NASHVILLE
– 2015 CMA Music Festival sold out seven months in advance prompting
large, enthusiastic crowds at the Festival’s numerous free stages and event
areas with a record-setting daily attendance of 87,680 fans – besting 2014
numbers by 9.6 percent.
“The
advance sell out speaks to the strength of the event, but great weather and the
numerous free stages and activities downtown contributed to our attendance
bump,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “The popularity of our
artists and the entertainment value of this Festival is what increased
attendance and filled the streets and parks of downtown Nashville.”
Attendance
figures for 2015 include four-day ticket packages and promotional tickets, as
well as attendance in the AT&T U-verse® Fan Fair X, and free areas
downtown. In all, more than 500 artists participated in more than 250 hours of
concerts on 11 stages (seven of which were free).
 |
| Thousands gather at LP Field (Photo by Dusty Draper/CMA) |
Fans
obviously liked what they saw: Tickets for 2016 CMA Music Festival, which will
be held Thursday through Sunday, June 9-12, are selling fast with 62 percent of
available tickets already sold to returning fans. The national on-sale date is Friday,
June 19. Fans can order tickets by visiting
CMAfest.com
or calling the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST (262-3378).
Attendance
in the numerous free areas, including The Buckle, Fan Alley, and concert
stages, was brisk and showed significant growth year-to-year. For the first
time in Festival history, Chevrolet Riverfront Stage reached capacity Saturday
afternoon with 25,000 fans in attendance.
Crowds at
the Bridgestone Arena Plaza increased over 2014 and the new Gildan Broadway
Stage at the Hard Rock Café stayed busy all four days. The BMI Tailgate Party
stage at LP Field, which debuted in 2012, was a hit with fans entering the
stadium for the Nightly Concerts.
Corporate
brand partnerships are a key element to the marketing, fan experience, and
support of the Festival with more than 40 different brands participating in the
CMA Music Festival.
“We are
pleased to have a number of returning partners, some of which are expanding
their presence, as well as many brands that are new to the Festival,” said Damon
Whiteside, CMA senior vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships.
“This year more than ever, the brand activations enhanced the fan experience
and continued to differentiate our Festival with unique and exciting
partnerships. The overwhelmingly positive response from our brand partners
illustrates the power of Country Music, the appeal of our fans, and the efforts
of our CMA Partnerships staff.”
CMA Music
Festival supports music education. The artists and celebrities participating in
CMA Music Festival donate their time. They are not compensated for the hours
they spend in meet and greets and performing. In appreciation of their
exhaustive efforts, the CMA Foundation donates proceeds from the event to local
and national music education programs on the artists’ behalf as part of the
Music Education Matters initiative. Since 2006, CMA has donated more than $11
million to this worthy cause.
Keith Urban
was introduced as the first Music Education Matters ambassador on Thursday to a
standing-room-only crowd of 2,500 people at the CMA Close Up Stage. Urban was
treated to a performance by students who have benefited from the program and
performed with four guitar players from Nashville School of the Arts, another
beneficiary of the program.
Linda
Friend of JFK Middle School, who led the student singers in Urban’s hit “Days
Go By,” said: “It’s just sitting there. The talent is sitting there in a lot of
our kids, and the instrument in their hands allows them access to the magic
that’s in each of our children.”
On Sunday, Ron
Samuels, Chairman of the CMA Foundation Board of Directors, presented a grant
check to The Quest Center for Art and Community Development during Charlie
Worsham’s fan club party in Nashville. Worsham is a passionate supporter of the
Center, which is a music education and resource center located in Dickson,
Tenn., a largely rural community with limited access to music programs. The
Center makes music education accessible to all members of the community,
including individuals with disabilities, while providing leadership and a
positive, affordable, and safe environment for students.
Saturday’s
Artist of the Day Chris Young and Farmers Insurance “Thank America’s Teachers”
paired up inside AT&T U-verse® Fan Fair X at the Farmers Thank America’s
Teachers bus when Young surprised one of his own music educators, Brenda
Gregory, with a $2,500 check on behalf of Farmers.
