ATLANTA – Atlanta has been chosen to host the first BET Hip-Hop Awards on Nov. 12 at the Fox Theatre, further evidence of the economic influence of Georgia’s music industry.

“Metro Atlanta is a driving force in the hip-hop music scene,” said Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. “The industry continues to give us a uniquely defined place in the commercial music industry and to be an important asset to our economy.”

In Georgia, t he music industry as a whole brings in over $1 billion, accounts for more than 11,000 jobs and generates more than $54 million in tax revenues according to a February 2005 Georgia State University study conducted by Michael Rushton and Marcus X. Thomas.

Urban music—including rap/hip-hop and rythm and blues—accounts for almost one of every four dollars of the $12.3 billion of recorded music sold in 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

“Music is a global, billion-dollar industry for Atlanta and Georgia,” said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. “But it’s also important because of the signal it sends -- that Atlanta is a multicultural powerhouse where smart, young professionals want to be. They see Atlanta as a city that thrives on the creativity of its young people, and knows how to turn that talent into economic prosperity.”

Hip-hop is also opening new doors for business, spawning increased opportunities in film, fashion, literature, art and even cell-phone ringtones.

When the Recording Industry Association of America gave out its first certifications in June for gold and platinum sales of cell-phone ringtones, about three-quarters of the certified artists were hip-hop talent.

According to the Billboard Charts:

• Half of the artists on Billboard's top 10 R&B/hip-hop singles chart are from Atlanta.
• And six of the titles on Billboard's top 10 rap singles chart include artists who live in metro Atlanta.

Atlanta is home to some of the biggest names in the urban music industry, such as: Ludacris, Arrested Development, Toni Braxton, Mase, Outkast, TLC, Monica, 112, Kris Kross, Usher, India Arie and Cameo, to name a few. Atlanta artists account for 30 percent of the hits appearing on Billboard’s national sales charts largely because of the influence of hip-hop, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The BET Hip-Hop Awards will be held at the Fox Theatre on Nov. 12, and televised on Nov. 15.