CMT Pledges Equal Music Video Airtime For Female Artists

Music videos played on the CMT and CMT Music will now be 50% female, the cable channels announced on Tuesday.

“Effective immediately all music video hours CMT and CMT Music channels will have complete parity between male and female artists,” the network tweeted. “That means 50/50. #CMTEqualPlay”

Time is really up. All the talk about what can be done to support females in country music needs to transform into action. Starting tomorrow @CMT pledges 50/50 video airplay on CMT & CMT Music during video hours. More announcements soon!#CMTEqualPlay https://t.co/y6RT0R3oOy

— Leslie Fram (@FramLeslie) January 21, 2020

CMT, also the creator of the Next Women In Country program and tour, is pledging additional efforts to counter the glaring lack of women played on country radio and featured in other country media.

“We want to build on the great work we have already been doing we with our Next Women franchise and start to take action,” Leslie Fram, CMT Senior VP of music strategy, told Variety. “We don’t want to look at the same results in a year from now. We hope other partners will join in this effort. It’s important for the future of our format.”

Brandi Carlisle was among the many women in country music applauding the move.

Annnnnnnd @CMT gets to go down in country music history as leading this charge. ✊ c’mon country radio 📻 cowgirl up! https://t.co/Ifm6MjKWOe

— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) January 21, 2020