Hicks laments death of CMT videos
Country artists mourn death of music videos as CMT shifts focus to other programming
CMT Canada’s decision to stop playing music videos will hobble a homegrown country scene already struggling to compete against slicker, better promoted U.S. rivals, say Canadian musicians.
The Corus-owned specialty channel stopped airing videos Sunday, as it officially shifted programming entirely toward sitcoms, reality shows, movies and special events.
The move isn’t sitting well with musicians including Dean Brody and Tim Hicks, who say they’ve lost a powerful platform to get their music out.
“To see that dissolve and evolve is going to be hard because it was a big part of me becoming successful in this country,” says Brody. “It’ll leave a big hole.” Hicks called CMT “integral” to his career, noting that a fund associated with the channel helped pay for 10 of his music videos, which gave him national exposure.
“You’re talking about mechanisms that break artists, getting videos and images and talking about the music in front of people. It’s a serious drag but by the same token I understand too that we’re at a point of time where people don’t want to wait for their favourite video to come on,” says Hicks, who expects he and his team will have to “get choosier and more calculated” in making videos.
“There just isn’t the money in Canada to spend on things like that.”
Back when the Canadian arm of Country Music Television debuted in 1994, it was meant to showcase country music videos and homegrown artists — in fact, its licence required at least 90 per cent of its programming be country music videos.
That changed in 2001, when the obligation dropped to 70 per cent, and again in 2006, when it dropped to 50 per cent. The condition remained that CMT Canada invest in creating original homegrown TV content.
Last year, Corus Media won a bid to eliminate its obligation entirely as it sought greater flexibility to create and acquire programs.
The media giant also tried to spike terms that at least 11 per cent of its previous year’s gross revenue pay for Canadian country music videos. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled it should continue funding the music industry but removed the condition that it exclusively support country artists.
A Corus spokeswoman said late last week that CMT’s lineup was “being refreshed.”
Indeed, the new schedule is filled with back-to-back episodes of shows like Reba, Rules of Engagement, Last Man Standing and Black-ish.
Ted Ellis, chairman of the Canadian Country Music Association, suspects Corus has grander plans for CMT.
He notes the company likely won’t have trouble filling hours once dominated by music videos — Corus has plenty of content thanks to the recent purchase of Shaw and its specialty channels, which include HGTV, Food Network Canada and History.
“CMT is a very well-distributed service in Canada, it has almost all English-speaking viewers, so it’s a great asset for Corus. I imagine they could think there’s a better use for that channel,” says Ellis, a former exec at the channel.
Ellis himself wrestled with CMT’s changing identity when he was head of programming there for 12 years, until 2015. During his tenure, the airing of music videos dropped to 50 per cent from 70 per cent.
Still, his association was among several groups that objected to the recent changes, along with the Canadian Independent Music Association and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.
Ellis lamented the loss of marketing and promotional opportunities, noting the CMT brand lent powerful credibility to any artist showcased: “Very few genres have their own platform like that.”
Corus has insisted the changes would not lessen Canadian content or spending on homegrown programs.
But it would give the company more flexibility in a changing media landscape, such as the ability to fund more long-form music programming instead.
Stuart Johnston, president of the Canadian Independent Music Association, was wary of what that could mean.
“It could mean that they are creating their own content and of course embedding music in that, so those artists that might be part of that change would see some sort of benefit,” Johnston says.
“But the kind of support they’ve shown historically up until this point has been broad-based and right across the industry. So it’s a sea change.”
The changes at CMT are not indicative of the health of the genre, adds Hicks, who described Canadian country as “more thriving than ever.”
The 38-year-old isn’t worried about losing younger fans — they’ll still find him on social media and streaming platforms. But he’s sure it’ll be harder to court older fans, who still watch television and buy CDs.
“That’s the dilemma everyone’s facing: How do we then get in front of the fans that would have watched you on CMT and then translated that into buying a concert ticket? It’s a tough one. I don’t think anyone has the answer, either.”
Ellis says the decision is purely a business one, noting that the publicly traded Corus faces constant pressures to boost its bottom line.
“The ratings, years and years ago, 10 years ago, they were great. Music video ratings haven’t been great for an awful long time,” says Ellis.