Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! Equal play is something that comes up in conversation a lot when you talk about country music. Should women have equal play on country radio? I think they should, but at the same time, I realize it’s probably never going to happen. There are times that a lot of women put out new music, and there are other times that a lot of men put out new music. So, for that reason, I don’t think women will ever make up 50% of country radio. This week on the Mediabase country chart, women make up 12.5% of the top 40 songs.

Women only made up 5% of the number one songs on country radio last year. (This is only including either solo female artists or all female duets. Duets with men are not included in this.) That number dropped a little from 2022 when women made up 6.3% of the number one songs. This got me wondering when women stopped getting the airplay they deserved.

The 90s were a huge decade for women. In 1999, women made up 40% of the number one country songs that year. A year later, in 2000, the number dropped to 21.1%, but went back up a little in 2001 when it reached 24%. By 2002, however, women only made up 4.5% of the number one country songs that year. That’s a 19.5% drop!

I don’t know why it is, but ever since the big drop in 2002, women haven’t really had the airplay they deserve. I’m hoping, with all the talented women in country music right now, that might change.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back soon!