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How Country Artist Managers Max Out the Experience at CMA Fest

With CMA Fest coming up, here's how country managers use the festival to build up their artist's brands and even spot new talent.

Thus, those managers are focused on maxing out the connection their acts make with consumers during CMA Fest, but they have other interests during the festival, too: evaluating the market, networking with industry contacts and checking out other artists they might want to sign. Keith Urban, Cody Johnson, Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean, Scotty McCreery, Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton are among the nearly 30 artists slated for the stadium main stage this year. “It’s always kind of fun to observe the people that come in and get a good idea of what the country fan base looks like at that point in time,” says Champ Management founder Matt Musacchio, who counts Vincent Mason, Jessie James Decker, Dawson Anderson, Abbie Callahan and Sons of Habit as clients.

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