CMA Board member Kix Brooks announced yesterday at the Country Music Hall of Fame that the Country Music Association would donate all proceeds from the 2010 CMA Music Festival, a record $2,924,936, to support music education and aid Nashville flood relief.
"The CMA Music Festival went on as planned just a month after the devastating May flood, and it was the largest, most successful Festival to date. I think that's a testament to the strength of Music City and the commitment CMA has to Nashville," Mayor Karl Dean said. "CMA announced just days after the flood that, in addition to the festival proceeds that have historically been set aside for music education in Nashville, the rest of the money generated by the Festival would go to disaster recovery. This is a tremendously generous gift from CMA and the artists that perform at the Festival. On behalf of all the citizens of Nashville that will benefit from this donation, I give a sincere, heartfelt thank you."
The proceeds will be split evenly between CMA's "Keep the Music Playing" campaign and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
"When we started this program several years ago, the success of the Music Festival itself and the opportunity to have an ongoing contribution to aid in the music programs of our local schools, was just a dream - today we have a reality that has far exceeded our imaginations," Brooks said. "It's working and I can't thank my fellow artists and all the other CMA volunteers enough. Considering the year our community has had, the faithful support from the fans of Country Music could not have come at better time. Big time thanks to everyone!"
Including the money from the 2010 CMA Music Festival, CMA has donated $4,774,521 to support music education in public schools.
