When the company was established as a CIC, the following was set out as our objectives: The company’s activities will provide benefit to those involved in UK country music by: 1 - promoting the growth of UK country music both in the UK and overseas 2 – developing and promoting the interests of all professionals involved in the UK country music industry through co-operation not competition 3 – building a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all members of the UK country music community who should treat everyone with respect and integrity and always within the law 4 – provide young artists and those starting out on their UK country music journey with the support, knowledge, tools and information to develop their skills 5 – provide, for all members, guidance and assistance on matters such as contracts, insurances, finance and tax What we achieved in the 2025/26 financial year. Promotion of UK country music The growth of country music in the UK was the fastest of anywhere in the world (at 10.9%) and 2X greater than the overall country market. Within the UK, we have collated data on the depth and scale of UK country music and produced media releases and articles highlighting this and the successes of UK artists, particularly within the official charts. We have also established playlists of UK artists on major streaming services and helped UK artists get support ‘slots’ with US artists to gain greater exposure to fans. However, the elevation of understanding and knowledge about UK country artists and their music is a major challenge, particularly with some fans and media. Our outreach programme has begun to build relationships with industry bodies in the US, Canada and New Zealand to spread the UK word, although much of their focus is on ‘exporting’ their artists to the UK. Despite this, we have established a good basis of connection with the songwriting community, particularly in Nashville, which can be regarded as the centre of the worldwide country community. Building Community There are two aspects to building the UK country music community. The first of these is to get artists, industry professionals and fans to join conversations on the issues facing the industry and interact with each other. This can provide comfort to many that they are not alone facing challenges and also help share how common problems have or can be solved. This mutual support provides strength through collaboration, mentorship and simply showing up for each other's work. The six networking evenings we have run have helped develop discussion and problem solving, and the varying and mixing of the people in breakout rooms has helped each attending member get to know a wider range of other artists across the country, not just in their own local region. The second aspect of building the community is to extend our reach outside of the UK. Although the prime purpose of our outreach programme is to promote UK country music, there has been good building of songwriting cooperation and performance opportunities across continents, helping create a wider community. We have also (as a Board) made a conscious effort to be seen at festivals and gigs and to talk with both our members and the wider country family. This approach has significantly helped build knowledge of the UK-CMA and what we are looking to achieve. As well as our UK members, we have seen members join us from the US, Canada and New Zealand, who are finding what we are doing helpful and providing a community they cannot always find in their own region. Developing Talent The UK-CMA Academy was established to provide a range of flexible learning formats for members, through a mixture of interactive in-person sessions, online learning and informal networking. The subject matter of the sessions is intended to expand the knowledge of members across the broad range of areas that cover the music business from its structure, to management, marketing and media and the skills needed to improve the quality of songwriting and production. During the last year, 22 sessions were held with a total of 407 attending the events. There were two full day in-person Songwriting Workshops (in Birmingham and London), six networking evenings, five information evenings and nine learning events, covering a wide range of topics from contract law to music publishing. Who Benefitted We have endeavoured to focus our events across a wide range of topics in order to provide members with as much variety in learning as we can. Knowledge of the business side of music is important, which is why we held sessions on contracts, management, music publishing and PRS. Raising the standard and quality of songwriting is also seen as particularly important, hence the full day workshops. In total, of the 407 attendees at our events, there were 134 separate individuals who attended events.

There are three ways in which we have engaged with our stakeholders/members. Firstly, after each event we have issued a questionnaire asking for feedback. The responses have largely been positive and have also suggested topics that members would like to see covered. Negative feedback received has suggested sessions could be longer, so that members could get even more from them Secondly, we have held two sessions to explain what we are planning and update members of the progress that UK-CMA is making. These sessions have allowed members to ask questions of the board and discuss ideas and issues. Lastly, the board has made considerable effort to attend gigs and festivals to meet and talk with members. This has been seen very positively by members and has also helped with the feeling of community. The feedback we have received has been discussed at board meetings and in particular, has been built into our academy event programme. This includes topics for events and the days on which we run events. It has also helped us shape what services we offer to members.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration