After Variety Features Editor Chris Willman reignited the flames in the battle over the lack of airplay at Country radio for female artists in a poorly worded tweet, CMT has announced that all of its blocks of music videos will feature an equal split between male and female artists.
The announcement will not affect CMT’s radio programming partnership with iHeartMedia, which was extended earlier this month that includes the Cody Alan hosted “CMT After MidNite with Cody Alan”, “CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan,” and “CMT Hot 20 Countdown”. That deal did include a weekly play of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” spotlighted artist, which according to today’s release is the only radio airplay controlled by CMT as part of its deal with iHeartMedia.
Willman’s tweet about hearing two female artists consecutively on Mount Wilson FM’s “Go Country 105” KKGO Los Angeles led to a response from an employee at MacDonald Broadcasting’s WKCQ Saginaw MI (later identified by Vice as morning co-host Barb Sheltraw) to claim their station could not do the same. That led to criticisms from artists including Kasey Musgraves and Kelsea Ballerini
The CMT decision was made by SVP/Music & Talent Leslie Fram, who joined the network in 2011 after a long career in radio, where she programmed and served as morning co-host at Alternative “99X” WNNX Atlanta and AAA 101.9 WRXP New York.
INSTANT INSIGHT: While the announcement will help with some exposure, it is important to keep in mind that CMT’s music programming is mostly limited to the morning hours of 4-9am eastern. The rest of the schedule is made up mostly of sitcom and movie reruns and a splattering of original programming. This is a publicity boost for the network’s other “Women in Country” initiatives, which is a great thing, but will do nothing to push the needle. For these female artists to see significant growth in airplay they need a radio station to make the same move and have ratings success to back it up.
Today, CMT announced that it will institute 50/50 video airplay for female artists on both CMT and CMT Music channels, effective immediately. The news was shared this morning by @CMT on Twitter here. Out of the full 29-hour primetime video hours across platforms, female are guaranteed to account for half, an increase from the 40/60 ratio.
“Time is really up in 2020! All the talk around what can be done to support females in country music needs to transform into action, once and for all,” shared Leslie Fram, SVP of Music & Talent, CMT. “At CMT, we are stepping up our own commitments, in addition to our work through the CMT Next Women of Country franchise, and will be announcing a new initiative in the coming weeks that will spark this much-needed change in our industry.”
Last week, Fram appeared on TBS’ “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” to discuss the issue of sexism in country music. The piece was filmed on-site at CMT’s Next Women of Country event with Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker, plus features interviews with Margo Price & Mickey Guyton. WATCH here. The segment sparked an outpouring of coverage of the issue from The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR and more.
CMT remains committed to advancing females in country music (see below) and will announce additional initiatives within the coming weeks to create action and change in our industry. Follow @CMT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and #CMTEqualPlay for more information.
CMT is committed to equality for female artists via:
- CMT Radio Airplay. In January 2020, CMT added a first-of-its-kind deal point to its radio distribution partnership extension, allowing for direct chart impact via 230+ stations nationally. CMT’s Next Women of Country: Artist of the Month on-air feature allows CMT control of one spin per week for rising female artists, directly increasing airplay for females and the country music charts. Read more.
- CMT Next Women of Country Franchise: Launched in 2013, the initiative supports and exposes developing female talent, both signed and unsigned, and showcases them across CMT platforms throughout the year, in addition to the below:
- CMT Next Women of Country Tour. Anchored by superstar acts, the CMT-sponsored tour allows young female artists cross-country touring opportunities they would not otherwise have access to. This year’s tour with Tanya Tucker marks the biggest CMT tour to-date, spanning 40+ cities with CMT Next Women members Aubrie Sellers, Brandy Clark, Erin Enderlin, Hailey Whitters, Madison Kozak & Walker County.
- CMT Next Women of County Event. Hosted annually in November, the event inducts a new class of emerging female artists, launching them onstage in front of local media and industry professionals, in addition to providing them opportunities to be highlighted on CMT, CMT Music and across all CMT platforms. Since its inception, a total of 75 artists have been named as part of the program. Read more.
- CMT’s LISTEN UP List 2020 – Announcing on 1/24, LISTEN UP will include a 50/50 female-to-male ratio. The list spotlights music’s brightest newcomers across CMT platforms over one full year through promotions of new music and videos.
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If you had a dollar bill for every time CMT played a music video, your annual adjusted gross income would be less than that of the average Social Security recipient.