CMA fans
are contributing to the CMA Foundation's worthy and important initiative, too,
by bidding on one-of-a-kind experiences and signed items in the Sixth Annual
CMA Celebrity Auction, which was held in AT&T U-verse® Fan Fair X
benefiting the CMA Foundation. The auction raised $150,000 ($100,000 in 2014)
from bids for more than 100 items including meet and greets, guitars,
autographed merchandise, and more from stars and celebrities including Jason Aldean,
Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Ariana Grande, Hunter Hayes, Sam Hunt, Little Big
Town, George Strait, Meghan Trainor, and Zac Brown Band.
CMA Music
Festival, which started as Fan Fair® in 1972, is about the fans and their
relationship with the artists and the music. The theme is universal and in
2015, Festival attendees and media came from all 50 states and 20 countries
including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany,
India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.
CMA
continued its practice of interacting with fans through digital and social
channels at the 2015 CMA Music Festival, to both inform and reward loyal
Festival attendees.
The free
CMA Music Festival app presented by AT&T U-verse® for iPhone and Android
saw 38,748 total active users – a seven percent increase over 2014. New app
features this year included schedule sharing with friends via Facebook, a CMA
Fest radio station powered by Pandora, and a live stream of the AT&T
U-verse® Showcase Stage.
The app
featured a popular option for users to create their own personalized schedule –
the full schedule PDF was clicked 43,412 times and the FFX Meet and Greet
schedule was clicked 19,874 times.
Additionally,
CMA social media streams and news bulletins were integrated, including push
notifications to update attendees on weather alerts, schedule changes, and
surprise performances. For the first time, CMA was featured as an official
“Story” on Snapchat, which attracted at least 5.5 million views.
* Unique Visitors Week Of: Up 13
percent versus week of 2014 (284,855 total for the week)
* Unique
Visitors YTD: Up 22 percent versus YTD 2014 (1.04 million total for the year)
At LP
Field, fans were invited to post their Festival photos to Instagram throughout
the weekend using #CMAfest. During the day, social posts from Twitter and
Instagram were featured on the screens at four different stages, powered by
Postano. Overall, 28,000 social interactions per day were sent to the video
screens at the daytime stages.
CMA once
again partnered with Spotify to create the CMA Music Festival Spotify Jukebox.
The Jukebox powered the in-house music that played between performances. Fans
were invited to Tweet requests to the Jukebox using #SpotifyCMA.
In
addition, Pandora utilized their unique music discovery platform to suggest
artist performances fans could catch on the daytime stages based on performers
they like at LP Field.
2015 CMA
Music Festival Research Recap
With so many ardent Country Music fans in one
place, opportunities abound for CMA to conduct research with this important
consumer group. In particular, CMA focused on how fans engage with AT&T
U-verse® Fan Fair X to inform future Festival planning.
The
findings reported are based on on-site intercept research with attendees of Fan
Fair X during the four-day event. These results are considered
preliminary.
Overall, 48
percent of attendees were attending CMA Music Festival for the first time. This
number jumps to 60 percent among those attending with the single-day Fan Fair X
ticket, which is an indicator of success in bringing the Fan Fair X experience
to more new people each year.
* Visitors
of Fan Fair X were primarily made up of four-day LP Field tickets holders (81
percent); 11 percent of visitors had the one-day FFX ticket option; and 9
percent purchased a four-day Fan Fair X ticket.
* Among
four-day LP Field ticket holders, 93 percent were onsite for the Festival four
or more days with 30 percent of those attending more than four days of the
week-long festivities.
* 50
percent were drawn into Fan Fair X for a specific scheduled performance or
event. Among this group, nearly three-quarters were aware of the performance or
event before they arrived, which they discovered through CMA Music Festival
marketing sources.
* For each
visit to Fan Fair X, attendees spent an average of two hours inside the venue listening
to music and enjoying all the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experiences that Fan
Fair X had to offer; the majority of fans visited Fan Fair X each of the four
days and many visited multiple times per day.
