Female Country Artists Get Just 8.4% of Radio Play in 2024, Study Reveals

Ten years after the infamous "Tomatogate" comment that sparked outrage across the country music industry, many female artists say little progress has been made toward equal representation on country radio. The controversy began when radio consultant Keith Hill advised stations to limit female airplay, stating, "Trust me. I play great female records, and we've got some right now; they're just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females."

While awareness has increased, Billboard data for 2024 shows women achieved 8.39% of country radio airplay. Black women achieved an even lower percentage, revealing ongoing inequities. Country star Mickey Guyton, honored earlier this month at Variety's Power of Women: Nashville, said in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, "Not much has changed. It hasn't," and called on artists to stop accepting "crumbs" from the industry.

Veteran artist Sara Evans voiced her frustration: "Radio hasn't played any new music of mine in years — six years probably." Her experience reflects a broader pattern, as evidenced by research from Dr. Jada Watson and Professor Kate Duncan, who have both cited systemic barriers and stricter expectations for women in the field.

Even if there isn't a consistent trend in the broader landscape, there are a few more recent voices, for example, Avery Anna and Gabby Barrett, who say that they are getting more support from country radio, which may indicate incremental real cultural change. But as Miranda Lambert said, they often have to collaborate with a guy partner to achieve commercial success again on the charts.

In 2024, Ella Langley was the only woman to hit number one on the country airplay charts - a sad sign of the lack of female hit makers. Reba McEntire and others see positive signs in the growing community among women in country music, but most agree that greater changes within radio programming and industry lead positions have yet to be established.

The effects of Tomatogate continue to impact the discussion, and the need for equity is urgent.