Organization
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I get tickets to the CMA Awards?
Tickets for Country Music's Biggest Night™ are available to CMA members. For information on "The 41st Annual CMA Awards" and details on next year's broadcast, please visit CMAawards.com. Please see the Membership
section of CMAworld.com for CMA Awards ticket information.
- Does CMA provide industry reference and contact information?
CMA publishes the CMA Directory, which contains contact information for artist managers, publicists, record labels, talent agents, Country Radio and much more. The CMA directory can be ordered from this website.
- How do I receive information about CMA events?
Members of the Association receive Close Up magazine as a benefit of their membership. The publication publishes dates and details for all CMA events, projects and programs. Non members and members alike can consult this Website, CMAworld.com, for in-depth information on these CMA events.
Local newspapers and newsstand publications specifically written for the Country Music industry frequently track and report information on the CMA events, CMA Music Festival and the CMA Awards. In addition, Country Music Websites are becoming known for staying on top of industry events as well as
those produced by the Association. A well-known site for obtaining such information is CMT.com.
- How do I find registration information for CMA Music Festival?
For information on CMA Music Festival, please see visit CMAfest.com. This Website contains the latest in scheduled artist information, shows and exhibitors, as well as other general and registration information.
- What are the dates for the CMA Music Festival?
Go to CMAfest.com for more information.
- How can I become a member of CMA?
CMA membership is available to individuals working within the Country Music industry. If you fit this qualification and would like more information, please see CMAworld.com/membership.
- How can I find out when an artist is on tour?
For the latest in touring information, visit www.Pollstar.com. Some Country Music publications frequently publish artists' tour schedules and concert information. You can also contact artists' fan clubs for more information. To obtain contact
information on your favorite artists' fan clubs, call the International Fan Club Organization at (615) 371-9596 or click ifco.org.
- CMA, ACM, BMI, SESAC, ASCAP. The Country Music business seems to be overrun with acronyms. What do all these mean?
The Country Music industry is full of acronyms. To help decipher these, below is a partial list along with a brief description of each.
ACM
The Academy of Country Music is a trade association headquartered in Los Angeles, not to be confused with CMA. The ACM televises an annual awards show, traditionally held in the spring. By contrast, the CMA Awards typically takes place in the fall. The balloting system for the ACM show
is quite different from the CMA Awards where the members of CMA vote to determine the Awards winners.
AFM
The American Federation of Musicians, established in 1896, is a union organization that represents musicians of all genres. The Nashville local office of the AFM is Nashville Association of Musicians, local 257.
AFTRA
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a national labor union headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL-CIO. With 36 local offices around the country, AFTRA represents its 80,000 members in news and broadcasting, entertainment programming, the recording
business and commercials.
ASCAP
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, one of the three performing rights organizations, is an association of over 80,000 composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. ASCAP's function is to protect the rights of its members by licensing and paying royalties
for the public performances of their copyrighted works.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is the national public broadcaster, based in the UK, for electronic broadcasts all over the world. The BBC network provides radio and television broadcast programming.
BMG
Headquartered in New York City, BMG Entertainment, Bertelsmann Music Group, is the umbrella that owns over 200 record labels and companies. These include Arista Records, Arista Nashville, RCA Records, RCA Label Group Nashville, the Windham Hill Group, BMG Canada, BMG Direct, BMG Distribution,
BMG Music Publishing, BMG Special Products, BMG Television, and BMG Video.
BMI
BMI, Broadcast Music Incorporated, is a music performing rights organization whose business is twofold. It signs writers and publishers to represent their music around the world and also signs license agreements with businesses in the U.S. in order to pay the writers and publishers for
the use of their music. BMI is one of the three such performing rights organizations.
CMF
The Country Music Foundation collects and preserves artifacts, materials, and information related to Country Music and American folk music. The CMF owns and operates the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Foundation Library and Media Center, and two Nashville historic
sites: Hatch Show Print and RCA Studio B.
