FAQs

CMA is the premier trade association of the Country genre. Since 1958, CMA has been committed to promoting and growing Country Music, delivering exceptional service to our members, all while innovating for the future. Whether you are a student just starting to learn more about this industry, an entry-level professional at the beginning of your music career, or a tenured music industry veteran, there is a chance for you to grow and evolve within CMA’s Membership. Our community houses over 7,000 industry professionals across the globe, all committed to elevating and enhancing their careers in the music business Through membership, you can have access to various resources like educational opportunities, networking, and so much more.

Our Membership offers three tiers: Student, Industry, and Professional.

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP – FREE TIER - available to anyone 16 years or older who is enrolled in any full-time or equivalent educational program. No dues. Please note this membership does not carry voting rights. Benefits include: early access to internships or apprenticeships, educational programs tailored to students, discount programs, monthly email updates, and more. 

INDUSTRY MEMBERSHIP - $25 ANNUALLY - available to anyone working full-time or equivalent in the music industry in any genre. Please note this membership does not carry voting rights. Benefits include: Select professional development programs, opportunities for community-building, mental health resources, digital subscription to CMA’s Close Up Magazine, access to discounts, and more. 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP - $100 ANNUALLY - available to professionals who work full-time and earn their income primarily from the Country Music industry in one of the 15 membership categories: Advertising, Marketing, and Communications;, Affiliated;, Artist;, Composer;, Consumption (Satellite, Digital Streaming, Radio);, Entertainment Services;, Musician;, Personal Manager;, Producer/Engineer/Studio;, Publisher/PRO;, Record Company;, Talent Agent;, Talent Buyer/Promoter;, Touring Personnel;, Venue. Please note there are further qualifications to determine voting rights within this type. Benefits include: ticket pre-sales, access to insights and research, healthcare guidance, physical and digital Close Up Magazine subscription, full access to educational programs, and more. 

While the specific benefits of CMA Membership vary depending on Tier, generally speaking, our membership grants exclusive access to things like: industry news, networking events, ticket opportunities, music industry research and insights, voting rights in our annual awards programs, educational programs, optional health care enrollment, discounts on everyday purchases, and even CMA swag!

Any person who does not have a current CMA Membership, or has never had one, will need to complete this application in order to get started. This application takes about 10-15 min to complete for our Professional Tier and less for our Student and Industry Tiers. On average, it takes our Board of Directors four to six weeks to approve incoming applications. Once your application has been reviewed and approved, you’ll receive a welcome email with instructions on activating your membership.

Of course! Please reach out to [email protected] if you believe you already have a Membership Record on file with us. We will search all records and let you know the best way to proceed.

If you selected our Professional Tier application, you will reach a portion where you are instructed to choose a “Category”. This Category is meant to capture your role in the industry vs. your specific area of expertise. Ex: If you work for a Record Company, but have a role within Marketing, please select the "Record Company" category as this captures the entirety of your function more clearly. There will be an opportunity to explain your specific role later on in the application.  

Yes, the three professional references we ask for you to include in your application are required. These individuals do not have to be CMA Members, but they must be able to verify who you are and the work you do in the music industry.

Company paid for Memberships are handled a bit differently. “Roster” affiliated Members are valid thru 1/31/20xx (i.e. the last day of January during any given year, and each of those persons’ “dues” is paid for directly by their company. Reminders to renew these Rosters are MANUALLY SENT by the CMA Membership Team around EOY every year.. These Rosters CAN ONLY BE renewed via Check, over the phone, or via ACH.

Email is CMA’s primary form of communication with all Members. Typically, Professional Tier Members can expect to receive near weekly “e-Newsletters” from us. These emails specifically contain information regarding the Members-Only events, exclusive offers and experiences they can redeem, since we want to tell y’all all timely & relevant information! NOTE: Industry Tier can Members expect these e-Newsletters every 2 weeks. Student Tier, once a month. If you are not receiving these emails, and you are an active/valid Member, we recommend trying a few things BEFORE contacting [email protected]:

1. ​Please add [email protected] to your address book.
2. ​Please check your Spam and/or Promotions folders. There is a “Manage Subscription Preferences” button at the footer of all emails sent from CMA, thru with you can “resubscribe” yourself.
3. Please dive into the “Settings” in your inbox and see if our email address has been blocked. It’s possible an auto-filter could have unsubscribed you from receiving our emails without you knowing. CMA can always resubscribe folks manually. But this request must be made directly to [email protected].

Yes! All individually paid for Memberships (so, all Memberships that have DUES & are not on "Rosters" (aka company paid). This includes Professional Tier, Board Members, and Industry Tier Members.

