CMT Pledges 50/50 Equal Video Programming Policy For Female Artists

CMT has pledged to establish a 50/50 programming policy for music videos from female artists on both its CMT and CMT Music channels, effective immediately.

Of the full 29-hour primetime video hours across CMT’s platforms, female artists will account for half of those videos aired, an increase from its previous 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, where she discussed the issue of sexism and lack of country radio airplay for female artists.

The 50/50 video requirement is the latest move in support of gender equality from CMT, which is well known for its CMT Next Women of Country franchise, which includes an annual music event in Nashville, as well as a tour (current multi-Grammy nominee Tanya Tucker will lead this year’s CMT Next Women of Country tour).

In January, CMT added a deal point to its radio distribution partnership extension, which allows CMT to impact programming on 230+ stations. 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.

Additionally, this year’s Listen Up feature, which spotlights new musical talent and is set to announce its 2020 list on Jan. 24, will include a 50/50 female-to-male ratio.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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