Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum Earns National Accreditation for the Fourth Time
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum has again achieved accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the museum field’s high-profile, peer-based validation of an institution’s operations and impact. This is the museum’s fourth consecutive accreditation since gaining the designation in 1987.
Only about 500 museums have achieved accreditation four times. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, approximately 1,100 are currently accredited — roughly 3% nationwide. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review process every 10 years to maintain this status.
For more than 50 years, AAM’s accreditation program has distinguished museums that achieve their mission and goals and operate according to the museum field’s highest standards and best practices. The accreditation process assesses museums’ work in these categories: public trust and accountability, mission and planning, leadership and organizational structure, collections stewardship, education and interpretation, financial stability and facility management.
"Reaccreditation validates our everyday commitment to our mission," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. "It confirms that we have an important and unduplicated collection, we use best museum practices to care for these holdings and we make these treasures available to the largest possible audience. Scholarship and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything we do as we work to preserve the history of country music and teach its cultural importance."
AAM accreditation is a rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation, a museum first must conduct a year of self-study and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.
As one of the most-visited museums in the country, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum welcomed nearly 1.5 million visitors in 2024 and offered more than 2,000 in-person and virtual educational programs. The museum’s collection facilities, including the Frist Library and Archive, house the world’s largest assemblage of country music artifacts and serve as a research hub for understanding the genre’s history and impact. Its galleries present half a dozen rotating exhibits per year as well as a regularly refreshed permanent core exhibition.
The museum's 7,500-square-foot Taylor Swift Education Center engages audiences with diverse programs, including the institution’s flagship Words & Music program that promotes language arts by pairing professional songwriters with school classrooms to create original songs. In addition, the museum houses dedicated performance spaces in the CMA Theater and the Ford Theater, both of which regularly host nationally recognized live music performances and public programming. The museum also operates the Grammy-winning Country Music Foundation Records, the Country Music Foundation Press, Historic RCA Studio B, Haley Art Gallery and the 145-year-old Hatch Show Print letterpress print shop.
About the American Alliance of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, the organization has been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration and connections they need to move the field forward. For more information, visit aam-us.org.
About the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum collects, preserves and interprets country music and its history for the education and entertainment of diverse audiences. In exhibitions, publications, digital media and educational programs, the museum explores the cultural importance and enduring beauty of the art form. Among the most-visited history museums in the United States, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was awarded the country’s highest honor in the arts, the National Medal of Arts, in 2024. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Country Music Foundation operates Historic RCA Studio B®, Hatch Show Print® poster shop, Haley Gallery, CMA Theater, CMF Records, the Frist Library and Archive and CMF Press.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at countrymusichalloffame.org or by calling (615) 416-2001.
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