Martina McBride voiced her opinion on sexism in the country music industry this week, reacting strongly to a music consultant's comment that successful country stations shouldn’t play as many songs by women.
Keith Hill, one of the most pre-eminent music scheduling consultants in the business,
told Country Aircheck on Tuesday that “if you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out. The reason is mainstream country radio generates more quarter hours from female listeners at the rate of 70 to 75 percent, and women like male artists . . . Trust me, I play great female records and we’ve got some right now; they’re just not the lettuce in our salad.”
Male artists like Blake Shelton are the "lettuce," while women are more like "tomatoes," Hill said.
McBride responded on Facebook, asking her followers, “Wow . . . just wow . . . How do you feel about this statement? I especially want to hear from the females. Do you not like to hear other women singing about what you are going through as women? I'm really curious. Because to me, country music is about relating. Someone relating to what you are really going through on a day to day basis in your life. Did you girls (core female listeners) know you were being ‘assessed’ in this way? Is this how you really feel? Hmmm."
On Thursday, Hill responded to the criticism his comments generated. "First tweet received in
four years was that I was a douchebag," he tweeted.
On McBride’s Facebook page, many stepped forward to offer their support for female country artists, including another artist, Carlene Carter.
“Good God Ladies! Are they still as silly as they were back in the '90s! I was told early on by WB that women just didn't buy women's records,” she wrote. “And since they were the people buying not to count on sales in the same way as men could. What a complete crock! Martina you have certainly proved them wrong over and over about this.”
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