CRB
The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to advance and promote the study of the science of broadcasting through the mutual exchange of ideas. CRB provides scholarships to broadcasting students and conducts workshops and seminars, the most
well known of which is the Country Radio Seminar (see below). The key to CRB's work is the annual scholarship program for people majoring in broadcasting.
CRS
The Country Radio Seminar, produced by CRB, is a worldwide Country Music radio mega trade show that brings together over 2,300 radio industry professionals. CRS boasts attendees from nearly every US state and a dozen foreign countries who converge on Nashville for four days of radio industry
education and entertainment.
IAFE
The International Association of Fairs and Expositions is a voluntary, non-profit corporation organizing state, district, and county agricultural fairs, state associations of fairs, expositions, associations, corporations, and individuals into one large association interested in the improvement
of the fair industry and allied fields. From the nucleus of a half dozen fairs in 1885, IAFE has grown to where it now represents the most progressive fairs in North America and around the world.
IEBA
The International Entertainment Buyers Association is a non-profit association of entertainment professionals across all genres of music. IEBA membership is open to individuals directly involved in music entertainment as well as related entertainment fields such as media, publicity, sound
and light.
IFCO
The International Fan Club Organization is a fan club association dedicated to promoting Country Music, Gospel music and other popular music, artists, fan clubs and fan interests worldwide. IFCO has become known as the organization that ties all Country Music fan clubs together to represent
their best interests.
NAB
National Association of Broadcasters is a worldwide association of radio and television broadcasters. NAB offers a wide range of association benefits within four categories of membership: radio, television, international as well as an associate membership category.
NACA
National Association for Campus Activities is a member-based, not-for-profit association composed of colleges and universities, talent firms and artist/performers, student programmers and leaders, and professional campus activities staff. NACA is a clearinghouse and catalyst for information,
ideas and programs promoting a variety of college and university activities, from leadership development to student programming.
NARAS
NARAS, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, is the former name of the organization now called The Recording Academy. Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its makers. An organization of
more than 13,000 musicians, producers and other recording professionals, the organization is internationally known for the GRAMMY® Awards and is responsible for numerous groundbreaking outreach, professional development, cultural enrichment, education and human services programs.
NARM
The National Association of Recording Merchandisers serves the music and other prerecorded entertainment software industries by advocating the common interests of merchandisers and distributors of music, video and entertainment software. NARM has played a major role in the recorded entertainment
industry for over 40 years and currently has more then 1,100 members worldwide.
NSAI
Nashville Songwriters Association International is the world's largest not-for-profit songwriters trade organization. Established in 1967 and comprised of nearly 5,000 members, NSAI serves and promotes aspiring professional songwriters across all genres of music.
NEA
The Nashville Entertainment Association's primary goal is to promote entertainment-related businesses in Nashville, internationally. The NEA is a non-profit corporation and membership is open to anyone who is interested in the success and growth of the Nashville entertainment industry.
NXNE
North By Northeast is Canada's leading new music festival and industry conference. Traditionally held in June in Toronto, NXNE is a working festival for musicians interested in making industry contacts and reaching new markets. The annual event boasts almost 400 bands on three stages
in front of approximately 30,000 fans.
RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America is the trade organization for companies in the music and recording industries. RIAA's mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes its members' creative and financial vitality around the world. Perhaps RIAA is best
known as the organization that bestows gold and platinum status for sales of recorded product.
SESAC
SESAC, despite popular belief, is actually not an acronym. It is, however, the second oldest performing rights organization in the United States. As such, SESAC is designed to represent songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public.
SESAC's corporate headquarters is located in the heart of Music Row in Nashville.
SXSW
South By Southwest is a multi-format conference held in Austin, Texas each March. The popular event consists of a family of three entertainment-related conference streams: Film, Interactive and Music. The oldest of these, the music portion of the conference, garners the largest attendance
where hundreds of new and established artists across all music genres perform for showcases and concerts.