* 49
percent of attendees have an annual household income of more than $75,000 (48
percent in 2014).
* 31
percent of attendees traveled by airplane to attend CMA Music Festival (30
percent in 2014).
“As the
Country Music audience continues to expand among all segments of the
population, particularly among the younger millennial and diversity segments,
it’s all about the experience,” said Karen Stump, CMA’s senior director of
market research. “Our research among Festival attendees about their
preferences for on-site experiences serves the very important role of helping
CMA to build upon experiences year after year. It is a very important
priority for CMA that we integrate the ‘fan voice’ into our event each and
every year.”
The fun
kicked into high gear with the expanded CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Concert at
the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage featuring SiriusXM Highway Finds. The event,
curated by SiriusXM and hosted by SiriusXM The Highway’s on-air talent,
included performances by 23 acts featured on The Highway’s Highway Finds, the
SiriusXM channel’s ongoing initiative to introduce new Country artists to
SiriusXM listeners. Attendance at the Kick-Off Concert increased 26 percent
over 2014.
The
epicenter of the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience was AT&T U-verse®
Fan Fair X with meet and greets, concerts, lifestyle exhibits, marketplace,
live broadcasts, and more in the Music City Center.
Little Big
Town kicked it off on Thursday with an official ribbon cutting and Q&A
session with the fans. At the ceremony, the group announced that they will be
returning to host “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” for the third
time. The special airs on the ABC Television Network on Tuesday, Aug. 4 (8
p.m./ET).
“We just
love CMA Fest,” said Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town. “It’s just about the
fans. I don’t think there’s any other genre that could do this kind of thing –
a weeklong celebration of our fans. I love that our artists all participate. I
love that the fans come from around the world and we have this big ol’ party
here. Nothing compares to it.”
Other
artists of the day included Hunter Hayes, Chris Young, and Darius Rucker. All
Artist of the Day appearances attracted between 2,000 to 2,500 fans. Also
popular were special performances by “Nashville’s” Charles Esten, Sara Evans in
an exclusive CMA Songwriters Series showcase, Jo Dee Messina, and Kellie
Pickler.
More than
72,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles into Fan Fair X throughout the
Festival, which was a 14.3 percent increase over 2014. Four-day ticket holders
have free access to Fan Fair X, but fans were able to purchase tickets to visit
the popular artist meet and greets, marketplace, and exhibits. Single and
four-day ticket purchases for Fan Fair X increased 26 percent over 2014.
“It was
important for people to know that just because they didn’t have a ticket to the
Nightly Concerts at LP Field that there were plenty of free concerts and
activities for them to enjoy,” Trahern said. “The increase in attendance at Fan
Fair X and the increase in ticket purchases is a strong indication that locals
and regional residents are attending in higher numbers.”
Over the
four days, 371 artists participated in concerts, events, and meet and greets
inside Fan Fair X. Charles Esten, Brenda Lee, Marshall Tucker Band, Darius
Rucker, and Darryl Worley all carved out additional time for fans. Other
popular meet and greets included Lauren Alaina, Keith Anderson, Kelsea
Ballerini, Craig Wayne Boyd, Jessie James Decker, Sara Evans, Florida Georgia
Line, Nick Fradiani, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Lonestar, Dustin Lynch, Joe
Nichols, Cassadee Pope, Josh Turner, Phil Vassar, Wynonna, and Chris Young.
Reigning
CMA New Artist of the Year Brett Eldredge made a surprise appearance Saturday
on the AT&T U-verse® Showcase Stage.
This marks
the third year that AT&T U-verse® has been title sponsor of the exhibit
hall experience at the Music City Center. The AT&T U-verse® Showcase Stage
featured appearances by 36 of Nashville’s recognized stars and up-and-comers
with performances and Q&A’s live streamed on
uverse.com/CMAfest
and recorded to be featured as VOD clips on the Country Deep TV, online, and
mobile platforms.
