Music Teachers National Association MTNA

What Music Teachers National Association MTNA does

Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1876 and headquartered at 600 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. The organization operates a multi-tiered membership structure (Active $107, Collegiate $25, Senior $81, Patron, Corporate $200, Institutional $200, International $107) serving individual music teachers, collegiate students, corporate partners in the music industry, and educational institutions across all U.S. states organized into seven geographic divisions (East Central, Eastern, Northwest, South Central, Southern, Southwest, West Central) with affiliated state and local associations. Its mission is to advance the value of music study and to support the professionalism of music teachers.

MTNA's core offerings include the NCTM (Nationally Certified Teacher of Music) Professional Certification Program built on five competency standards and Teacher Profile Projects, a public Find a Teacher directory of certified members, MTNA Competitions spanning chamber music, performance, composition, brass, voice, and two-piano formats at state/division/national levels, the year-round MTNA eFestival video-evaluation platform ($25 per submission via YouTube links), publications (American Music Teacher journal, MTNA eJournal, Business Digest), and professional development events including the biennial National Conference (next: April 2-6, 2027, St. Louis), TEMPO, GP3, the Collegiate Symposium, and the Virtual String Teachers Summit. The MTNA Foundation Fund distributes more than $250,000 annually in grants.

MTNA's technical infrastructure is a web-based association management platform powered by Exware, serving as the system of record for member management, certification processing, event registration, eFestival submissions, the Find a Teacher directory, and publication delivery. The technology footprint is conventional association software rather than a differentiated technology product; eFestival delegates video hosting to YouTube. MTNA operates with 11-50 employees and reports no external investors, M&A activity, or funding rounds, consistent with its member-governed nonprofit structure. The organization celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2026 and is GDPR and CCPA compliant.

Name

Music Teachers National Association MTNA

Legal name

Music Teachers National Association

Website

https://mtna.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1876

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Music Teachers National Association is a 150-year-old 501(c)(3) professional membership association headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving U.S. music teachers through certification, competitions, publications, conferences, and the Find a Teacher directory.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Music Education Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Exam Prep & Certification (ABRSM, Trinity, RCM, AP Music Theory) (EDAMANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Music Education & Practice Software (Ear training, tutors, metronome tools) (MPAIAIAJ)

Keywords

• Music teacher association
• Professional music certification
• Music education programs
• Music competitions
• Professional development webinars

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues constitute the primary revenue stream. MTNA offers multiple membership tiers (Active $107, Collegiate $25, Corporate $200, Institutional $200, International $107, Patron $107, Senior $81, International Collegiate $25) with additional state and local chapter affiliation fees varying by geography. Senior members age 70+ receive a 25% discount on national dues.
2. Certification Fees: Initial certification costs $200 for MTNA members ($300 for non-members), with annual renewal fees of $30 per area of performance for members ($35 for non-members). Delinquent renewal fees add $10 per year of delinquency for members ($15 for non-members).
3. MTNA eFestival Application Fees: A $25 application fee per submission for up to 15 minutes of video performance, providing constructive critique from professional evaluators. This is a per-transaction fee model.
4. MTNA Foundation Fund Donations: The MTNA Foundation Fund accepts charitable contributions, distributing more than $250,000 annually in grants and awards to support music study and teaching programs.
5. Conference and Event Revenue: Revenue from national conferences (e.g., 2027 National Conference in St. Louis, April 2-6), GP3 Forum, TEMPO virtual events, Collegiate Symposium, and leadership events.
6. Publication Subscriptions and Advertising: Revenue from American Music Teacher magazine subscriptions, MTNA eJournal subscriptions, Business Digest, and advertising opportunities across publications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

MTNA is a 501(c)(3) professional membership association that supports music teachers through tiered annual memberships, the nationally recognized NCTM professional certification program, student performance competitions and the year-round MTNA eFestival video evaluation service, peer-reviewed publications (American Music Teacher, MTNA eJournal, Business Digest), and professional development events including the biennial National Conference, TEMPO, GP3, Collegiate Symposium, and member webinars. The association also operates the Find a Music Teacher Directory connecting the public with NCTM-certified instructors and runs the MTNA Foundation Fund, which distributes over $250,000 annually in grants and awards.

