The UK Country Music Association
UK-CMA launches on March 10 during C2C week, with an aim to Unite, Promote and Develop the UK's country music scene nationally and around the world
‘We are fighting the cause for the UK country music industry,’ says John Finch, Chair of the newly founded UK Country Music Association (UK-CMA) which launches on March 10 2025.
The UK-CMA was founded to support the 2,000+ artists, musicians and industry professionals who strive to make a living from writing and performing country music, and the timing is right. According to IQ Live Music Intelligence, in the last five years there has been an increase in the consumption of country music by 380%, while, in 2024, The Economist reported that country overtook easy listening to become one of the five most popular genres of music in the UK.
When it comes to the UK country scene, it is artists from the US that dominate the limelight. As John Finch says, ‘The UK Country Radio Airplay Chart is packed with Nashville artists but rarely includes any UK-based acts. This is perhaps unsurprising, given the comparative size of UK and US markets. However, UK acts are as good as, and in some cases better than, many of their US counterparts.
‘We believe that greater awareness of the UK scene, especially in other markets like the US, Canada and Australia, will propel more tracks by UK artists into key playlists, which will increase streaming consumption and ticket sales.’
There are four key elements that underpin the plans of UK-CMA: promoting UK artists and providing media organisations with information; helping forge alliances between UK and global acts, whether in Europe, Canada or Australia; developing talent via the Academy; and uniting the UK Country Music community, from north to south and east to west.
No matter your age, background or experience, it has never been a better time to catch country music live across the UK. There are revue shows and club nights like Buck N Bull Saloon, the new Lil' Nashville venue and 'London's first and only honky-tonk and country music bar', the Dukes Head in Highgate.
Then there are listening rooms across the country: York’s FortyFive Vinyl Café, and the Jennifer Blackwell Lounge Performance Space at Birmingham Symphony Hall which houses the regular Nashville Sounds in the Round event. The next one falls on March 29, and you can get your tickets here.
This July sees the inaugural Roadhouse Weekender in July down in Bodiam, East Sussex, which is just about to confirm its headline acts. Roadhouse joins a busy festival calendar which kicks off with Country2Country in March and runs through the summer; as well as Highways in May at the Royal Albert Hall and The Long Road in August at Stanford Hall in Lutterworth, there are also wonderful boutique festivals like Country on the Coast in April, Buckle & Boots in May and The British Country Music Festival at the end of August.
John Finch is fielding information about the UK-CMA at john.finch@uk-cma.com, but I can reveal that I too am on the board in a marketing and communications capacity. Feel free to email me too at jonny.brick@uk-cma.com. Our website uk-cma.com is counting down the days until the launch on March 10, where we will be posting information on the two dozen Ambassadors who are helping us get the word out about the UK-CMA. They include artists, festival bookers and country music fanatics.
As well as offering you the chance to fill out a membership form, the website will detail how we intend to educate acts, as well as offering them mentorship and networking, via the Academy, which is the brainchild of Hannah Roper, who also runs Country on the Coast. The UK-CMA team, which also includes Geoff Meads from the duo Tennessee Twin, will be wandering around the O2 Arena at the London leg of Country2Country, so don’t be shy and come and say hi (or follow on Instagram.com/ukcma).
It gives me great pleasure to invite you to help amplify the voice of UK country. Hop on board and join the UK-CMA.