Academy of Country Music launches ACM: The Hub

The Hub is a source for intimate artist access, acoustic performances and more

The Academy of Country Music has announced the launch of ACM: The Hub, featuring new series “The ACM Weekly” beginning Wednesday, July 29th and ACM Wine Down Wednesday with current episodes now live at The Hub. In addition, The Hub will include intimate artist conversations, at-home acoustic performances, unique artist & fan engagement opportunities, artist Marketplace and weekly ACM curated playlists. The Hub is a destination for artists of all levels in country music to reach fans with music, upcoming virtual livestream concerts and performances, and easy access to artist merchandise – a one-stop-shop for quality curated content for music fans, worldwide.

“The Academy’s goal is to help fans and artists connect during these quarantined times with no live shows.” states Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We want to provide fans with a dedicated place to see the best of Country Music content, including a comprehensive fan calendar featuring upcoming live streams, events, new music, merchandise and playlists. This will allow fans to easily follow all their favorite artists and discover live virtual and other opportunities. I want to thank our Board and industry members who provided valuable input to our Staff throughout the development of this initiative and will continue to be integral to its ongoing success.”

The ACM Weekly series will begin to stream Wednesday evenings with the first episode launching on Wednesday, July 29th. The Weekly will feature several country music artist performances in each 20-40-minute episodes, highlighting artists with upcoming projects and new music.

The Academy’s first ever ACM Wine Down Wednesday weekly series kicked off earlier in July with Carly Pearce and Tenille Townes, both episodes now available to watch on The Hub. The series will continue through Wednesday, August 5th, presented by 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wine. The five-week “happy hour” virtual series is the first to be highlighted on The Hub, featuring artist performances, conversations and stories highlighting rising female Country Music artists including Maddie & Tae, MacKenzie Porter and Lainey Wilson. Wilson, the third episode of the series will be available on The Hub following her episode on July 21st. Additionally, 1000 Stories Wine is donating $2,000 per artist participating towards the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund to be disbursed to individuals in the country music community who are currently in need of pandemic relief assistance.

The comprehensive fan calendar includes details on artists livestreams, performances, new music and more – a one-stop shop, for fans navigating the new world of social distancing, who want to connect with their favorite artists – The Hub will feature Fresh Originals, new Academy content, artist offerings, an Awards lead-up series and more, alongside featured new artist merch and new music in The Marketplace!

ACM: The Hub was developed in response to COVID-19 freezing the concert festival and touring world. When the Academy recognized in spring of 2020 that artists were turning to live performances via web streams to stay engaged and connected with their fan base, they developed The Hub to collect, curate and organize artist content all in one place. The platform is designed to spotlight the country music genre as a format for consumers to enjoy – whether familiar or new to country. Access and viewership for all curated content is now available at the official ACM: The Hub.

Fans have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive shirt featuring the Nashville skyline, commemorating the 55th ACM Awards historic show in Nashville on Wednesday, September 16th live from 8-11 pm ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. The exclusive shirt will be available for pre-sale through Monday, August 17th. Proceeds from the pre-sale will go directly to the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund. ACM Lifting Lives the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, created the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund to assist individuals working in the country music industry who are suffering a financial crisis as a result of the pandemic.

Additionally, the Academy of Country Music provides weekly playlists for the latest music from their favorite artists, including ACM: New Music Friday and ACM Country Backyard BBQ, available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Playlists are updated weekly on The Hub!

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com