Damon Whiteside is leaving as CEO of the Academy of Country Music
Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music, will step down in June after six years at the helm of the organization, the ACM announced Tuesday.
The announcement stated that Whiteside will remain in his role through June 30 and then serve as CEO Emeritus for the remainder of the year to help with the transition after leaving the top spot. The ACM board has set up a search committee to look for his successor.
The most notable change Whiteside implemented during his tenure was the seemingly radical move to make the annual ACM Awards broadcast the first major awards show to forego a traditional broadcast network or cable base in favor of a streaming-only event. The live show has been available since 2022 through an exclusive global partnership with Amazon Prime Video. The show aired on CBS for almost a quarter of a century. Whiteside served as executive producer for the kudocast, which had its 60th anniversary edition in 2025 with Reba McEntire as host. The announcement said this year’s webcast delivered Prime Video 70% year-over-year live viewership growth.
Both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association are facing relatively near-simultaneous changes at the top. Sarah Trahern, CEO of the CMA, will step down at the end of 2026 after 14 years leading that organization, she announced in January.
The 61st annual ACM Awards will take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, again available on Prime Video or the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. A presenter, talent lineup and nominees have not yet been announced. It’s a return to the ACMs’ old home of Las Vegas after moving to Texas in a three-year partnership with the Dallas Cowboys in 2023-2025.
The Academy itself relocated in 2022, leaving its longtime base in Los Angeles, where it was founded in 1966, to settle in Nashville, where most country music institutions are located.
The ACM has credited Whiteside with expanding the organization to other franchises, events and shows, including “ACM Our Country,” “ACM 60e Gala”, “ACM Party for a Cause Nashville”, “ACM Wine & Country” at Hearst Castle, and the annual Charley Pride Inclusion Brunch. The “ACM award‘ show, which he executive produced, also became a broadcast event again.
ACM Lifting Lives, the ACM’s philanthropic partner, generated more than $1.3 million in annual fundraising last year, the organization said.
Before ACM, Whiteside was CMO of the Country Music Association, which puts on the industry’s other major awards show, the CMAs. He ended up there after working for 15 years at the Walt Disney Company, where he was credited with helping launch the company’s tween music business and touring division.