“Once
again, AT&T U-verse Fan Fair X gave Country Music fans unparalleled access
to the artists and music they love with live performances, autograph signings,
and our Country Deep app,” said Brian Collins, Vice President of Wireline
Consumer Marketing, AT&T Home Solutions. “We’re proud to be a part of
the Festival and we look forward to next year’s CMA Music Festival.”
Durango®
returned to present the Durango Music Spot, which launched in 2004 as a
showcase for independent artists, and featured more than 50 performers. The
Music Spot was expanded this year and was an extremely popular destination for
fans. All performances were broadcast and streamed live by 650 WSM-AM
Nashville.
Chevrolet
Riverfront Stage
Gary Allan opened four days of music at the popular Chevrolet
Riverfront Stage with an energy-packed morning performance Thursday. It was an
auspicious start to a full slate of performances. The stage bustled with a
roster of outstanding artists delivering longer sets for the appreciative
crowd.
In all,
more than 36 acts performed 30 hours of concerts over the four days with
132,000 fans passing through the gates to watch the performances at Chevrolet
Riverfront Stage. Throughout the footprint, Chevrolet logged more than 51,000
vehicle interactions and for the first-time the longtime partner brought their
Chevrolet Riverfront Studio to the event featuring a variety of artist meet and
greets and radio interviews.
“We had an
incredible week at CMA Fest this year,” said Michael Weidman, National
Promotions Manager, Chevrolet. “The crowds have been larger than we have ever
seen. Each year we try to bring something new to enhance the fan’s experience.
The CMA team is an integral part of that; and they provide all the support we
could ever ask for to bring new ideas to life.”
Bud Light
Plaza Stage at Bridgestone Arena Plaza
The audiences at the Bud Light Plaza
Stage at the Bridgestone Arena Plaza were enthusiastic and didn’t hesitate to
demonstrate their appreciation for the 72 artists performing on the stage
during 23 hours of concerts. The exceptional lineup included up-and-comers,
established stars, and legends.
Bud Light
brought their popular “House of Whatever” experience to the Festival for the
first time this year. The custom-built environment was stationed outside LP
Field and included a karaoke stage featuring surprise performances by Brett
Eldredge, Kelsea Ballerini, Cassadee Pope, and Dan + Shay.
“The
partnership with CMA Music Festival continues to be an important component for
the Bud Light brand because of the authentic connection with Country Music
fans,” said Kevin Boyd, Manager, Region Brand Activation for Anheuser-Busch,
Inc. “The four day Festival gives us a great platform to enhance an already
incredible music experience for fans with meaningful Bud Light engagement and
unique experiences. We’ve seen firsthand the growth of the Festival over the
years and how loyal the fans are, not only to the artists, but to the partners
as well. Bud Light is proud to part of the Festival and look forward to
continuing and growing our partnerships with CMA.”
Belk Park
Stage in Walk of Fame Park
For the first time this year, Belk hosted the Belk
Park Stage, where concertgoers had the chance to listen to music by soon-to-be
stars and established artists with the addition of screens providing everyone a
front-row view. The park setting and enhanced staging proved popular with the
fans who enjoyed performances by 38 acts.
“At Belk,
we understand the role that music and the outdoors play in the Southern
lifestyle, and the CMA Music Festival brings the best of both to Nashville,”
said Jon Pollack, Executive Vice-President of Marketing, Sales Promotion and
e-commerce. “The event provides Belk an opportunity to reach its customers in
an environment that offers the best in Country Music, through a variety of
activities, in a great Southern city. We love bringing our Modern. Southern.
Style. to the CMA Music Festival.”
Gildan
Broadway Stage at the Hard Rock Café
This year saw the addition of a new
official CMA Music Festival Stage at the foot of Broadway and First Avenue. The
Gildan Broadway Stage at the Hard Rock Café rocked with up-and-coming talent
each day.
“The 2015
CMA Music Festival was a very successful event for Gildan,” said Keith Whitaker,
Gildan director of marketing. “It provided great exposure for our brand and allowed
us to interact with our consumers in a fun and meaningful way. The CMA has been
a great partner over the last five years and we appreciate how hard they work
for us.”
