Country Music Association Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Pictured (L-R): CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern and Nashville Mayor David Briley. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville Metro Government

The Country Music Association celebrates its 60th anniversary Tuesday (Sept. 25), as the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and the City of Nashville proclaim Sept. 25, 2018 as Country Music Association Day. The CMA will host a special invite-only anniversary celebration on 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 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.

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.