Forbes has released its annual listing of Country Music’s Top Earning Stars. The article notes that country fans are often loyal to their favorite artists for a long time, “Fame in Nashville seems to come with an irrevocable ticket into the hearts and wallets of country fans who, like the heroes of a sad song, are in it for the long haul.” The article offers a rationale for country music’s ability to ride the economic storm facing the entire music industry a bit better than some of its other formats.

“For many Americans today, the Great Recession isn’t going away any time soon, and there’s much to commiserate with in the lyrics of country songs,” says Catherine Fitterman Radbill, a professor at New York University who directs the school’s music business program.

Forbes also points to the over 2,000 U.S. country radio stations as another meaningful income source for artists/writers noting that eight of the ten most played artists on radio last year were country artists. For the list, Forbes tabulates box office receipts, merchandise and album sales, publishing royalties and endorsement/licensing deals. The period is from June 2009 to June 2010.

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1. Kenny Chesney leads the list with estimated earnings of $50 million, down slightly from the previous year’s $65 million.
2. Toby Keith $48 million
3. Taylor Swift $45 million
3. Rascal Flatts $45 million
5. Tim McGraw $30
6. Keith Urban $28
7. George Strait $25
8. Brad Paisley $22
9. Alan Jackson $15
10. Carrie Underwood $13

More than 10.8 million total viewers tuned in for the 2010 CMT Music Awards and related programming on Wed., June 9 on CMT. According to Nielsen Media Research, the 8:00 p.m. premiere of the two-and-a-half hour show was up 19 percent over last year, making it CMT’s most-watched awards premiere in channel history. The show’s performance from 8-10:30 p.m. drove CMT to be the most-watched network in the time period across cable in the key 18-49 demo.

TV by the Numbers reports that the Awards show had 3.04 million viewers.

Hosted by Kid Rock, the 2010 CMT Music Awards featured performances from country music stars, including Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban with John Mayer and Zac Brown Band. Presenters included Dancing With the Stars competitors Erin Andrews and Maks Chmerkovskiy, Laura Bell Bundy, Sheryl Crow, Paula Deen, Kara Dioguardi, Gloriana, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Terrell Owens, Hayden Panettiere, Richard Petty, Kellie Pickler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton, Jersey Shore’s Snooki and The Situation, David Spade, Taylor Swift, Kenan Thompson, Carrie Underwood, Luke Wilson, Trisha Yearwood and Zac Brown Band.

Photo L-R: Bucky Covington, Chely Wright, Buxton Hughes. Photo Credit: Melinda Norris

The recent 10th Annual Reading, Writing and Rhythm benefit concert donated over one ton of food to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and raised thousands of dollars for Kingston Springs Elementary, a local school affected badly by the floods.

The event included performances by Trisha Yearwood, Rodney Crowell, SHeDAISY, Jamey Johnson, Bucky Covington, Justin Moore, Buxton Hughes, Jann Arden, and Reading, Writing & Rhythm’s Founder, Chely Wright. Items were auctioned off throughout the evening including a shopping spree with Wright to Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams furniture store and a Fly Away trip to a Keith Urban show.

Tim McGraw has been tapped to host the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock television special that will air Wed., Sept. 1 on ABC at 7:00 pm CT. Filming June 10-13, during the annual CMA Music Festival, the special features the stars and the four-day party/music celebration in Nashville.

This will be McGraw’s first appearance at the event since 2001, when he was a surprise guest during Kenny Chesney’s performance as part of the Nightly Concerts at LP Field and the event was still known as Fan Fair. His last announced appearance was in 2000, the last year Fan Fair was held at the Nashville Fairgrounds. He has participated in the event eight times since his Fan Fair debut in 1993.

Some of the artists appearing at LP Field during CMA Music Festival include Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown Band, and more.

The primetime television special, CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock, debuted in 2004 as a two-hour special highlighting the Festival and Music City. In 2005, the special moved to ABC.

In 2009, the special expanded to three hours boosting ABC ahead of CBS, NBC and FOX with the network’s second biggest audience during the summer season. With 7.4 million viewers and a 4.7/8 overall rating, it outperformed its broadcast rivals in total viewers topping CBS by 6 percent, NBC by 32 percent and FOX by 85 percent.

The special had a 43 percent increase in viewers compared to 2008, generating the biggest audience in four years and tallied its highest Adult 18-49 rating (2.0/6) in three years.