Industry Ink: CMA, WMBA, Music Industry Forum

Documentary filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delivered the keynote address at the quarterly CMA Board of Directors meeting Wednesday (Nov. 19) in Nashville. Burns and Duncan, Emmy winners for their work on the PBS documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” are working together on a major series on the history of Country Music, slated for release in 2018.

Pictured (L-R): Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns deliver the keynote address during the CMA Board of Directors meeting Wednesday in Nashville. Photo: Caitlin Harris / CMA

Pictured (L-R): Jim Free, CMA ex-officio Board member and President/CEO of The Smith-Free Group; Ken Burns; Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer; Dayton Duncan; Frank Bumstead, CMA Board President and Chairman of Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy. Photo: Caitlin Harris / CMA

Pictured (L-R): Jim Free, CMA ex-officio Board member and President/CEO of The Smith-Free Group; Ken Burns; Dierks Bentley, CMA Board member; Dayton Duncan; Kix Brooks, CMA Board Member. Photo: Caitlin Harris / CMA

• • •

The Women’s Music Business Association (WMBA) has announced its incoming officers and committee co-chairs for 2015. Current WMBA president Raeanna Mowl introduced the officers for 2015:

President-Alison Toczylowski, Director of Marketing & Communications, ASCAP
Vice President-Makayla Telfer, Marketing Director, StudioNow
Secretary-Dana Lalevee, Business Operations Analyst, BMI
Treasurer-Marissa Bond, Account Assistant, Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy

The WMBA’s committee co-chairs for 2015 include:

Membership & Marketing Committee: Jen Sackett and Elizabeth Motley
Events & Education Committee: Stacy Scism and Ellen Mundy

• • •

Nashville-based Music Industry Forum has launched its new online outpost, musicindustryforum.com, a gathering spot for industry members, artists, and others to engage in discussions, share information, and create opportunities.

“We are pleased to announce the release of the Music Industry Forum website,” said Tom Truitt, MusicRowSearch founder and industry headhunter.  “We designed Music Industry Forum to facilitate collaborative discussions, news and popular blog feeds. We look forward to growing with the community we serve.”

Music Industry Forum, which began as a LinkedIn discussion group seven years ago, has grown into an online community with more than 67,000 global members. The expansion has led to a standalone forum, which includes industry members Billy Block, Jim Griffin, Kalatech and DevDigital. The new website is designed to accommodate increased demand.

“If you have an opinion, a blog or a popular site and want it to be part of Music Industry Forum, simply visit the site and engage in the ongoing dialog about issues that matter,” said Billy Block, Music Industry Forum partner.

In addition to the web platform, Truitt plans for monthly meetups in multiple cities. The first meetup is planned for late January 2015. Anyone interested in attending a meetup can contact Music Industry Forum via [email protected].