Mayor Convenes Music Business Council
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, in partnership with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, has created a Music Business Council made up of artists and industry executives who will spearhead various economic development efforts that capitalize on Nashville’s identity as Music City. The priorities Dean has established for the Council include increasing live music venues in the city, increasing music business relocations, improving Nashville’s public school music education program, expanding the CMA Music Festival and developing a new multi-genre music festival. The Music Business Council will serve as an ongoing industry support organization to accomplish these and other goals.
“Nashville is not any city, we’re Music City,” Dean said. “We have an opportunity to grow that identity and benefit both our city and the music industry in the process. My goal is to make Nashville the destination for music performances, festivals, business and education.”
Music Business Council Members:
Mary Ann McCready, Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy – chair
Tim Dubois, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management – facilitator
Jim Hester – Mayor’s Office liaison
Tawn Albright, echo
Connie Bradley, ASCAP
Kix Brooks, Artist
Tony Brown, Tony Brown Enterprises
Steve Buchanan, Gaylord Entertainment
Pat Collins, SESAC
Karl Dean, Mayor
Kylee Ervin, Diamond Coach
Rod Essig, CAA
Kira Florita, Leadership Music
Jay Frank, CMT
Eric Geadelmann, 821 Entertainment
Tammy Genovese, CMA
Mike Golden, Bandit Lights
Randy Goodman, Lyric Street Records
Emmylou Harris, Artist
Dan Hays, IBMA
Bart Herbison, NSAI
Pat Higdon, Universal Music Publishing
Jed Hilly, Americana Music Association
Barrie Kessler, SoundExchange
Ken Levitan, Vector Management
Rich Maradik, Gaylord Entertainment
Janet Miller, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Mark Montgomery
Steve Moore, AEG Live
Dave Pomeroy, Nashville Association of Musicians
David Ross, Music Row Publications
Rivers Rutherford, Songwriter
Ralph Schulz, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Jim Selby, Naxos
Nancy Shapiro, NARAS
Butch Spyridon, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau
Demetrus Stewart, Pure Springs Gospel
John Styll, GMA
Bo Thomas, Belmont University
Crom Tidwell, CT Merchandising
Cal Turner, III, Cal IV Entertainment
Alan Valentine, Nashville Symphony
Garry West, Compass Records
Jack White, Artist
Jason Moon Wilkins, Next Big Nashville
Jody Williams, BMI
Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum
- Country Outlaw David Allan Coe Dies At 86 - April 30, 2026
- BREAKING: Date Revealed For 60th Annual CMA Awards - April 29, 2026
- Music Industry Veteran Cliff Downs Passes Away - April 25, 2026
I notice you do not have anyone representing international visitors to Nashville. Nashville is known worldwide as “Music City” but it is not only country artists that live and work or perform here. As a Brit working and living in Nashville for 30 years, I would love to be involved on somelevel if you have a place for me. I am listed in Music Row’s “In Charge” since day one, have worked with and for record labels as an international consultant, have taken more than 300 American artists overseas, know all the international people and feel I can contribute a lot to the cause. I am a graduate of Leadership Music, the first recipient of the “jo Walker-Meador International Achievement Award” fromn the CMA, am CMA’s 2007 receipient of the “International Talent Buyer/Promoter of the Year” Achievement” Award, have been honoured by 3 Nashville Mayors and 2 Tennessee Governors and January 5th 1989 is “Trisha Walker Day” in the Nashville history books.