CMA To Broaden Membership Criteria; Revamp Some Membership Categories

Membership Changes Coming

The COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION will announce on MONDAY (3/20) that it is opening its membership to more people -- including full- and part-time music industry professionals and students aspiring to future industry careers -- with the addition of some new membership tiers.

According to THE TENNESSEAN, changes will include the addition of a free membership for high school and college students ages 16 and up, plus "widened membership entries for businesses with large employee pools, such as major labels and talent agencies," and opening membership to "touring professionals who may only work part-time in Country music." The latter two are part of CMA's new, broader "industry" category, which joins its current "professional member" tier.

Current CMA members enjoy benefits that include access to healthcare, mental health resources, educational programs, research and networking opportunities. The change will open some of the organization's benefits to the new members, although one benefit that will reportedly not be extended to the new tiers is the ability to vote for winners in the annual CMA AWARDS. Dues for the new "industry tier" will be $25, according to BILLBOARD, compared to the $100 professional members working in the industry full-time pay annually.

The CMA currently has about 6,300 dues-paying members in 16 categories. In another change, some of those categories are being revamped, including the one that incorporates radio members. According to THE TENNESSEAN, broadcast members will now become part of a "consumption" category, which also includes satellite radio and digital streaming. 

CMA will also launch a revamped membership website on MONDAY, BILLBOARD reports.

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