Report: Fans Want More Female Artists On Country Radio

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Many of the top-selling artists in country music are women, but superstars are still fighting for time on country music radio stations, CBS News reports.

Country music artist Lindsay Ell is a victim of that unspoken rule — that radio stations play a limited number of songs by female artists, and definitely not back-to-back.

"I really think this whole problem of ratios, of males to females being played on country radio, rolls back to the record labels," Ell said.

Labels have power in a genre where radio is essential to building a fan base. A new study by Country Music Television — a division of ViacomCBS — backs Ell's claim. It found that 7 in 10 country radio listeners want to hear more female artists. But only 10% of airtime is dedicated to them.


Country Music Television is now committed to making sure 50% of its videos are performed by female artists.