Moments By Moser: MUSICROW Magazine: In Pictures: SESAC Honors Heritage, Offers Modern Amenities With New Music Row Office

Jessica Nicholson • June 15, 2016

Pictured (L-R): SESAC's Pat Collins, Mayor Megan Barry and SESAC's John Josephson. Photo: Terry Wyatt

Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Pat Collins, Mayor Megan Barry and SESAC’s John Josephson at SESAC’S open house event. Photo: Terry Wyatt

SESAC welcomed artists, songwriters, publishers, and more from Nashville’s music community on Monday (June 13) to get a first look at its modern new office space at 35 Music Sq. E. in the Music Row neighborhood. Among those taking in the new office space was Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.
SESAC’s 42,000-square-feet space, located on the building’s fourth and fifth floors, was designed by Nashville’s Tuck-Hinton and California’s Wolcott Architecture/Interiors. The plan incorporates plenty of natural lighting and open work spaces. Light woods, glass-paneled offices and punches of red add vibrancy and transparency to SESAC’s two floors of space.

SESAC (C) Moments By Moser Photography

On the first floor, a plaque welcomes visitors, informing them of the site’s musical heritage as the former location for Combine Music, followed by EMI and Broken Bow Records.
“We have been searching for a location on Music Row for three or four years. We were insistent from day one that SESAC stay on Music Row,” SESAC’s Pat Collins tells MusicRow. “It was extremely important to us to stay on Music Row. In the main lobby of the building, we did a plaque that acknowledges that Combine Music started here, followed by EMI and ultimately Broken Bow. It’s very important for us to also be aware and be respectful of the heritage of this site.”

A plaque honoring Combine Music at SESAC’s Music Row office. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

The new space balances history with progress, and provides a comfortable workspace for SESAC’S 110 employees, along with plenty of amenities, including a gym and a Fresh Market, which provides healthy food options on-site for employees. In addition to spacious songwriters rooms, a piano is available in the main lobby for visitors and employees to play.
“Many of the people who work with and at SESAC are musicians in their own right, so we give them an opportunity to move from their workspace if they need a break and they can go tickle the ivories,” says Collins. “It was as much mental health as productivity that we were looking to harness.”
“I love the openness of it and the light,” says SESAC’s Dennis Lord. “I think it has such a positive effect on everybody, being in this open space. It also promotes a collaborative attitude. We talk more to each other, because we are all together.”

SESAC. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

“We believe a more open plan was appropriate and fitting for this day and age and the way that young people work and their work habits, and the comfort level they would like while they practice their trade,” says Collins. “Our Nashville employees also had input into the building. We didn’t do anything without bringing it to our folks. We gave them the objective and many people including the Sr. VP of Plant Operations and HR, Cathy Grizzell, were involved. We are delighted that we have received glowing marks from our employees.”
At the heart of the move is the desire to build upon the legacy of the companies that previously inhabited the site on 16th Avenue, while offering a progressive work space for SESAC’S staff in a modern music industry era. “We are honored to work on hallowed ground where Combine, Broken Bow, and great artists like Kris Kristofferson penned many classic evergreen compositions,” says Collins. “We are very proud of this space.”