CMT Artists of the Year 2018 leads efforts to spotlight women in country music

This year for the first time ever, CMT is flipping the script and highlighting only women in its Artists of the Year 2018 television special.

While female vocalists continue to lag behind their male counterparts in radio airplay and commercial success, there are people in all corners of country music working behind the scenes – and in the spotlight – to contribute to the groundswell of support for female creators.

“I hope that we’re at the beginning of change,” said CMT senior vice president of music strategy and talent Leslie Fram. “I feel like female artists are writing the best music they’ve ever written right now and I think radio and any kind of streaming platform should be about variety and balance and women provide that.”

The CMT Artists of the Year, which will air live from Schermerhorn Symphony Center 7 p.m. Wednesday on CMT, will honor Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town and Hillary Scott from Lady Antebellum.

The honorees will be joined by a cast of all female performers including: Maddie & Tae and Runaway June with Underwood; Pistol Annies with Lambert; Alison Krauss with Ballerini; Gladys Knight with Fairchild and Schlapman; Tori Kelly with Scott; and Brandi Carlile will perform with Morris to honor the late Aretha Franklin.

“Carrie was like, ‘I’m not taking these girls out because they’re girls, I’m taking them out because they’re the best choice for the support,” said Runaway June’s Naomi Cooke. “That’s the real point of equality. We’re proud to be a part of country music even in a tough time like this. It’s a little uncertain, but that’s the excitement of it, in a way. A love story isn’t epic if it’s isn’t difficult and weird and you don’t know where it’s going to go.”

In addition to Underwood, Cooke namechecked Garth Brooks and Keith Urban as men in the business whom she felt were particularly supportive of women. Urban featured three women — Julia Michaels, Lindsay Ell and Kassi Ashton –– as collaborators on his “Graffiti U” album and is on tour with Ballerini and roots rock sister act Larkin Poe. He welcomed Ballerini, Underwood, Ashton and Larkin Poe, on stage with him during his Nashville show and over the years, booked tours with every 2018 CMA Artist of the Year honoree.

Four years ago, Urban performed on the CMA Artists of the Year program with an all-female band. And one year ago, Urban released his poignant “Female,” a song that heralds the virtues of strong women.

“He’s just one of the best artists out there who support women,” Fram said, pointing out that Miranda Lambert like Urban and Underwood had also toured with wholly female rosters.

In addition to CMT, ASCAP is stepping up to the plate in Nashville this week with its first all-women writing retreat. Presented in partnership with She is the Music, the multi-genre songwriting camp includes Mary J. Blige, The Sisterhood, Emily Weisband, Jillian Jacqueline and others including female producers, engineers, songwriters and artists.

“It’s a chance for women to meet each other and work together, empower each other and promote each other,” said ASCAP’s senior vice president of Membership Nicole George-Middleton. “Obviously we want hit songs to come from this camp, but we really just want to celebrate each other and create new opportunities for each other.”

On a constant basis, Song Suffragettes provides a weekly home for Music City’s up-and-coming female writers and performers. The curated all-female singer-songwriter event is 6 p.m. Mondays at The Listening Room Café and is the largest weekly show at the venue. 

“We’re giving (women) a place to be and grow and commiserate,” Cassetty said. “We’ve created a community that is making an impact in this town. It’s not reflected at radio, but we’re trying to help the best young talent we can find get a leg up and be heard. Is there ever going to be 50/50 parity? Probably not. Should there be? Probably so. But can we make improvements in the meantime? Definitely.”

And it’s working. Ballerini and CMA-nominated Lauren Alaina both played Song Suffragette events and out of the 96 female acts at CMA Music Festival this year, 43 were Song Suffragettes.

Alaina also spent time on CMT's New Women of Country tour, a program Fram instituted to promote camaraderie among new female artists and provide them with mentors and platforms.

"I was lucky enough to do a tour with Martina McBride," Alaina said. "Pinch me. She is one of the voices I learned to sing to on the radio. It literally made my heart burst every night getting to open up for her. I look up to her so much, and I’m so thankful she is someone I can count on for advice. She feels like a big sister to me now."

The message for more women on country radio is being heard. While radio airplay charts don’t indicate that country radio stations are playing more songs by female artists, radio personalities including Bobby Bones and Elaina Smith are taking steps to get their voices heard.

Smith started her Women Want to Hear Women podcast with Nash Country Daily and has featured artists including Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Dolly Parton and Carly Pearce as well as up-and-comers Tegan Marie, Clare Dunn and Sarah Darling. Bones launched his Women of iHeart Country, an hour-long weekend program dedicated to female country artists, over Labor Day weekend.

“It’s a three-tiered approach,” Bones said of his show. “I want to remind people how awesome women can be on country radio.” He promised heritage acts like Deana Carter and LeeAnn Womack, women who are on the chart right now so he can propel them forward and a ‘“who is coming next” feature that will spotlight brand new female artists like Rachel Wammack.

“Here’s why female artists are awesome, don’t forget. Here’s why it’s awesome right now, and here’s what’s coming up. That’s the goal.”

Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, who has spent much of his career celebrating and creating music with and for women, said men have to get involved. 

“I think much like everything else that it seems like is outside the window, things only get better when there’s a coalition,” Bush said. “Men can’t stand on the sidelines about this. Jump in there, ask, write a song, or flip the gender on your songs and pitch it. You have to ask the question, ‘What does this song give you permission to do?’ When you answer that question, you can empower a female singer in a way that might not have been obvious.”