© 2010 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
For an indication of how broad the appeal of Country Music has become, look no further than Steve Buchanan, the new President of the CMA Board of Directors. In some respects, his story exemplifies that our format benefits more than ever from the diverse talents of its leaders — and, in turn, that listeners respond both to the tradition and innovation that drives Country Music today.
As Senior VP, Media and Entertainment, Gaylord Entertainment, Buchanan oversees management of Gaylord Program Services, the Grand Ole Opry, the historic Ryman Auditorium and the company’s radio station, 650 WSM-AM Nashville. But his path into the garden of Country Music began in a place seldom associated with its most beloved institutions.
He was raised in Oak Ridge, Tenn., founded as a center for atomic energy research and still populated to a large extent by scientists and academics from around the United States and abroad. Buchanan’s family reflected this demographic; his father was a nuclear engineer and his mother a chemist. Music played an important role in their lives, with the emphasis on classical and folk music and a calendar that included attendance at concerts by the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra.
At that time, Country Music had yet to make an impression on Buchanan. “I was like most other kids growing up in the ’60s and ’70s in that I was primarily interested in rock ‘n’ roll, whether it was Southern rock, British rock or the L.A. sound like Poco, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles and Jackson Browne,” he recalled.
That began to change after he moved to Nashville as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University. His ambition initially was to become an environmental engineer but after a while he switched to a dual major in sociology and psychology. More presciently, he got involved in various student committees responsible for scheduling films, coffee house performances and concerts. That experience persuaded him to reexamine his long-term career plans.
“I loved music and concerts at all levels, whether it was being done in a club or a coffee house, the little theater or the gymnasium,” Buchanan said. “It’s where I started getting some basic sense of the business.”
The foundation of his future endeavors with CMA took shape early. Future artist manager and CMA Board member Ken Levitan was in the same freshman hall as Buchanan. Levitan obtained a position with Buddy Lee Attractions, and when he was getting ready to leave for law school he persuaded Tony Conway, another of CMA’s volunteer leaders, to hire Buchanan as his replacement at the booking agency.
“Going to Buddy Lee, I developed a much better understanding of the basic economics of the business on the touring side,” said Buchanan, who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Johnny Paycheck, George Strait, Porter Wagoner and other artists during his tenure there from 1980 through 1984. “I also started to have an even better understanding of artist relations and the dynamics of the relationship between artists, managers, labels, booking agencies and publishers.”
Buchanan eventually left to earn a master’s degree at Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management. By this time he was open to exploring any number of career options, but because of his experience in the music industry as well as his attachment to Nashville, he decided to accept an offer in 1985 to become Marketing Manager at the Grand Ole Opry. “I had a strong feeling that this was a place where I could flourish and enjoy what I was doing,” he said.
Buchanan became GM of the Ryman Auditorium in 1993 and President, Grand Ole Opry Group, in 1998, before rising to his current position at Gaylord Entertainment. He benefited along the way from the opportunity to expand his areas of expertise to include directing the $8.5 million reconstruction of the Ryman, serving as Executive Producer of several notable musical productions including “Always...Patsy Cline” and “Lost Highway — The Music and Legend of Hank Williams,” producing two Bill Monroe albums (the Grammy-nominated Live at the Opry and Cryin’ Holy Unto the Lord) and several television specials including “Grand Ole Opry’s 75th: A Celebration” for CBS and “Grand Ole Opry: 75 Years in the Making” for A&Eand organizing the Opry’s 80th anniversary festivities, culminating in a broadcast from Carnegie Hall in New York City.
These and other accomplishments have equipped Buchanan with an unusually varied insight into the industry. But they also enhanced his understanding of something more ephemeral yet just as critical: the relations between artists, fans and music business professionals. “Probably what I enjoy most about the Opry is going to the shows and interacting with the artists and teams that are around them,” he said. “Some of the more emotional things we witness are when artists make their Opry debuts and step onto that stage for the very first time. It’s also interesting to watch how that lingers for them as their careers grow.”
This recognition of what one of the enduring institutions of Country Music has to offer affects Buchanan’s approach to working as well with CMA. “I hoped that someday I would have the opportunity to serve as President or Chairman of the Board,” he said. “I feel like I’ve gone through an apprenticeship of sorts over the past year in working with Randy Goodman and Steve Moore and attending committee meetings and regular weekly leadership meetings to get a better understanding of what’s involved, what the important issues are and hopefully what will serve me in the coming years to do a better job of helping make the right decisions for the organization.
“CMA is a trade organization,” he continued. “We always need to reflect back on that and not lose sight of the fact that we are here to serve the Country Music industry and do everything we can to take that industry to new heights. We accomplish that through a couple of primary vehicles, one being the CMA Awards and the other being CMA Music Festival. As well, professional development and engaging CMA’s membership should be an important part of what we do for those within the industry.”
“Steve has already proven himself as an important player in implementing the Board’s initiatives this year as CMA’s President-Elect,” said outgoing President Steve Moore, now Chairman of the CMA Board and Senior VP of AEG Live! “He steps into his new role as President with his sleeves rolled up, ready for what’s ahead.”