Product overview

MTNA is a professional membership association for music teachers that operates as a unified platform of interconnected programs and services rather than a modular software product. The core offerings include the MTNA Professional Certification Program (granting NCTM designation), a Find a Music Teacher Directory, competitive events (MTNA Competitions, eFestival), publications (American Music Teacher journal, MTNA eJournal, Business Digest), professional development events (National Conferences, TEMPO, GP3, Collegiate Symposium, Webinars, Virtual String Teachers Summit), and the Foundation Fund grant program. These services are accessed primarily through the main website (mtna.org) and a dedicated certification portal (certification.mtna.org).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MTNA Foundation: The MTNA Foundation Fund annually provides more than $250,000 in grants and awards to support programs that nurture the creation, performance, study, and teaching of music.

Products and services

• MTNA Membership Annual tiered membership for individual music teachers, collegiate students, seniors, patrons, international members, corporations, and institutions, providing voting rights, access to publications, member discounts, webinars, and eligibility to enter students in competitions.
• MTNA Professional Certification Program (NCTM)

Quantifiable outcome

• MTNA Foundation Fund provides more than $250,000 annually in grants and awards
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Lessonface: Lessonface is an online marketplace connecting music students with vetted teachers for remote lessons. It competes with MTNA's Find a Teacher Directory by offering a digital-first, transaction-enabled alternative for teacher discovery that doesn't require association membership.
• Yamaha Music Education System: Yamaha's music education division offers teacher training, curriculum, and certification through its global network of music schools. It represents a corporate alternative to association-based music teacher development with stronger international reach.

Direct peers

• Suzuki Association of the Americas: The Suzuki Association promotes the Suzuki Method across the Americas with teacher training, certification, and workshops. Like MTNA, it offers teacher certification programs and serves private music instructors, but with a more concentrated focus on the Suzuki pedagogy across multiple instruments.
• National Association for Music Education (NAfME): NAfME is the largest U.S. music education association, focused primarily on school-based music educators (K-12) rather than private studio teachers. Both organizations serve music teachers nationally, offering conferences, publications, and professional development, making them directly comparable as parallel pillars of the U.S. music education ecosystem.
• American String Teachers Association (ASTA): ASTA serves string educators with a similar membership model, conferences, publications (American String Teacher journal), and certification opportunities. It is directly comparable to MTNA as a discipline-specific parallel association within the broader music education profession.

Broad incumbents

• American Federation of Musicians (AFM): AFM is a labor union representing professional musicians in the U.S. and Canada. While it serves performers rather than teachers, it shares MTNA's model of a national membership organization with local chapters providing professional services and representation.
• Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM): RCM is a Canadian-based music education institution offering internationally recognized music examinations and teacher certification. While it operates more broadly as a music school and exam body, its Music Development Program competes with MTNA's NCTM certification in the credentialing space.
• Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM): ABRSM is the leading global music examination board offering graded exams and teacher certification. Although primarily U.K.-based, ABRSM operates internationally and competes with MTNA's certification programs in the music teacher credentialing market.
• Music Publishers Association (MPA): The MPA represents music publishers globally and serves as an industry association similar to how MTNA represents music teachers. Both operate as membership-based industry associations with advocacy, events, and professional resources for their respective constituencies.

Regional players

• National Guild for Community Arts Education: The National Guild supports community music and arts schools with accreditation, professional development, and advocacy. It overlaps with MTNA's mission of supporting music education institutions and the educators who run them.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mtna1
• Facebookfacebook.com/mtnapage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/music-teachers-national-association

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Music Teachers National Association MTNA