Last Spring, I threw my name in the hat for a leadership program called the CMA EDU. Having no experience in the music industry beyond a love for concert-going that took me across Europe (from Glasgow to Berlin), I had no concept of whether or not the Country Music Association would take a chance on me. All I could provide in my application was a reflection of my passion for live music and my strong desire to learn as much as I could about an industry I had no experience in. After being accepted, and beginning my year in the CMA EDU cohort with a Leadership Summit in Nashville, I soon discovered that I was just the type of person they were seeking.
Arriving in Nashville at the end of July, I was welcomed by the thirty-or-so other people in my cohort, composed of students from undergraduate and graduate programs across the country. Right after our initial introductions, we took a trip to Rock Nashville, confronted immediately with a career in the music industry I can safely say few of us had ever considered. At this sound stage, equipped for rehearsals ranging from intimate bar settings to stadium shows comparable to a Taylor Swift tour, we learned the ins and outs of this niche corner of the music industry. As an English student, I would not consider myself equipped for a tech-oriented job at a place like Rock Nashville. However, this tour showed me that, in this one building, there were endless opportunities I never knew existed. This sort of experience was what the entire weekend was about.
The next day, we met with the CEO and VP of CMA, the HARDY tour management team, the Sandbox Management team (representing a little artist named Billie Eilish), and finally, a panel of current industry professionals: CMA EDU alums, who had been in our seats not five years prior. Oh, and I feel the need to mention that CMA brought in artists for a few private concerts at CMA HQ. For example, Stella Lefty, singer of the TikTok-famous earworm “Boston”, performed for us, even singing some of her unreleased gems.
This intimate panel setting gave us the opportunity to ask questions, network, and build lasting relationships within an industry that is entirely network-based. No question was off-limits, so getting answers to questions that had perhaps been holding me back from fully committing to this industry helped me leave the conference with confidence in my network, my ability, and my dream. Having gone into the weekend with little more than a passion for live music and certainly no career direction, I left with a newfound sense of possibility and excitement for a career in an industry that seemed so out of reach just two days earlier.
I do not share this experience to brag (well, maybe a little bit, because it was freaking awesome) but to provide the insight of a person who desired a creative career, yet did not think it was attainable. When confronted with the the challenges of pursuing a creative career and the stigma surrounding creative fields, people, including friends of mine, tend to write off creative careers before they have even begun exploring the possibilities that exist.
What my friends, and many others, don’t see, and what I didn’t either until that weekend in July, is that “creative career” isn’t just one job title. It encompasses tour managers, sound engineers, marketers, finance teams, lawyers, and so many others working towards a goal. Few in this conference were just musicians; most of them were people who refused to rule themselves out.
After this experience with CMA EDU, which is far from over (stay tuned for a potential appearance at the CMA Awards in November), I’d like to share a bit of advice with anyone who needs to hear it: do not wait for proof or permission that you belong in your dream career. Apply anyway. Ask the questions anyway. The worst outcome is a no, and the best is a weekend that changes how you see your whole future. I do not entirely know where in this industry I’ll land, and for the first time, that doesn’t scare me. What I do know is that the door I assumed was locked was only closed, and I’m grateful I knocked.