Nightly
Concerts at LP Field
The Nightly Concerts at LP Field featured more than 28
acts spanning four nights of star-packed shows.
Pre-show
activities Thursday included the national anthem performed by Larry Gatlin and
the Gatlin Brothers, with a welcome by the Mayor of Nashville, Karl Dean.
Performing Thursday
were Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, and Rascal
Flatts. The evening was bittersweet with the passing of 2015 Country Music Hall
of Fame member Jim Ed Brown. During his performance, Alan Jackson performed
“Pop A Top” in honor of the format legend.
Lee Brice, Luke
Bryan, Randy Houser, Lady Antebellum, Maddie & Tae, The Band Perry, and Zac
Brown Band performed Friday. Restless Heart performed the national anthem.
2015 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees The Oak Ridge Boys
were the heritage act of the evening performing, “Elvira” with Little Big Town.
The legendary brothers of harmony also honored Brown in their remarks to the
press backstage.
Brett
Eldredge, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Young
performed Saturday. The heritage act was Wynonna & The Big Noise, while
Kellie Pickler performed the national anthem. Pickler also received the
Operation Troop Aid Chris Kyle Patriot Award, presented by Kyle’s parents, Wayne
and Deby Kyle, founder and CEO of Operation Troop Aid Mark Woods, and previous
award recipients Mark Collie and Darryl Worley.
Eric
Church, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell, and Keith Urban performed Sunday.
Neal McCoy was the heritage act. Lee Greenwood performed the national anthem on
saxophone.
During the
nightly press conference leading up to the concert, Paisley was presented the
CMA International Artist Achievement Award by Trahern and Urban. The banter was
quick and clever:
Urban:
"It’s a huge honor to be able to do this for you Brad. I know travel
internationally has always been important to you. I know you’ve travelled to
Japan. Maybe down to Cabo?"
Paisley:
"International waters."
Urban:
"Maybe we’ll get to do an international tour sometime."
Paisley:
"That would be great. Hey, where are you from?"
For the
fourth year, the BMI Tailgate Party was located outside LP Field with a strong
lineup of more than 23 BMI songwriters and artists warming up the audience and
providing a popular pre-show destination before fans entered the stadium for
the Nightly Concerts.
CMA granted
access to 700 journalists, photographers, producers, and videographers
representing more than 240 domestic and international media outlets including:
ABC News, ABC Radio Networks, Associated Press, BBC Radio 2 (U.K.), Billboard, The
Boston Globe, CMT, CNN, Country Aircheck, Country Music Channel (Australia), Country
Weekly, ESPN, Great American Country, “Good Morning America,” GQ, Jezebel,
“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” MusicRow, Nashville Business Journal, NPR Music, People,
People.com, Premiere Radio Network, Rolling
Stone, RTL (France), Sirius XM Satellite Radio, Spin Media, The Tennessean,
“Today,” United Stations Radio Network, UPI Newswire, US Weekly, USA Today, The
Weather Channel, Westwood One, Yahoo!, and more. Regional attendance was
bolstered by unprecedented local media coverage with live morning broadcasts
from affiliates WKRN, WZTV, and WTVF, as well as The Weather Channel.
International
media represented 11 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany,
Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.
As
previously announced, the Festival was filmed for a three-hour television
special “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” airing Tuesday, Aug. 4
(8-11 p.m./ET) and hosted for the third time by reigning CMA Vocal Group of the
Year, Little Big Town. The special debuted in 2004 and this is the 11th year
the special will air on ABC. Robert Deaton is the executive producer.
The CMA
merchandise line was a hit with fans. Sales increased 63 percent over 2014 with
a 45 percent jump in online sales. The best seller was the official event
T-shirt with the lineup of the Nightly Concerts at LP Field, with 100 percent
of CMA’s proceeds from the sale of the shirt going to the CMA Foundation to
support music education initiatives.