These tiers are sent automatic reminders to renew as early as 3 months prior to their expiration date (AKA your Paid Thru Date). Our email marketing system sends “alerts” approx. 90 days, 60 days, 30 days & then 1 day prior to a person’s expiration date. Note: Before 2020, Members were physically mailed reminders to renew. This no longer happens. Memberships can only be renewed Online via Credit Card, Check, or via ACH.

Student Tier Membership is the only Tier of Membership that functions on an “automatic acceptance" basis. Essentially this means that as soon as someone completes a Student Application, our system automatically makes your account and enrolls you to receive Student Newsletters. Student Tier Memberships are manually sent the option to “upgrade” their Membership to Industry before they lapse. At current, Student Memberships are kept valid for up to 6 months after their given Graduation Date.

Only Professional Tier Voting Members have the option to vote in our annual programs. No other tier is granted voting rights. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have questions on your Tier or current Membership Status. For new applicants, please keep in mind the following “cut off dates” for yearly voting rights:

Key Dates:

• NEW Professional Tier Applicants must be approved & paid for prior to June 1, 20XX in order to be eligible to vote in all rounds of that years' CMA Awards
• NEW Professional Tier Applicants must be approved & paid for prior to July 1, 20XX (i.e. the night of July 1, 20XX at 12:00AM CT) in order to be eligible to vote in that years' 2nd and 3rd rounds.
• NEW Professional Tier Applicants approved & paid for after July 2, 20XX (i.e. July 2, 20XX at 12:01AM CT) will not be eligible to vote in that years' CMA Awards.

Interested in placement on CMA's Fresh From Nashville playlist or New Music Friday newsletters? Our Fresh From Nashville playlist is updated every Friday morning with new songs released that week. The New Music Friday newsletters are sent every Friday with new EP or album releases ONLY. If you have an EP or Album coming out, please share the focus track, release link, and cover art through this link.

Approximately four to six weeks. You can contact [email protected] with any questions. 

First of all, congratulations! We are so excited to welcome you into our CMA Membership community. Our “acceptance” emails contain the steps to activate your dues, those steps can be found below:

PROCESSING DUES ONLINE:

Go to https://cmamember.com/

Click on "Member Login" in the upper right-hand corner

If you've never logged in before: select "Forgot Password" and enter in the email address that receives CMA communications for your username. This will trigger a "Password Reset" email to be sent to you. Note: this password reset can take a few minutes to reach you.

If for some reason you aren't receiving this reset email, contact us at [email protected]

If you have logged in before, please enter in your own username and password information.

Click the “Profile” Button (which displays after logging in) to get to your account. There, you will see a “Pay Invoice” button. Please click this to view your renewal invoice.

Upon payment, your membership will be valid for one calendar year. You will be sent an automatic receipt for your records.

We recommend bookmarking https://cmamember.com/ for future use, as this will be your one-stop shop for all benefits, resources, news research & more available to you.

PROCESSING DUES CHECK:  Please send your check ($100 USD for Professional Members, $25 USD for Industry Members) to our offices: 35 Music Square E Suite 201, Nashville TN 37203, c/o Membership (referencing your Member ID or name).

PROCESSING DUES VIA PHONE: Our CMA Membership Team is happy to connect with you over the phone to process your dues. Please call us direct at 1-800-788-3045.

Please reach out to [email protected] with information on your lapsed membership. Any membership which has lapsed for over 60 days must resubmit information in order to be reinstated. Once we locate your CMA Membership, we can confirm what is necessary and send you the appropriate form to fill out.

Email is CMA’s primary form of communication with our 7,000+ member community. We encourage you to keep an eye out for all emails from [email protected] so you don’t miss anything from CMA! Our CMA Membership is also available to you 24/7 as your central location for all things membership related. We highly recommend bookmarking this page and exploring it as you have time – there are all kinds of member opportunities, benefits, industry news and events stored within.  

• Go to https://cmamember.com/
• Click on “Member Login” in the upper right-hand corner
  • Select "Forgot Password" and enter in the email address that usually receives CMA communications as your username.
  • This will trigger a "Password Reset" email to be sent to you. Note: this password reset can take a few minutes to reach you.

CMA’s Membership Team loves to keep its ear to the ground for interesting topics and industry trends. Please email [email protected] if you have an idea for a member event or benefit that is not already contained within CMA Member.

CMA Members can access digital versions of past CMA Close Up Magazine editions right from the CMA Member Website by using this link.  

Our CMA Membership Team is happy to connect and answer any questions you may have. Please contact us at [email protected] or call us direct at 1-800-788-3045. We look forward to responding to your inquiry in 24 - 48 hours!