The Country Music Association’s annual awards show could move temporarily to Atlanta or New York says Ed Benson, the CMA’s executive director. “It is possible we will analyze the idea of occasionally taking it out to another market,” Benson told the Associated Press. “As in all things that come up, these things are evaluated in terms of how it could help the health of the industry.” The CMA board of directors will discuss the idea when it meets Thursday and Friday (Feb. 7-8) in San Antonio, Texas. This year’s awards show will be Nov. 6 in Nashville. People from New York contacted the CMA several times over the past two years in an attempt to lure the event to the city, Benson told the AP. He also said there have been no concrete offers from Atlanta or New York. “We are inexorably tied to Nashville,” Benson stated, and he was emphatic that there is no chance the show would move permanently. The CMA awards have been held in Nashville annually since 1968. 02/04/02