As Variety celebrates our first-ever Power of Women Nashville event and editorial package, here are some — but by no means all — of the area’s female-forward and songwriter support organizations, in addition to the charities spotlighted by our 2025 honorees Kelsea Ballerini, Sheryl Crow, Mickey Guyton and Reba McEntire. If you feel any major organizations have been left out, please email music@variety.com:
ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music, provides access to healthcare through programs and services that protect, direct, and connect music industry professionals with medical and financial solutions. It also helps fund Nashville-based nonprofits that offer direct services to the country music community. Recent grants provided to Music Health Alliance, Porter’s Call, and ECCHO Live (formerly Touring Career Workshop) bring their collective funding to more than $1 million. www.acmliftinglives.org/
Anzie Blue, Nashville’s only female-owned venue, is a 250-capacity space in Hillsboro Village opened in December 2020 that hosts many female-featuring showcases and events. www.anzieblue.com/
Change the Conversation, founded in 2014 by Power of Women honorees Leslie Fram, Tracy Gershon and Beverly Keel, intends to “raise awareness and create change so that more female voices will be heard in country music,” according to its mission statement, through meetings, keynotes, showcases and advocacy. “Our goal is to have more women played on radio stations, digital streaming platforms, signed to record and publishing deals and offered high-profile opportunities, such as more slots on tours and festivals and performing on TV and awards shows. We dispel the myths that women don’t support other female artists or desire to hear from more female voices.” www.changetheconversation.net/
Equal Access, founded 2022 by Mtheory and Country Music Television and led by an all-female team, Equal Access is intended to empower artists and managers from underrepresented demographics in country music by providing a select group of participants with financial resources, training, and networking opportunities via its development program, showcases and more. www.equalaccessmusic.com/
Family Alliance in Music, founded in 2023 by industry execs — and mothers — Margaret Hart (YouTube), Jackie Jones (RIAA) and Haley Montgomery (ACM), aims to make the eternal challenge of the work-life balance more tenable for executives with families. “Parenting and caretaking isn’t something you can step away from, and we have to recognize that first so that we can create an industry where parenting and career achievement can coexist,” Hart told Music Row. The org has worked to improve benefits and policies at music companies, and the first-ever FAM grant is open for applications through June 1, 2025. www.familyallianceinmusic.org/
The Mechanical Licensing Collective was founded in 2018 as a result of the historic Music Modernization Act, which dramatically updated copyright law for the digital age. The mission for the MLC may sound dry — it administers blanket mechanical licenses to eligible streaming and download services in the U.S. — but the $2.5 billion in royalties it has distributed since 2021 for songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers isn’t dull at all. It also operates a publicly accessible musical works database as well as a portal that creators and music publishers can use to submit and maintain their musical works data, ensuring proper payment. www.themlc.com/
Nashville Songwriters Association International includes creators from all genres of music, professional and amateur, who are committed to protecting the rights and future of the profession of songwriting and to educate, elevate and celebrate the songwriter and to act as a unifying force within the music community and the community at large, according to its mission statement. Established in 1967 and with 90 chapters, NSAI is the world’s largest not-for-profit songwriters trade association, advocating on Capitol Hill and elsewhere for songwriters, who cannot legally form a union. It also owns the iconic Bluebird Cafe, and Music Mill studios, and annually stages a songwriter festival and awards show. www.nashvillesongwriters.com/
Songwriters of North America was founded in 2015 by songwriters Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis and bills itself as “the closest thing to a union songwriters can have” (songwriters are effectively freelancers and thus ineligible for a union), the organization works to defend and represent the songwriter community in government and the music industry, and through advocacy and education. It played a key role in the 2018 passage of the Music Modernization Act, which upgraded music and copyright law for the digital age. wearesona.com/
Song Suffragettes is Nashville’s only all-female acoustic showcase, featuring singer-songwriters of all genres Monday nights at the Listening Room Cafe. Now in its 11 th year, more than 500 women have played the its showcases, 52 alums have gotten record deals and more than 75 have received publishing deals. Alums include Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Brittney Spencer, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson. www.songsuffragettes.com/
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