Fearless CMA Chief Executive Officer Looks Optimistically To The Future
By: Shelley Wilson

It's no secret that the music industry is facing some of its greatest challenges ever, with sales slipping, file sharing on the rise and, in some cases, concert attendance lagging.

But, Tammy Genovese, Chief Executive Officer for the Country Music Association, is someone who sees the glass as half full. While others look at the music business and its challenges, Genovese looks at those challenges for opportunities of growth. That outlook is why she's an industry leader in embracing the technology revolution and getting worldwide exposure for country artists, while speaking honestly about her organization's biggest events, the CMA Music Festival and the CMA Award Show.

"We started out with very few members and now we're sitting here with over 6,000 members in 41 different countries. We have two major prime-time network shows with the CMA Awards in November and the CMA Music Festival Special in September," Genovese said. "That really lets us reach out to 50 million people to promote this music and our artists. I feel like we've come a long way since the days of trying to get a radio station to be formatted for country music and now we have over 2,000 country radio stations in this country."

The Country Music Association (CMA) was formed in 1958 as the first trade organization to promote a music genre. The CMA's initially consisted of 233 members with the objectives of guiding and enhancing the development of Country Music throughout the world; to demonstrate it as a viable medium to advertisers, consumers and media; and to provide a unity of purpose for the Country Music industry.

Genovese, originally from Corinth, Mississippi, didn't start out in search of a music career, but as a corporate accountant. She took a job in Nashville to stay close to her family, but soon found out that crunching numbers wasn't her passion. When she heard about an opening at the CMA, Genovese, always a country music fan herself, checked it out and three weeks later began working there as the Administrative Services Coordinator.

And although Genovese may have never struggled singing in smoky bars to become a performing headliner, she has paid her dues in the music industry to be where she is today. In the course of her 23-year CMA career, she has filled several roles since 1985, including Director of Operations and Associate Executive Director. She became the organization's first Chief Operating Officer in 2006. A year later, she took the reign as the Chief Executive Officer, another first in the organization's structure. For some companies, having newly created COO and CEO positions may prove difficult, but Genovese says the support and growth of the organization made for good timing.

"The organization has grown and we have become more involved trying to advance country music. It's been great for the organization and me. For so many years we had executives and the executive director, but we've grown so much that I think it only makes sense to move into these roles and these titles. I think we're doing the right thing and I think the board felt that way as well," Genovese said.

The annual CMA Award show is a big part of how the Association gives artists exposure to a massive audience. By using a live television network platform, many established artists showcase new material while new artists can get recognition. While all other genres want to hear the latest and greatest, country music loves its roots and that balance of old and new can be tough to create due to pleasing television executives who want to grab a younger demographic versus pleasing traditional country fans who want to see older country music stars get exposure as well, Genovese says.

"It's hard balancing when you have ABC, who is our TV partner, pushing us very strongly every day to make sure that we are reaching the 18-49 audience and are fresh and new. But we also have the culture of our organization and our industry with our awards paying homage," Genovese said. "We work very closely with ABC to make sure we keep the balance where it needs to be. Sometimes we go one way or the other on some years and that's due to timing and situation."

Genovese says she believes that the CMA's do give homage to their past and points to the induction of the Country Music Hall of Fame members as an example.

"We were not allowed to give those Hall of Fame members the appropriate time that they deserved to have by earning this great moment and opportunity in their life. So now we have an entire event in Nashville that is focused on giving them the chance to invite their friends and families and make their acceptance speeches as they like and put them in the spotlight as opposed to being part of a TV show," Genovese said.

The CMA Award show may be a balancing act, but taking risks to broaden the audience is something Genovese has done quite well. In 2005, "Country Music's Biggest Night" was televised from New York City and was the first time it was ever filmed outside of Nashville. The event was a marketing stunt, Genovese recalls, to bring the music and artists to the media capitol of the world and give them a first-hand look at the country music industry.

"We could not convince some of the major marketers and magazines who or what we were, so we decided let's go to them. It was hands down the right thing to do. One example of this is at the time 'People' magazine was not a huge supporter of country music, but when we went to New York in 2005, we courted 'People' pretty heavily," Genovese said. "In 2006 and 2007, they actually dedicated their October magazine to country music and in both years it was their highest selling magazine of the year."

It may be hard for a country music consumer to know the differences between the Country Music Association and the other country music promoter who puts on a different award TV show, the Academy of Country Music (ACM).

According to Genovese, the ACM's may have the same mission as the CMA's, but there are differences.

"I think if you look at us as a trade organization, the CMA's is more diverse in our activities and what we do to promote country music verses the show that we do and the show they do. We're competitive because we're on ABC and they're on CBS, but at the end of the day we're both here for the same reason and that is to promote country music. They are making some changes this year in their award shows by letting the fans vote on Entertainer of the Year as opposed to their membership, so they might be going into a different direction, which will set us apart even more," Genovese said.

One of those major activities the CMA's does to set them apart is host the CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville during June. The four-day annual event, formerly known as Fan Fair, allows fans to see dozens of performers in a star-packed nightly concert at LP Field (where the NFL Titans play) and at the Riverfront dual stages from both major and independent record labels. Along with the performances, there is a Kick Off Parade, Block Party, autograph and photo sessions with the artists and a Chevy Sports Zone where fans can cheer on their favorite celebrities, artists and athletes in friendly competitions.

Fan Fair was created in 1972 as a result of country artists looking to promote themselves at a DJ convention in downtown Nashville and fans showing up to hopefully catch a glimpse of them, Genovese explains. "A CMA board member saw this as an opportunity and suggested creating this Fan Fair and seeing what happens," Genovese recalled.

The attendance record for the CMA Music Festival continues to break records year after year with hundreds of thousands attending from all over the world. Genovese says the title of the event was changed from Fan Fair to the CMA Music Festival in 2004 to broaden and brand the event.

The debate of whether country artists should now be getting paid for their time at the Festival and whether the Festival should stay in Nashville has been a hot topic in the music world this past year. Genovese says she understands the artists' plight, but also recognizes the original idea of the Music City community benefiting from the event.

Years ago, Genovese recalls, the CMA's put an action plan into place where the artists could pick their charity of choice and the CMA's would make a donation to that charity on their behalf. However, the donations for the different charities were not equal in amount and did not give the community impact the CMA's wanted to have, Genovese explains.

Looking at how the CMA's could make that impact, Genovese says they opened a dialogue with Houston Livestock Radio and realized their big charity component was education. It became very apparent to the CMA's that they could greatly impact the education system musically in their own Nashville backyard with the Festival.

"We're sitting here in Music City and our Davidson County School System funding is not there to provide proper instruments and infrastructure for music education. If anybody should be having music in their schools and making sure that it is prominent in their daily life, it should be Music City," Genovese said.

The "Keep the Music Playing" campaign has paid off for the kids. In just one week, the CMA's distributed 75 different (and new) instruments and outfitted an entire band at one middle school. Genovese says in the last two years, the CMA's have given over a million dollars to help promote music education in schools.

Does Genovese believe the artists should still get paid for their time at the Festival?

"They should, yes. Above and beyond what their going rates are. Do we have the means to do that now? No, not right now. If we actually paid the artists, we certainly wouldn't have the money to give to the kids. I don't think they all want to get paid. Maybe they want to have their expenses offset. A lot of times it's not that they played for free, it's actually it costs them money to play because they bring in their band and buses and they still have to pay the bills for all that," Genovese said.

The location of the CMA Music Festival will also remain in Nashville, Genovese says firmly.

"It is a culture of this city and the culture of the artists living here and for us to pick this event up and move it, there's no way we can do it. There are opportunities for portions of the event to go somewhere, but then it would just be another festival in town. Nashville is our home. The city has embraced us and we have a great partnership with them," Genovese said.

With the music landscape changing, the Association is embracing digital media the best way a company can without being able to peer into a crystal ball. They just hired an agency firm to understand the future of consumer buying and are positioning themselves as a depository of information, according to Genovese, with a huge research project that will hopefully let them be on the forefront and stay successful. Speaking of changes, Genovese takes no offense to the claim that country music is sounding more like pop these days.

"I think one of the greatest advantages with country music is there's such a diversity. If The Eagles were to come out today as a new band, they would probably be a country band. Jewel just came out with a country album and I think Snoop Dogg is coming out with one (laughs). I think it's great that we make strides in other formats," Genovese said.

With regards to her own music artist favorites, Genovese has a wide range of them, from the old to the new.

"I always loved Dolly. I've always loved her voice and have grown to respect her more now that I'm in the music industry. I love, love, love Eddy Arnold. While I was sitting at his funeral a few days ago, I realized how much I did enjoy his music. (Eddy Arnold was the CMA's first Entertainer of the Year). Of today's artists, I listen to all the females: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler. I'm so proud of Taylor Swift, she's such an incredible artist. I love Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney. I get to listen to my kids' iPods and one sing will be Tim McGraw and the next will be Eminem. I don't really have a favorite," Genovese said.

Genovese may be leading the pack in the male-dominated music industry. In fact, her life almost reads like a country song itself. She received her MBA while still working and then went on to raise two children, who are now teenagers, with her husband. And while others in her well-earned top position could spend their free time rubbing shoulders with celebrities, Genovese says she cherishes the time with her family more than doing anything else. Perhaps it's that balance, between work and home, which makes her unafraid about what the future holds for the music industry.

"You can look at the future as the sky is the limit or you can say the sky is falling. I think if you keep the attitude of the sky is falling, we're all going to die, but the sky is the limit is where we're trying to present ourselves and look at all the opportunities that are out there to promote country music and sell it to the consumer," Genovese said.