THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES 60TH ANNIVERSARY
The U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and the City of Nashville
Declare September 25, 2018 Country Music Association Day
NASHVILLE—Today, the Country Music Association celebrates its 60th anniversary, as the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and the City of Nashville,
officially proclaim September 25, 2018 Country Music Association Day.
CMA will host a special invite-only anniversary celebration Wednesday,
Sept. 26 in Nashville.
Founded
in 1958, the Country Music Association is the first trade organization
formed to promote a type of music. The organization, which started with
160 members, has grown to more than 7,400 industry professionals around
the world representing every aspect of the business. The organization’s
objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for
the industry and advance the growth of Country Music around the world.
The
CMA Awards, Country Music’s Biggest Night™, annually recognize
outstanding achievement in the format and is the longest-running music
awards program on network television. In addition to the CMA Awards, the
organization presents several annual accolades including CMA Broadcast
Awards, CMA Touring Awards, CMA Triple Play Awards, International
Awards, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, which CMA established in
1961 to recognize artists and industry professionals with Country
Music’s highest honor.
CMA
Fest, the longest-running annual four-day Country Music festival, takes
place in downtown Nashville each summer and is taped for a three-hour
network television special. Ticket proceeds from the festival go
directly to helping enrich and sustain music education programs across
the country through CMA’s nonprofit arm, the CMA Foundation, thanks to
every artist donating their time. The CMA Foundation, which was established in 2011, has
invested more than $21 million in over 87 programs across the national
public school system, after school programs, summer camps and community
outreach organizations.
“CMA
Country Christmas” is the organization’s third television property and
features Country artists performing original music and Christmas
classics for broadcast during the holiday season.
In
addition to its television properties, the CMA Songwriters Series
presented by U.S. Bank hosts intimate performances around the globe,
having presented more than 100 shows in cities including Austin,
Belfast, Chicago, Dublin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Park
City (at Sundance), Phoenix, Toronto and Washington, D.C. at the
renowned Library of Congress and John F. Kennedy Center. CMA also
provides its membership with ongoing strategic research including
supporting the industry’s global streaming initiatives.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Nashville Metro Government