Could Nashville be the new hub for one of the most recognizable film production companies in the world? That’s the latest rumor, as Paramount is reportedly considering moving their studio’s corporate headquarters out of California.
At one point in time, it would have been laughable to suggest that Paramount would pick up their business and move it to a place like Nashville, Tennessee. However, as high taxes and burdensome regulations continue to be an issue in “The Golden State,” political insiders apparently see the move as a real possibility.
And it makes sense… Nashville has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States for nearly a decade. It wasn’t long ago that over 100 people were moving to the city every day, and it’s no secret that the healthcare and tech industries – among others – have been embracing Nashville as a business-friendly large city for their operations.
Of course, that’s only helped to increase the population of Music City.
Just in the past few years, Amazon has set up a new operations center in Nashville, and tech company Oracle is currently building out a massive campus that will bring close to 10,000 jobs to the city. Starbucks has also made the corporate move to Music City. And California-based fast food company, In-N-Out, relocated their corporate headquarters to Franklin, Tennessee (just 30 minutes south of Nashville) after being based out of the west coast for over 75 years.
That’s a good example to bring up, because Paramount CEO David Ellison has previously said that Paramount has “deep roots” in California, and claimed that he didn’t plan to move the company. Things have evidently changed, and many assume it has to do with the current battle Paramount is in with California over their $111 billion takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery.
Last week, Ellison reportedly communicated to a senior leadership team at the studio that moving the Paramount studio lot could save $500 million in taxes and other costs, and proposed that Georgia, Texas, or Tennessee would be the best places for relocation. Of those three, Nashville is the only place that doesn’t really have an established TV and film industry.
So it’d be a “start from scratch” scenario, but it would be a win-win for everyone involved. Paramount would save millions of dollars just because of the lower tax burden alone (and benefit from incentive programs), and Nashville would once again benefit from an already-established industry moving into town and boosting the city’s entertainment industry even further.
There’s also the chance that Ellison is just floating out the idea of a potential move to get California politicians to back off of the Warner Brothers merger situation. And there’s also the fact that all of the cogs that make Hollywood turn (executive producers, directors, talent) are still primarily located in California.
Picking up and moving to Nashville would definitely create some logistical issues in that department, but creators like Taylor Sheridan have already proven that you can move out of the Los Angeles area, build up your own studio elsewhere (like in Texas), and have success.
Californians have already been moving to Nashville in droves for years… a Paramount move to Music City would just see that exodus in a larger scale.
