How the American Music Tourism Act Could Affect the Music Industry
In 1946, songwriter Bobby Troup and his wife, Cynthia, packed their belongings into a Buick in Pennsylvania and headed west to Hollywood. They decided to travel along Route 66, the famous highway connecting Chicago to Los Angeles.
Bobby decided to write a song about their trip, incorporating the names of the towns along their route, as he captured the romance of traveling across the US in the days before the Interstate highway system. Cynthia reportedly came up with the title, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,"
After arriving in Los Angeles, Troup played his composition for Nat King Cole, who recorded it with his trio in 1946. The song became a hit and eventually was performed by artists ranging from Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones to Depeche Mode.
The song’s impact on tourism can’t be measured. However, even though Route 66 lost its official designation in 1985, tourists continue to seek out its historic roadside attractions, diners, motels, and small towns described in Troup’s song. Many would say Troup’s song had something to do with that.
The American Music Tourism Act of 2025 (Act), signed into law on October 9, 2026, is designed to encourage people to travel to experience music by adding music tourism to the federal government's efforts to promote travel throughout the United States. This article discusses what this new Act does and doesn’t do for the US music industry.
Music's Contribution to the US Economy
Music doesn’t just help shape culture; it also impacts the economy. According to a 2024 study commissioned by the Recording Industry of America, the music industry contributed approximately $212 billion to the US GDP and supported more than 2.5 Million jobs in 2020
A 2025 study by the National Independent Venue Association estimated that independent live venues, festivals, and promoters generated $153.1 billion in total economic output in 2024, including $86.2 billion in contributions to GDP. In addition, music audiences spent approximately $10.62 billion on lodging, dining, shopping, transportation, and other travel-related expenses. But according to the study, 64% of music stages weren’t profitable that year, so there was room for growth.
These studies cover only segments of the music industry and don’t consider the impact of community orchestras, volunteer musicians, and music education programs. The League of American Orchestras reports that during the 2022-23 season (while the performing arts industry was still recovering from the pandemic), 2,200 professional, community and youth orchestras provided 26,000 concerts to 22.6 Million attendees.
Additionally, approximately 6,500 educational and community-engagement concerts reached 1.8 million attendees outside of more conventional audiences. Although it’s difficult to measure the impact of this segment of the industry, in a 2018 article, Chorus American reported that an economic study estimated that the Chorus of Westly, Rhode Island, a town of only 23,000, had a $1.575 Million annual impact on the local community.
What Does the American Music Tourism Act Do?
The Act amends the Visit America Act directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism to identify locations and events that attract music tourists and facilitate and promote travel to those destinations. The Department then is to promote those music-related destinations to Americans traveling within the country while also encouraging visitors from other countries to experience American music.
The Act defines “Music Tourism” to include travel to “visit historic or modern day music-related attractions, including museums, studios, venues of all sizes, and other sites related to music; or. . . to attend a music festival, a concert, or other live musical performance or music-related special event.” Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans immediately come to mind as cities that have fostered genres of American music, which already serve as music tourism venues.
In Tennessee, Nashville attracts country music fans, and Memphis draws visitors interested in Elvis Presley and the history of rock and roll. New Orleans has long attracted jazz enthusiasts. Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Seattle hosts the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly known as the Experience Music Project).
On the West Coast, Los Angeles is home to the Hollywood Bowl, which since 1922 has been a premier venue for live music. On the East Coast, New York is home to Carnegie Hall, which since 1891 has been an aspirational destination for performers ranging fromTchaikovsky, to Gershwin, to Billie Holiday, to the Beatles.
In the Southwest, Phoenix is home to the Musical Instrument Museum, which is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and making musical instruments from all countries accessible. In DC where I’m located, the small Go-Go Museum & Café, which opened in 2025, promotes DC’s Go-Go genre, which is a combination of funk, R&B, hop-hop, and Afro-Latin rhythms. And in Minnesota, Paisley Park, Prince’s residence provides a destination where tourists can learn about the late artist and his music. The list goes on and on….
The Act requires an emphasis on “Rural or other destinations… that are rich in cultural heritage or ecological tourism . . . as locations for hosting international meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions.” And although the Act’s name references music tourism, the Act also requires “facilitating and promoting international travel and tourism to sports and recreation events and activities.”
The Act requires a report on goals relating to both domestic and international travel within one year of enactment. Every two years, the Assistant Secretary is required to submit a report of “activities, findings, achievements, and vulnerabilities” relating to the Act’s mandate. But there’s no specified way to measure the Act’s success.
What the Act Doesn’t Do
The Act doesn’t provide funding for musicians, orchestras, concert venues, festivals, or music education. Nor did it appropriate additional money specifically for music tourism, and it’s unclear how much a mandate without funding can accomplish. Nevertheless, if the Act brings more visitors to concerts, museums, and other music venues, there’s the potential of additional revenues for those venues and the musicians associated with them through ticket sales, entrance fees, and donations.
It’s relatively easy to count how many concert tickets are sold and how many people visit a music museum and the revenues and donations music organizations receive. But there’s no mechanism in the Act to measure the Act’s success or tie changes in revenue to government efforts. Since the Act doesn’t include funding or measurements, it may be impossible to know whether the Act accomplishes its goals,
Conclusion
When Bobby Troup wrote "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," he was telling the story of a journey, not trying to increase business along the highway. Yet his song helped create an identity that continues to attract travelers and support local economies decades after Route 66 was largely replaced by the Interstate highway system.
The American Music Tourism Act has the potential to do something similar for the music industry. By drawing attention to the opportunities to experience music throughout the US. If the Act is successful, additional music tourism could bring larger concert audiences and increased ticket revenue, while also generating more business for hotels, restaurants, and other local establishments adjacent to music venues. But it’s unclear whether the Act will help with the funding issues music groups and organizations face on a daily basis.
© 2026 by Elizabeth A. Whitman
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