A Strategic Vision for the Country Music Association by Laura Segura
Deep Roots Wide Reach.
A strategy to maintain CMA's genre leadership while evolving into a modernized platform spanning global media, live experiences, and industry development.
Explore the StrategyA Note Before We Begin
A Proposal Offered with Humility
What follows represents a strategic framework developed through research and external observation — before the privilege of learning from the Board, the team, and the organization's full history. These ideas are offered as a starting point for conversation, not a finished plan.
The Board's guidance, institutional knowledge, and strategic priorities would shape and refine every element of this vision. The goal is to demonstrate how I think — and to invite your perspective on where CMA should go next.
Section 01 — The Opportunity
We Are Already Global
Country music is experiencing continued global growth across streaming, touring, and cultural influence. That growth is spread across platforms, markets, and stakeholders without a unifying engine driving the success.
Organizing that growth into a cohesive narrative benefits the whole genre.
CMA is uniquely positioned to continue their leadership into this next phase.
Source: Luminate Data, 2025
Section 02 — Strategic Shift
Special Moments to Global Convener
The CMA can further drive the immense global growth in audiences by interconnected development of industry, media, experiences, and partner activations. The four parts of this strategy are not separate programs — they are one connected ecosystem, each reinforcing the others.
Not more activity. More connection.
Section 03 — Preliminary Ideas
Four Focus Areas. One Connected System.
CMA's event and awards calendar is already extraordinary. The strategic shift is connecting those moments into a continuous media presence — one that builds audiences across every platform, every season, and every market.
- Anchor a new media rights deal in the full event calendar — Awards, Fest, Country Christmas, Songwriters Series, Introducing Nashville, and all honors programs
- Develop short-form and digital series that extend each event's story before and after broadcast
- Produce international specials for high-growth markets (U.K., Australia, Germany, Brazil)
- Turn honors moments — Hall of Fame, Triple Play, International Awards — into premium content franchises
A continuous content ecosystem that grows media rights value and deepens audience connection year-round.
CMA Fest, the Awards show, Country Christmas, and the touring Songwriters Series and Introducing Nashville formats are among the most compelling live experiences in music. The work here is extending their global reach — not reinventing them.
- Grow CMA Fest's international footprint through broadcast partnerships and satellite events
- Scale Introducing Nashville and Songwriters Series into new international markets
- Build premium fan experiences around existing events — VIP access, travel packages, behind-the-scenes
- Capture and distribute live content across platforms to sustain engagement between events
A scalable live platform that drives global fan growth, deeper sponsorship, and year-round demand.
Country music is built on people. The CMA Foundation has invested $29 million in music education — planting the seeds. CMA's role is what comes next: ensuring those people can build real, sustainable careers in this industry, and that everyone already in it is supported to stay.
- Create clear career pathways that connect CMA Foundation graduates into the industry
- Professional development across creative and business roles — artists, songwriters, managers, touring crews, and staff
- Mental health and wellness resources, normalized as a professional standard
- Annual State of Country Music Report — positioning CMA as the definitive industry voice
- Aggregated partner insights from Luminate and others, shared with press, partners, and policymakers
A genre that takes care of its people — sustaining the talent and professional ecosystem that makes everything else possible.
The most powerful revenue move CMA can make is reframing what it sells. Not individual events — but a year-round platform with 80 million global fans and a calendar that never goes dark.
- Shift from event sponsorships to integrated, year-round partnerships — brands in the story, not interrupting it
- Pursue multi-year deal structures (3–5 years) for greater stability and larger total value
- CMA Legacy of the Year Gala — a premier fundraising event honoring a defining figure in country music
- International licensing and co-production revenue from global broadcast and streaming partners
- Deepen membership value — access, content, global networking, and professional development
A stronger, more sustainable revenue base built on deeper relationships and the full weight of CMA's platform.
Section 04 — Supporting Layer
Thought Leadership
Across all four strategic focus areas, The CMA has an opportunity to be a data leader and own the narrative of Country's Global Growth. Be the voice — the authoritative source that shapes how the world understands country music's growth, cultural reach, and economic impact.
Stellar content, storytelling, leading data collection and analysis makes this possible.
Authority, visibility, and strategic influence.
Section 05 — The Inflection Point
The Media Rights Opportunity
CMA already has the CMA Awards, CMA Fest, and CMA Country Christmas as major broadcast properties — plus a rich calendar of honors and events throughout the year. The next media deal is the opportunity to present all of that as a unified, year-round content platform rather than individual moments.
Event-based licensing
Year-round content partnership
- CMA Awards — Country Music's Biggest Night™
- CMA Fest — The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience™
- CMA Country Christmas — holiday season broadcast
- CMA Songwriters Series & Introducing Nashville — touring formats
- Hall of Fame, Triple Play & International Awards — storytelling moments
- Short-form and digital series building on existing formats
- International specials and CMA Fest global extensions
- Possible new Legacy Show
This is how CMA increases long-term enterprise value.
Section 06 — First Year Implementation
What Happens Next
Negotiate an expanded year-round media partnership
→Launch short-form and international content formats
→Pilot one international CMA-branded live event
→Deepen workforce development and care services for the people of Country
→Publish the inaugural State of Country Music Report
→A Closing Thought
Country music has always told the truth about the human experience.
The world relates deeply and craves that shared story. CMA is uniquely positioned to tell it — at scale, with authority, and with the authenticity that makes country loved worldwide.
Deep Roots, Wide Reach. CMA can.
About the Author
Laura Segura is a purpose-driven nonprofit leader with over 20 years of executive experience modernizing complex institutions at scale. As Executive Director of MusiCares she led a period of substantial organizational growth, expanding operating revenue by more than 180%, while also raising more than $50 million in two special relief efforts to music professionals. This growth allowed for scaling programs more than 200%, serving over 100,000 people in need. Prior to MusiCares, she served as Vice President of Membership at the Recording Academy, overseeing programs and services for 25,000 members nationwide and lobbying for passage of the Music Modernization Act. Most recently, she has served as Senior Vice President at the Entertainment Industry Foundation and Executive Director of She Is The Music.
Her experience spans governance, fundraising, membership, live events, media, workforce development, and strategic change management — with a consistent focus on building institutions that are both financially strong and deeply trusted by the communities they serve.
LinkedIn ProfileThis strategic vision was created by Laura Segura as preliminary ideas — a starting point for dialogue, not a finished plan. Every element would be shaped by the Board's guidance, the team's expertise, and the organization's institutional knowledge.