Shania Twain blasts 'very ageist' country music stations: 'I don't hear Reba on the radio anymore'
Heads up: Shania Twain has added a new entry to the list of things that don’t impress her much.
Speaking to USA Today ahead of her performance at this Sunday’s American Music Awards, the the 54-year-old singer hit out at country radio stations for not giving women enough airplay.
“There's a lot of good female talent out there, and they've been more vocal about the resistance at radio to include them more equally in airplay,” the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” star told the newspaper. “I'm hoping that does start to make a change because there are many female artists with strong songs that belong in the Top 40 on country radio that are just not there.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by other women in the industry, including Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, who attended this month’s Country Music Awards in a pink train scrawled with slogans demanding “Equal Play” and for radio stations to “Play Our F****n Records.” But Twain says it’s even harder for mature women to get support from stations.
“It's very ageist as well,” she continued. “I don't hear Reba [McEntire] on the radio anymore; I don't hear Patty Loveless on the radio anymore. I don't hear Shania Twain on the radio anymore in country! So that's got to change, too.
“Thankfully with technology, we do have other outlets of getting our music out there and radio isn't the end all be all of somebody's success today,” she added. “But it's very frustrating and it's a disservice not only to the artist, but to the public, that they can't turn on the radio and hear all the best music that's being made right now.”
The interview also saw Twain weigh in on fellow AMAs performer and country crossover artist Taylor Swift, who is embroiled in a battle with the Big Machine label over rights to her old music catalog.
“I don't know a lot about the details of that, but I'm a big supporter of Taylor,” the Canadian star said. “I think she's just incredibly brilliant. I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it and I don't really know where everybody is coming from, but I'll always support the artist and their access to their own music. It seems a bit ridiculous to not have that.”
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