NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — The Country Music Association continues announced plans to bring programming to Australia, New Zealand and Canada as it works to expand the global reach of American country music.
“Undertaking new initiatives in Australia, and for the first time in New Zealand, is all the more special now that borders are open and our live business can resume again,” says Milly Olykan, Vice President, International Relations and Development. “We have an incredible network in these markets, and we’re excited to be forging the many new relationships we’ve gathered over Zoom these last two years. CMA is grateful that the various broadcasters we have around the world have continued to carry CMA’s three network shows, giving Country Music artists mainstream exposure in multiple international territories.”
The CMA will visit Australia and New Zealand in September and will curate events with American country artists Kane Brown and Shy Carter, along with homegrown Aussie artist Melanie Dyer.
For the Australian leg of the visit, CMA will collaborate with performing rights organization APRA AMCOS for SongHubs Country, to host an intensive 4-day songwriting camp, which takes place from Sept. 1 – 4. Olykan will serve as curator for the event, handpicking 12 participants out of more than 75 submissions to work alongside Carter and Dyer to write and produce a commercial hit.
CMA is also lined up to participate in the Australian music conference BigSound on September 7th. Olykan will keynote a presentation highlighting the growth of country music in mainstream Australian culture as part of an interview with Natalie Waller, Chairman of the Australian Recording Industry Association and Head of Music & Events for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In addition, CMA will host a Nashville-style songwriters round at BigSound featuring Carter with local artists James Johnston, Fanny Lumsden and Loren Ryan.
On September 23rd, CMA will host a reception at the CMA-sponsored Backstage Bar at CMC Rocks, Australia’s largest international country music festival, which returns after a two year COVID-hiatus this year.
In New Zealand, the CMA is partnering with Sony Music New Zealand and Frontier Touring to host a pre-show reception with recording artist Kane Brown on September 25th, ahead of his performance at Spark Arena in Auckland. The show will be Brown’s first in New Zealand and the first major country show in the market since 2016, the CMA said.
Apart from the Pacific Rim, the CMA will head north to Canada to show the flag at the CCMA Country Music Week Conference and Festival and the Canadian Country Music Awards Thursday through Monday, Sept. 8 – 12.
