Jennifer Nettles to Receive Inaugural CMT Equal Play Award at CMT Awards
Nettles has always been a strong advocate for equal rights.
Jennifer Nettles has always used her platform to speak out against social injustices, including the fight for women on country radio. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed as CMT plans to honor the powerhouse with the first-ever CMT Equal Play Award during the 2020 CMT Music Awards.
“Jennifer Nettles is that rare artist who speaks her truth, calling out injustice wherever she sees it,” said Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President, Music Strategy, CMT, in a press release. “Her commitment to equal female representation across the board in the music industry embodies the spirit of our equal play initiative and makes her the perfect recipient of the inaugural ‘CMT Equal Play Award.’”
“As a proud part of the beautiful legacy of women in country music, I am honored to be the first recipient of the ‘CMT Equal Play Award,’” added Nettles. “I look forward to celebrating the contributions of women, and all marginalized communities, within the country music format, and I am motivated in encouraging the non-artists, executives and investors in the industry, to do the same. There is much work still to be done.”
In addition to the new honor, CMT will also be launching an Equal Play channel with Pluto TV. “We’d also like to thank our partners at Pluto TV who launched a ‘pop-up’ channel today called ‘CMT Equal Play’ in support of the Awards that will offer country music videos 24/7, with an equal male/female playlist, allowing us to further our commitment to equal play,” said Fram.
CMT’s Equal Play program launched in 2019 as a result of the gender disparity in the genre, specifically among radio and streaming services. It was designed to encourage measurable action and create a more balanced genre. According to a press release, since its launch, CMT has instituted “50/50 play for female artists across CMT and CMT Music channels, effective January 2020; CMT Radio Live pledged equal play, doubling airplay for female artists with its own 50% female playlist; and CMT After MidNite debuted CMT next Women of Country: Artist of the Month, an on-air feature that directly impacts charting, allowing CMT one additional spin per week for female artists on 230+ stations nationally syndicated by iHeartRadio’s Premiere Networks.”
In addition to Nettles’ honor, fans can expect stand-out performances on the awards from Ashley McBryde, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Shania Twain, Morgan Wallen, Gabby Barrett, Maren Morris, Caylee Hammack, HARDY, Ingrid Andress, Mickey Guyton, Riley Green, Travis Denning, Kelsea Ballerini with Halsey, Jimmie Allen with Noah Cyrus and Luke Combs with Brooks & Dunn.
The 2020 CMT Music Awards air Wednesday, October 21st at 8:00PM ET/7:00PM CT on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network, Pop and TV Land.