A trombone player in middle and high school, Buchanan also played piano and guitar, so it comes as no surprise that he dedicates much of his time to groups and causes that support music education, including CMA’s “Keep the Music Playing” program. In addition to being a member of the CMA Board since 2003, he serves on the Boards of Crescendo Music Community Fund, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s Music Business Council, Nashville Alliance for Public Education, Opry Trust Fund, Sound and Speed, W.O. Smith Community Music School and other organizations. He is married to Ree Guyer Buchanan, owner of Wrensong Music Publishing.
IN OCTOBER 2009, CMA ANNOUNCED THE NEWLY ELECTED 2010 CMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Four Directors also serve as Officers of the Board:
CMA BOARD CHAIRMAN
Steve Moore, Senior VP, AEG Live!
CMA BOARD PRESIDENT
Steve Buchanan, Senior VP, Media and Entertainment, Gaylord Entertainment
CMA BOARD PRESIDENT-ELECT
Gary Overton, Executive VP/GM, EMI Music Publishing
CMA BOARD SECRETARY/TREASURER
Erv Woolsey, CEO/Founder, The Erv Woolsey Company
FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF CMA DIRECTORS AND DIRECTORS AT LARGE:
Directors by Membership Category
Carryover Directors, who are serving the second year of a two-year term, are followed by newly-elected Directors (indicated in bold).
Advertising Agency/PR/Marketing
Jessie Schmidt, Schmidt Relations
Jeff Walker, AristoMedia/Marco Promotions
Affiliated/Producer
Connie Bradley, ASCAP
Steve Buchanan, Gaylord Entertainment
Artist
Troy Gentry, Montgomery Gentry
Kix Brooks, Brooks & Dunn
Broadcast Air Talent
Storme Warren, Different Drummer Productions, LLC
Composer
Steve Bogard, One Music Group
Victoria Shaw, AvaRu Music
Entertainment Services
Frank Bumstead, Flood, Bumstead, McCready, & McCarthy, Inc.
Mike Vaden, The Vaden Group
International
Rob Potts, Rob Potts Entertainment Edge, Five Dock, Australia
Ron Kitchener, RGK Entertainment, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Music Publisher/PRO
Troy Tomlinson, Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Gary Overton, EMI Music Publishing
Musician
John Hobbs
Randy Scruggs, Randy Scruggs Productions
Personal Manager
Clarence Spalding, Spalding Entertainment, LLC
Doc McGhee, McGhee Entertainment
Producer/Engineer/Studio
Mark Wright, Universal Records South
Radio
Mike Moore, Entercom Communications, Portland, Ore.
Becky Brenner, KMPS-FM, CBS Seattle, Wash.
Record Company
Joe Galante, Sony Music Entertainment
Randy Goodman, Lyric Street Records
Talent Agent/Promoter
Tony Conway
Joey Lee, 360 Artist Agency
Talent Buyer/Venues
John Juliano, Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, Mass.
Jeff Krueger, FACE, Inc./WE Fest, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Television/Video/Media
Lon Helton, Country Aircheck
Brian Philips, Country Music Television (CMT)
Lifetime Directors
J. William Denny
Ralph Peer II
Frances Preston
Ex-Officio Members
Jim Free, The Smith-Free Group, Washington, D.C.
Kyle Young, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Directors at Large
Jaye Albright, Albright & O’Malley, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Bruce Allen, Bruce Allen Talent, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Charlie Anderson, Anderson Merchandisers, Knoxville, Tenn.
Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Records and Valory Music Co.
Luke Bryan
Barry Coburn, Ten Ten Music Group, Inc.
Pat Collins, SESAC
Charlie Cook, KKGO Radio, Los Angeles, Calif.
Jay DeMarcus, Rascal Flatts
Bob DiPiero, Love Monkey Music
Tim DuBois, Dottore-DuBois Artist Management
Mike Dungan, Capitol Records Nashville
Kitty Moon Emery, KittyMoon Enterprises
John Esposito, Warner Bros. Records
Michael Evans, SMG, Philadelphia, Pa.
Karen Fairchild, Little Big Town
Larry Fitzgerald, The Fitzgerald Hartley Company
Craig Fruin, HK Management
Jeff Garrison, KILT, Infinity Broadcasting, Houston, Texas
Ed Hardy, Great American Country (GAC)
Pat Higdon, Universal Music Publishing Group
Clint Higham, Morris Management Group
Greg Hill, Red Light Management
Dann Huff, Dann Huff Productions
John Huie, Creative Artists Agency
Jack Ingram
Brett James, Cornman Music
Ken Levitan, Vector Management
Luke Lewis, UMG Nashville
Jay Liepis, Apple, Inc., iTunes Store
Scott Lindy, Clear Channel Communications, Atlanta, Ga.
Erik Logan, Harpo, Inc., Chicago, Ill.
Ralph Mastrangelo, Clair Bros. Audio Enterprises Inc.
JD May, Ticketmaster Entertainment
Deb McDermott, Young Broadcasting, Inc.
Steve Moore, AEG Live!
John Rich
David Ross, Music Row Publications, Inc.
Ron Sakamoto, Gold & Gold Productions, LTD., Alberta, Canada
Victor Sansone, Irving, Texas
Rick Shipp, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
Denise Stiff, DS Managment
Trey Turner, Turner & Nichols and Associates
Rusty Walker, Rusty Walker Programming Consultant, Inc., Iuka, Miss.
Jody Williams, BMI
Larry Wilson, Alpha Broadcasting Corporation, Portland, Ore.
Tim Wipperman
Lee Ann Womack, artist
Erv Woolsey, The Erv Woolsey Company