Miller-Owen

According to an article recently released by Nashville ’s Associated Press, the latest music sales figures indicate that country music is doing slightly better than the overall music industry, which is down 4 percent in total sales from 2004.

The article indicates the recent first time move of the Country Music Awards show to the Big Apple can be an attributed factor to this figure.

Two Murray State University graduates, Cindy Miller, senior director of finance and administration of the Country Music Association (CMA), and Daniel Owen, Sr. manager of information technology with CMA, have worked to help the CMA gain more high-profile publicity for the country music industry. Miller and Owen became much more aware of innovative techniques in the industry this past November when the CMA engineered moving the CMA awards show to New York City . They traveled to New York two years prior to the final airing from Madison Square Garden .

An eight-year employee with CMA, Miller said generating more media exposure and publicity for CMA was the goal of the efforts leading to the televised show. “To support this endeavor, the CMA planned 60 country music events with music professionals and entertainers to help spread the word of country music and its culture during the week we were there.”

Miller said a themed “ The Official Country Takes NYC ” campaign was implemented during the CMA’s visit to New York . Culinary, history, fashion and shopping, and education themed days were highlighted by professionals and entertainers from the country music industry. “It was an amazing schedule for our industry to be highlighted there,” she said. “Through the education part of the schedule we were able to provide a music program in the schools and also enjoy fashion and food days.”

Justine Gregory, director of education and public programming for the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, said the education program featured music instruction for students in Brooklyn, Bronx, Stanton Island , Queens and Manhattan schools. “We provided songwriters and musicians to the school systems in these areas,” she said. “Students were encouraged to write about their personal experiences. The songwriters encouraged them to use their imaginations and write about subjects that included their pets and also personal issues such as divorce within their families.”

An endeavor that was coordinated between the CMA and NYC Big Events, Inc., a company responsible for securing high-profile events of national and international importance, the move was estimated to have a $30 million economic boost to the city.

However, according to Rick Murray, CMA vice president of strategic marketing, those actual economic tabulations will not be released until later this year. Murray said Miller and Owen have been two important links in making the move to New York successful. “Our whole staff is s a well-oiled machine and our Murray State graduates, are an significant link to our staff.”

A Lyon County native who oversees all CMA areas of accounting finance and management, Miller explained the lengthy process that their organization followed prior to moving the event. “I made several trips to New York during the initial planning stages,” she said. “I was a part of the negotiations with the employees of Madison Square Garden . Dealing with the budget and all aspects such as contracts, laborers, business and legal affairs were all a part of my responsibility.”

Miller said she believes the end result was achieved. “I was extremely proud of our 38-member staff with CMA--that we were able to pull off such a large event in New York and receive the media attention we received.”

Miller, who believes the basic and advanced accounting courses at MSU are the fundamentals for her professional foundation, said their daily routine with CMA is not the routine of many professions. “However, it is part of our cycle of daily work during the year,” she said. “It’s what we do.”

A consulting position with the CMA while an employee with Vanderbilt University , led to Miller’s full-time employment with the music organization. “I have never felt short-changed with my education I received at Murray ,” she said. “I’ve been blessed and am very thankful for my professional career with CMA.”

Owen was as a student worker in MSU’s Information Systems department. The experience he gained there proved invaluable after he graduated from MSU in 1999 and moved to Nashville . “I applied with CMA and they were willing to take a chance on me. They hired me in as an information systems coordinator and have promoted me a couple of times since then.”

A Paris , Tenn. , native , Owen handles information systems (IT) operations and plans for long-term IT operations with CMA. He believes his efforts to move all of CMA’s IT operations to New York went very well. “We used a combination of rented equipment and laptops that were taken from the office,” he said. “Typically we will set up a small network for out web operations so that we can do continual updates on the night of the show. Until the day of the show, web operations are usually handled from the CMA offices. Other computers are set up using individual Internet connections.”

In order to make systems all run smoothly in New York , Owen said he set up four distinct networks for different groups during the CMA event. “I believe that setting up a network for events like ours is something that more IT professionals should try. It becomes easy when we are in our protected environments where we have systems in place to quickly diagnose the issue. But a network thrown together with equipment from multiple sources and of varying quality and configurations can be an interesting challenge. It certainly brings me back to things that I learned in my networking class.”

Murray said Miller’s and Owen’s role in this pivotal move required a certain level of responsibility. “It was a team effort that allowed us to use all our creative energies to showcase country music,” he said. “Dan had to work with the production crew in Madison Square while also taking care of the system in Nashville . Cindy had to track the daily payroll and cash flow, while setting up bank accounts to make sure we were within budget.”

Miller and Owen are now gearing up for the 2006 CMA Awards show, an event that will move back to Music City . “We were actually allowing our city’s ‘Mona Lisa,’ to be on loan in New York ,” Murray said. “That was a part of the agreement when we negotiated with the city of Nashville .”

Murray said as a part of the agreement, the CMA agreed to make the move back a huge production. “Instead of holding the CMA at the Ryman, we will move to downtown Nashville in the Gaylord Center next fall,” he said. “This will be the 40 th anniversary of the Country Music Awards ceremony and we agreed to make it a big splash when returning to the city.”