sings, \u201cjust like the four you poured before.\u201d The crowd eats it up.<\/p>\n

Off to the side of the stage, a low-key, conservatively dressed man looks on. The man is Steve Buchanan, BS\u201980, MBA\u201985, president of Opry Entertainment and co-creator and executive producer of ABC\u2019s nighttime TV drama, Nashville<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"The
The TV show gives audiences a new look at the city–and reasons to visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Ryman Hospitality Properties, Buchanan is also a music business executive, a type represented on Nashville<\/em> as the heartless and manipulative character Marshall Evans, head of fictional Edgehill Records. But Evans, Deacon, Rayna, Juliette and the rest of the television Nashville<\/em> world exist only because of the vision of this real-life executive with a heart for the music and a business sensibility forged at Vanderbilt University and Owen Graduate School of Management.<\/p>\n

Scientific Beginnings<\/h2>\n

Raised in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the son of a nuclear engineer and a chemist, Buchanan first enrolled in Vanderbilt as an undergraduate in the engineering school, intending to become an environmental engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved music and I very quickly got involved in the concert committee as a freshman,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cIn fact, that and the fact that engineering school was very challenging contributed to less than stellar academic performance for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchanan and his cohorts brought many memorable shows to campus. Some of his favorites include Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Muddy Waters, Pat Metheny, Lester Flatt, David Bromberg, George Thorogood and Karla Bonoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were freshman hallmates in 1975 at Vanderbilt and immediately became best friends,\u201d remembers Ken Levitan, now an artist manager whose clients include Kings of Leon and Emmylou Harris. \u201cWe were both involved on the concert committee and Steve was unbelievably hardworking at everything he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve brought Bob Marley to town,\u201d Levitan says, still sounding astounded decades later that the reggae legend played Vanderbilt. Buchanan shakes his head, calling the Marley concert \u201can amazing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchanan says a course with Vanderbilt\u2019s legendary cultural sociologist Richard \u201cPete\u201d Peterson led him to transfer to the College of Arts and Science and major in sociology and psychology.<\/p>\n

But it was really his extracurricular activities promoting music shows that allowed Buchanan to discover his vocation. \u201cIt was enlightening for me because despite my complete love for music, I had never necessarily thought of it as being a business,\u201d Buchanan says.<\/p>\n

First Job on Music Row<\/h2>\n
\"Fresh<\/a>
Fresh out of Vanderbilt, Buchanan worked with new and legendary artists at booking agency Buddy Lee. From left, Buchanan, Dwight Yoakam and Bill Monroe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Upon graduation, Buchanan rejected suggestions that he move to Atlanta or New York, where he was told he could probably find work at a promoter or record label. Instead, he placed his bets again on Nashville. Levitan had already graduated and gone to work at Buddy Lee Attractions, a booking agency on Music Row.<\/p>\n

\u201cI helped Steve get a job at Buddy Lee,\u201d Levitan says. \u201cAt that time there were still a lot of independent booking agencies in Nashville and you could make a mark there.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Buddy Lee, Buchanan was in a position to meet music industry people in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of the agents I worked with had played with Hank Williams (Sr.),\u201d he recalls. The two, Jerry Rivers and Don Helms, still worked weekends as the Drifting Cowboys. \u201cSo I was both learning the business and learning the history of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Buchanan had a nagging feeling that there was too much he didn\u2019t know. He questioned if he even wanted a career in the music industry.<\/p>\n

Once Again, Vanderbilt is the Answer<\/h2>\n

\u201cI made the decision to quit my job and go back to school full time because I wanted to do a specific concentration and immerse myself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Buchanan entered the MBA program at the Owen Graduate School of Management, focusing on marketing and gaining a strong foundation in the fundamentals of management.<\/p>\n

Like his undergraduate career, getting started was rough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rocky start, because it\u2019s very difficult to just disconnect yourself when you\u2019re still in the same playground that you were in before,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re still in your mid-20s and you still like to go out and listen to music, and your friends are still around and you\u2019re supposed to be totally bathed in academics. It finally kicked in second semester.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Owen, Buchanan learned to be disciplined in his approach to business. \u201cIt really made me focus,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned to be methodical and strategic about things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming out of Owen, Buchanan faced a crossroads between a managerial training program at Northern Telecom and becoming the first marketing manager in the history of the Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cComing out of Owen, Buchanan faced a crossroads between a managerial training program at Northern Telecom and becoming the first marketing manager in the history of the Grand Ole Opry.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Today, sitting in his office dominated by a picture-window view of the Cumberland River, Buchanan explains what made him choose the Opry. \u201cYou want to know what it was?\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cI just loved Bill Monroe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monroe, for those who don\u2019t know their bluegrass, is the legendary musician whose band, the Blue Grass Boys, put together the high lonesome elements that became bluegrass music in the 1940s. By the time Buchanan crossed paths with Monroe in the 1980s, the master was in his 70s.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuddy Lee booked Bill Monroe. I would come out to the Opry to see Bill and I developed a deep appreciation of what the Opry is,\u201d says Buchanan, casual in jeans and blue sweater. \u201cThat was a passion that would only grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ultimately wasn\u2019t a hard decision to pass on the Northern Telecom job,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cYes, it was a better paying job and had a more defined career path. But I thought that the Opry job offered me the opportunity to be in a more traditional business environment while at the same time being engaged in the entertainment and music industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like it was the perfect fit, especially because Bill Monroe, who I\u2019d grown to love booking at Buddy Lee, was a member of the Opry as well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Marketing from Scratch<\/h2>\n

