OUR MISSION
Launched in April 2022, Equal Access is an award winning initiative designed to empower artists and artist managers from historically excluded demographics (Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and Women) in country music by providing funding, dedicated support, and industry connections. We want to change who you see on the stages, but also who is behind the scenes.
We envision a country music industry where opportunity is not limited by race, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality— and where diverse voices are not only welcomed, but valued and supported. In a genre that is based on “3 chords and the truth”, we want to make sure ALL truths are getting told.
WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
The country music industry has long faced systemic inequities that limit access to funding, mentorship, and professional networks. Equal Access was created to address these gaps directly — not through symbolism, but through tangible, career-changing support.
We know from a 2024 CMA Study that 58% of Hispanic adults and 49% of Black adults listen to country music, but People of Color make up less than 4% of the commercial country music industry (Dr. Jada Watson Songdata Study, 2021) . And we unfortunately have even less data on queer representation and what the representation behind the scenes looks like, but we know that the audience doesn’t match who is getting platformed.
Our History
Equal Access was launched in 2022 as a partnership between mtheory and CMT, with the goal of creating real pathways into the country music business for historically marginalized talent. Cameo Carlson, the CEO of mtheory, a manager services company, wanted to help expand access for underrepresented managers, but she also knew that the program needed to provide financial resources, as she knew that a key part of lack of access, is lack of financial resources. For that, she partnered with Leslie Fram at Country Music Television, who agreed to come on as the Title Sponsor of the program and provided nearly all of the initial funding. As part of this though, she knew that since CMT was a media organization, they needed artists to be a part of the program. And thus, a program that supported both artists and managers was born.
The first three cohorts supported 3 artists and 3 managers each. As CMT, and their parent company of Paramount, were sold and downsized, they were not able to continue supporting the program. As such, in 2025, for our 4th cohort, we went down to supporting 2 artists and 2 managers.
In 2026, as their funding continued to change, Equal Access decided to reinvest in previous cohort participants, instead of adding new cohort members. They will be expanding the knowledge base for all previous managers, and offering up free mtheory support to 3 previous artists as they roll out their next albums. They plan to continue fundraising throughout the year, hope to come back in 2027 with the original funding model, while still incorporating the expanded manager support they established in 2026.
Historically, applications for our program should go live in November, close in December, and new cohort members will be notified in February. Then, the program will run March - December. If you are interested in being a part of our program, join our newsletter (link) and follow us on Instagram (link) to stay up to date!
Donate Here if you’d like to help us reach our goals to be able to continue supporting a more inclusive country music industry.