"I have heard nothing but negative comments from those working in the industry on this decision," he said. "From my own personal perspective, when I moved to Nashville seven years ago, Music Row was still pretty closeted. There were LGBT people that worked on the Row, but they weren't as open about it as they are now. We've come so far in just those seven years, with people being proud of who they are now and everyone being so supportive of everyone else, it seems so contrary to what Mike Huckabee's agenda is. He's been openly vocal on being anti-LGBT throughout his entire career, and currently, so it seems like this decision is neither productive nor was given much thought [by the CMA]. I know people who identify as LGBT in every single record label on the Row -- managers, agents, producers, promoters -- and it seems like a move specifically made as a slap in the face to those people."
The first person to speak up against the CMA was Jason Owen, head of Sandbox Entertainment whose clients include country artists Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Faith Hill. Owen sent the CMA Foundation a letter Thursday declaring that neither he nor his artists would support the association in any way going forward.
Owen then told Billboard: "All the labels are really supporting my stance, with the loudest being [founder of Big Machine Label Group, and CMA Board Director at Large] Scott Borchetta. He has called for an emergency meeting [of the CMA Board] to get this rectified ASAP. Props to him for sure."
“A lot of people have a misconception about Nashville as being a conservative city. I believe the recent events involving Mike Huckabee have proven that this can’t be further from the truth. The people of Nashville, and more specifically, the county music industry have spoken up in a unified voice to take a stand against hatred and those who are not accepting of LGBTQ individuals,” stated Amato.
“We are one of 20 cities left vying for Amazon’s coveted HQ2, and any form of intolerance will not be allowed in Nashville. Jeff Bezos and Amazon have made it clear that the company fosters an inclusive environment, so it is our goal as a city to stand together and fight off any form of discriminatory actions against our community.”
Within 24-hours of his appointment, Huckabee formally resigned from the CMA Board of Directors.
In his decade-long career in entertainment, Amato has worked with some of music’s biggest stars including Dolly Parton, Gloria Estefan and Tanya Tucker. His company Agency33 PR is the only public relations firm in Nashville with an LGBT outreach division. Over the years, Amato has been a member over numerous LGBT organizations including IGLTA, NGLCC and NLGJA among others.