Buchanan found himself walking into a unique situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Opry had never had a marketing manager, meaning it had never had a marketing budget,\u201d he says. \u201cMost freshly minted MBAs don\u2019t really want to go to work for a place where they don\u2019t have a budget. That doesn\u2019t fit in with the typical scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hal Durham, then general manager of the Opry, put aside a modest amount for an advertising budget. Buchanan created a small, simple campaign, which started to address the identity problem his market research showed was holding the country music institution back.<\/p>\n

First broadcast in 1925 as a radio show and for many years a national broadcasting powerhouse, the Opry was part of Gaylord Entertainment, today Ryman Hospitality Properties. By the 1980s, the Opry was overly dependent on Gaylord\u2019s Opryland USA theme park and hotel for its audience. Both brought thousands of tourists to the area regularly, which translated into tickets sales for the Opry.<\/p>\n

Buchanan\u2019s efforts to revitalize and separate the image of the Opry from the theme park were successful business strategies, which was fortuitous as the park closed in 1997.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were also dealing with a much more competitive marketplace from a destinations perspective,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cBranson, Missouri, became a major competitor. There was huge investment in the \u201980s and \u201990s in Orlando and then there was the proliferation of casinos around this country. That is still what we deal with today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ryman Auditorium<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s a proudest moment in Buchanan\u2019s early Gaylord career, it would have to be the revitalization of the historic Ryman Auditorium. Along with much of downtown Nashville, the legendary building\u2014former church and for years home of the Grand Ole Opry\u2014had fallen into disrepair during the 1960s and \u201970s. The Opry itself had left the building in 1974 for a new facility on the grounds of the Opryland theme park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had never even been in the Ryman Auditorium, and suddenly it was part of my responsibility to market it,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cThis was way before it was fixed up. We charged a couple of bucks and people could tour through it. You could go stand on stage and there was a little gift shop in the back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchanan was captivated by the Ryman, even though it was in obvious physical distress. It had sat empty for almost 20 years and had been recommended for demolition several times. The building was rundown and the downtown area in which it sat was decidedly seedy.<\/p>\n

In 1992, the centennial of the building\u2019s construction, Buchanan was instrumental in arranging for the Ryman to be used for a series of concerts and a live album by Emmylou Harris, her landmark At The Ryman<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He also organized a one-man play with musical performances that included Bill Monroe performing \u201cWorking on a Building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRicky Skaggs and Vince Gill went on just before Bill doing \u2018Drifting Too Far from the Shore\u2019 and did such a great job that I think Monroe wanted to one-up them,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cHe did. He was outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two events were fortuitously timed. Downtown Nashville was about to undergo urban renewal, and Gaylord and Buchanan had the vision to lead the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was life- and career-changing for me because I was appointed general manager of the Ryman and got to develop the first business plans to oversee the renovation of the Ryman Auditorium,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cThere was a companywide belief that it was a worthy investment regardless of what it took, that it would be a meaningful and impactful undertaking for the company and city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

If there\u2019s a proudest moment in Buchanan\u2019s early Gaylord career, it would have to be the revitalization of the historic Ryman Auditorium.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

Under Buchanan\u2019s direction, the old building came back to life. Structural issues were addressed. High-tech sound, lighting and engineering were installed, along with the addition of a proscenium for the stage. Central heat and air were added to the now 102-year-old former church. A 14,000- square-foot support building was attached to house ticketing, offices, restrooms, concessions and a gift shop; proper dressing rooms were built (previously, a sole ladies\u2019 room backstage had done double duty as a dressing room for the Opry\u2019s female performers). The building\u2019s original wooden pews were refinished and stenciled artwork on the balcony was faithfully recreated. The Ryman reopened in 1994 to public and performer acclaim, quickly earning a reputation as one of most prestigious performance halls in the world, esteemed for its astounding acoustics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sitting here and that was basically 20 years ago and it\u2019s great to be able to look back and see what a visionary decision that really was for (former Gaylord Entertainment CEO) Bud Wendell to make that $8.5 million commitment and investment,\u201d Buchanan says. Gaylord also built the Wildhorse Saloon on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville during that era.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of those investments were critical for the redevelopment of downtown Nashville,\u201d Buchanan says.<\/p>\n

Television\u2019s Nashville<\/em><\/h2>\n

What might be remembered as the opening of the second act of Buchanan\u2019s career began with a meeting in late 2010 between the Gaylord executive and some West Coast talent executives. Buchanan was then president of the Grand Ole Opry and senior vice president of Gaylord Entertainment. Again, like in the 1980s, he faced the need to draw people to Nashville and the Opry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thought was film opportunities,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cWe were kicking around maybe a period piece that captured a moment in time of the Opry\u2019s history and building something around the characters that made up the Opry.\u201d That led to discussions about other film projects, television and theatrical ideas. Rejected concepts included a 30 Rock<\/em>-like take on the Opry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn looking at shows like American Idol<\/em>, where country artists were sometimes winning, and shows like Glee<\/em> and Smash<\/em>\u2014there was an acceptance of performance within a scripted show,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cIt was my feeling that with country music, so many of the barriers had fallen by the wayside. Younger generations are not as identified by genre. They\u2019re interested in artists and songs.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to realize that you are creating a drama for network television \u2026 that means that things are exaggerated and a bit over the top.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u2014Steve Buchanan<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cAnd it just felt like Nashville was really being accepted and regarded as a cool place, a very strong creative community and a place where the popular music of the day is being created.\u201d<\/p>\n

After finding a production partner with Lion\u2019s Gate and a writer in Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise<\/em>, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood<\/em>), they pitched Nashville<\/em> to all three major networks and received offers from ABC and NBC. They chose ABC.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Nashville cast and crew film on a soundstage located just a few miles from downtown. From left, Director of Photography Ross Berryman, Buchanan and Transmedia Producer Lindsay Mayer monitor a scene being shot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI really didn\u2019t fully understand about the Nashville vibe until later,\u201d says Loucas George, a producer of Nashville, who says he had misgivings initially about filming the show in its namesake city\u2014mostly because of the lack of film industry infrastructure. It took Buchanan in his role as one of the show\u2019s executive producers to demonstrate how and why Nashville itself was an important character in the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t understand about the (important songwriter\u2019s showcase) Bluebird Cafe being in a strip mall. That didn\u2019t make sense to me,\u201d he says. \u201cSteve took me to the Grand Ole Opry and all these other places and I started to realize that it was important to film here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first came here, I thought Steve was going to be a silent extra production partner. He\u2019s been anything but. He\u2019s been the salt of the earth. He is Nashville. He constantly reminds us of the niceness of the people here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khouri says that Buchanan helps to keep it real.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is so well-versed in Nashville that we would be very unwise not to call on his knowledge,\u201d she says. \u201cPersonally, Steve is an absolute joy. He\u2019s thoughtful, famously low-key and soft-spoken but with a tremendous sense of fun. He\u2019s a fantastic ally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actor Charles Esten, who plays the show\u2019s Deacon Claybourne, calls Buchanan \u201cthe face of connectivity and the face of kindness to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the start, he made everyone involved in the production feel instantly welcome in Nashville. He handles what could be an extremely demanding and stressful job with ease and grace,\u201d Esten says.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
From left, Nashville cast members Jonathan Jackson (Avery Barkley) and Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne) talk with Buchanan following Esten’s February performance on the Grand Ole Opry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People in the fictional Nashville<\/em> are not always so nice. \u201cIt\u2019s not a documentary, after all,\u201d Buchanan says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to realize that you are creating a drama for network television. You have got to be able to do something that is compelling and captures people and the genre is that of a prime-time soap opera, so that means that things are exaggerated and a bit over the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it can still have heart, passion and emotion, and the city and music community don\u2019t have to be disappointed in the portrayal from the perspective of the characters being stereotypes that are inaccurate or dated,\u201d Buchanan says.<\/p>\n

Putting the characters aside, almost everyone in Nashville agrees that the cinematography of Nashville<\/em> represents the city beautifully. \u201cOne of the most common comments I hear from people is that they love the way the city looks,\u201d Buchanan says.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s no accident. Millions of music fans, tourists and now television viewers have been influenced to see Nashville the way Buchanan sees it\u2014as a deep musical wellspring, a must-visit destination, and now the hip town where the cast of Nashville<\/em> spins webs of deceit and music each week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Behind television’s hit show Nashville<\/em> and behind the scenes of the legendary Grand Ole Opry is Vanderbilt Owen alumnus, Steve Buchanan, president of Opry Entertainment and co-creator and executive producer of the new nighttime TV drama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":8581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,15],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-4948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover","category-features","tag-main"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/384"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4948"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8580,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4948\/revisions\/8580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.owen.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltbusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}