Americana Music Association
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| Abbreviation | AMA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1999 |
| Type | not-for-profit music organization |
| Headquarters | Nashville, TN |
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Official language
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English |
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Executive Director
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Jed Hilly |
| Website | americanamusic.org |
The Americana Music Association (AMA) is a professional not-for-profit trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American Roots Music around the world. Toward these ends the organization works with Americana artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to develop an infrastructure that will assure visibility and economic viability. Additionally, the organization works to increase brand recognition of Americana music and its artists. The Association produces events throughout the year including the annual Americana Music Festival and Conference and the Americana Music Honors & Awards typically held together in the fall. The AMA also manages and publishes radio airplay charts. It publishes newsletters, conducts market research, and disseminates information about important events in the Americana community.
Since 1999, the Americana Music Association has helped American roots music assume an elevated and secure place in the artistic and commercial life of the nation. What began as an informal gathering of dedicated colleagues has grown into a movement endorsed by major media and iconic artists. The Recording Academy added the category of “Best Americana Album” in 2009, and Merriam-Webster included the musical term into the dictionary in 2011.
The AMA has not only been a refuge for artistry in a time of tumult for popular music, but also, a resource for hundreds of upcoming artists, songwriters, musicians, and producers. Today, Americana is one of the best selling music genres according to Billboard’s Top 20 album charts - with artists like Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars, The Lumineers and more, becoming the mainstream and not the exception.
In the late 1990s, a group of about 30 volunteers from radio, record labels and media met informally at the South by Southwest music industry conference in Austin, Texas, to discuss collective action that could help the Americana community, including the possibility of a trade association. A facilitated retreat in October 1999 galvanized the idea, and the Americana Music Association was born. Early the following year, the Association hosted its first annual Americana Night at South by Southwest, and then in September 2000, the AMA held its first convention at the Hilton Suites in downtown Nashville, featuring showcase performances by Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent, Rodney Crowell, and Jim Lauderdale. The Americana Honors and Awards were added to the convention in year three, and the evening proved moving and historic. Americana icons Emmylou Harris, Billy Joe Shaver, and T-Bone Burnett were given lifetime achievement awards for performing, songwriting, and executive achievement, respectively. After much behind-the-scenes planning, the audience was treated to a surprise performance by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash with members of the Cash family. Johnny accepted the AMA’s first-ever “Spirit of Americana” Free Speech Award with a stunning recitation of his song-poem “Ragged Old Flag,” and then, despite his failing health, he and June led their family band through a set of songs that reached back through time. It turned out to be the last public performance the Cash’s would ever give together.
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Wikipedia