Kix Says Nashville Could Lose CMA Music Fest

2/20/2008 Stephen L. Betts Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn told Nashville business leaders at a breakfast at Lipscomb University yesterday that artists lose hundreds of thousands of dollars every time they play the CMA Music Festival. The singer-songwriter says acts that play Fan Fair each June have never been paid for their participation in the festival, and cautioned that if the Country Music Association cannot start paying the artists, the community may lose the event to a larger city such as Atlanta or Dallas. Kix, who is a former president of the CMA’s board of directors, added that other genres of music could be introduced into the festival lineup, and speculated that ABC-TV, which crafts a special of the event each year, would love to have top rock and pop acts on their program. Although he suggested that corporate sponsors could step in and provide funds to help offset the cost of paying the artists, Kix didn't offer a time frame in which his proposal should happen; but indicated it was a problem that needed immediate attention. In response to Kix's comments, CMA CEO Tammy Genovese was quoted in Country Aircheck today saying that the comments - taken out of the context of a larger discourse with the business community -  may have created a distorted view of the CMA's intentions. "We have a great relationship with the city, the mayor, and the Nashville Convention and Visitor's Bureau," she says. "Plus, the event is so big, there's really no way you can pick it up and travel. It's just not something that can leave the city." The CMA Music Festival draws around 200,000 people to Nashville for the four-day event annually, bringing in approximately $21 million. The CMA makes a sizeable donation to education in Nashville from money raised from the event, but according to Country Aircheck, Genovese says the notion of compensating artists at some level could be considered.