CMA hopes to build attendance
Fan Fair is changing its name next year and adding different styles
of music and new activities to try to increase attendance and broaden
its reach beyond its traditional country audience.

The Country Music Association's decision to drop the old moniker in
favor of CMA Music Festival signals a new image for the 32-year-old
event and a new direction.

''With the change in name, you wouldn't expect us to suddenly bring
in a hip-hop artist. That's not going to happen,'' CMA Executive
Director Ed Benson said.

''But you could see us bring in a singer-songwriter type of artist —
like Bruce Springsteen … James Taylor. Absolutely. Since some of our
country artists do collaborations with pop artists like that from
time to time, we will seek to have some of those artists be here and
appear onstage.''

The new name will appear on advance tickets for next year's festival,
which go on sale today.

It's a change the CMA has bandied about since the event moved in 2001
to downtown venues from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, where it had
been held since 1982.

The words ''Fan Fair'' carry baggage that Benson said had hindered
the CMA's efforts to build attendance, which has stagnated in recent
years. A 10% decline is projected for this year from last year.

''When we made the move (downtown), it was a commitment by our board
to say we're going to build this event for the future and enlarge
this event in the future,'' Benson said.

''And that is exactly why we've come to the idea of the name change.
It had to grow or we had to quit. Those were the two alternatives.''

The moniker — and the old fairgrounds — evoked an unsophisticated
image that Benson said was at odds with the way country music, its
fan base and the actual event have evolved.

''We've got an event that I think any Nashvillian could come to and
not feel like something was going to jump off on them and infect
them,'' Benson said, describing a stereotype of a Fan Fair attendee.

Deputy Mayor Bill Phillips said Mayor Bill Purcell posted no
objections when the CMA told him about the plans, and also supported
the vision for the festival.

Butch Spyridon, executive vice president of the Nashville Convention
and Visitors Bureau, said that he and other downtown boosters
welcomed the change.

''You've got to diversify. We've got to keep it interesting. We've
got to broaden the appeal and add a diverse array of activities to
accommodate the demands of the consumer in all genres, all
demographics,'' Spyridon said.

Spyridon cited New Orleans' Jazz Fest as a model. That event, which
originally focused solely on jazz performances, has grown to
encompass other musical genres and the rest of New Orleans' cultural
offerings. Jazz Fest now sells 300,000 tickets a year.

''There's been discussion of expanding the genre of music,'' Spyridon
said. ''The centerpiece should be, and I hope always will be, country
music. But I hope it grows to a point where it showcases all the
musical diversity of Nashville.''

Benson said different types of activities would start appearing next
year. Festivals may feature appearances by sports personalities and
movie stars, he said.

Previous Fan Fairs have featured appearances by such non-country acts
as The Beach Boys and Lance Bass of 'N Sync.

''These fans who come here and spend their time in the exhibit halls.
They're not only enamored of country artists. They're enamored of
celebrities in general. The NBC soap stars have been a huge hit,''
Benson said, referring to the TV celebrity booths alongside those of
country stars.

Also on the table: spreading events around the city at venues such as
the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, another ''campus'' near The
Coliseum, and the Municipal Auditorium — where Fan Fair first took
place, before its move to the fairgrounds.

Benson also talked about holding educational programs or songwriting
camps for children at area colleges.

The CMA is in talks with the major television networks to produce a
CMA Music Festival special as early as next year to broaden awareness
of the event — and recast its image to locals.

Many Nashville-area residents associate the Fan Fair name with an
agricultural image exacerbated by the fairgrounds location, Benson
said, and they tend to stay away.

''We clearly have an urban music festival. It takes place in a very
urban setting,'' he said.

Benson said artists and industry executives welcomed the name change.

Some visitors on Lower Broadway disagreed.

''I don't like that,'' said Barbara Byrne of Hampton, Va. ''I've
heard of Fan Fair since I was small. Maybe I'm getting old, but I
don't like the change.''

But the Fan Fair moniker won't go away entirely. It probably will be
attached to the portion of the festival in which stars stand in their
booths signing autographs and posing for pictures — what many
attendees consider the heart of the whole event.

''I think it should stay as Fan Fair because it is for the fans. If
it wasn't for the fans, there wouldn't be any music,'' said Donna
Sedgwick of Lunenberg, Vt., who won a radio station contest for a
trip to the event.

She was immediately corrected by her husband, Mike. ''There'd be
music. There just wouldn't be anybody to buy it,'' he said.

Jeanne Naujeck covers the music and entertainment businesses and can
be reached at 259-8076 or jnaujeck@.... Senior writer Tim
Ghianni contributed to this report.