August 20, 2018, Issue 615
Equal Play: Part Two
Country radio’s top 100 songs of the year feature just 19 voiced by women. On the streaming side, the percentages are generally worse (YouTube Music/Google Play’s Country Hotlist is an exception at 24% female). While the numbers are in line with the decades-long reality in country music, tangible efforts are underway to change that. As detailed last week, CMT, Premiere/CMT and iHeartCountry are devoting air time and resources to female artists in a number of ways. But wait, there’s more... Cumulus Nash Nights Live co-host Elaina Smith recently partnered with Nash Country Daily for a multi-faceted project plainly called Elaina Smith Women Want To Hear Women. Blog posts, interviews, podcasts, performances and playlists explore various angles of the gender debate, and Smith repurposes some of that content for a weekly feature on Nash Nights Live. “I’m trying to help to challenge the narrative that women don’t want to hear women, which I’ve been told for years,” Smith explains. At the heart of the project is a podcast that features 15-20 minutes with rising female artists. “We chat about their experience as women in the industry, their personal and professional journeys, their music, and how they’re proving themselves not just as women but as artists in general,” Smith says. The conversations are personal and often instructive. “We cover the #MeToo movement and talk about experiences that may have made them uncomfortable or crossed lines,” Smith notes. “We spend a lot of time trying to reevaluate what the norm is and encouraging each other to go with our instincts and not accept that uncomfortable is normal. There’s advice for both women and men.” (continued on page 9)
Jesus Take The Third Wheel: Big Machine’s Carly Pearce and Atlantic/WEA’s Michael Ray (r) with WDRQ/Detroit’s Robby Bridges.
Save A Vet, Write A Song
More than 20 veterans or active duty military commit suicide each day, a number that hits close to home for CreatiVets founder and combat-wounded Marine Richard Casper. Navigating his own return to civilian life with the help of music led to the organization’s mission, but it took a little help from radio ... help he continues to seek.
Richard Casper
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