Country music fans tune into the CMT Music Awards every year because it’s their show. The fans pick the winners — and their opinions drive the week’s events as well as the show’s hosts and performers. Year to year, the only changes that are made to the show are based on what makes the most sense for the fans, even when it switched from CMT to CBS last year, according to producers Leslie Fram and Margaret Comeaux. This year's show resonated with fans, as viewership was up 5% and social buzz increased 33%. Performers collaborated across genres and the show featured new artists who are popular on streaming — and artists who have the potential to become the next great country superstar. “The show is really current and a lot of artists will say, ‘Wow, my first award show nomination was the CMT Music Awards,’ or their first performance on an awards show was the CMT Music Awards. And to this day, you have artists like Luke Bryan who tie their breakout moment to the CMT Music Awards,” says Fram, who has been with CMT since 2011. Keeping it current is what keeps audiences coming back for more. “Caring about what they are listening to and what they think is what separates us from the rest of the pack,” adds Comeaux. Fram and Comeaux spoke to the Paramount Newsroom about moving the show to Austin, TX, creating a multi-platform award show, and the surprise performances.

A Fan-Focused Award Show Strategy

In 2022, the CMT Music Awards aired on CBS for the first time. The broadcast network gave Fram and Comeaux complete control of the show’s format and guests. Knowing fans would still tune in to see their favorite artists, the duo kept their production approach. Still, the scale and impact of the show grew. The initial move to CBS led to a 521% jump in ratings and garnered 2.5B social impressions. For this year's show, there were 129M views and 9.56M engagements across social. 5.43M people tuned into the show, up 5% from 2022. “There's a certain feel and point of view with the CMT Music Awards that are very different than other country music award shows. This is a fan-focused award show, it always has been. We're looking at building this show, booking it, and stacking it in ways that please the audience,” explains Comeaux. “I believe that people have come to know we're going to have the biggest superstars on this show, but we're also going to lean into music discovery and turn them on to some new artists that maybe they haven't experienced yet.” Some of those upcoming, newly popular artists include Megan Moroney, Avery Anna, and Jackson Dean. While of course featuring stars like Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and hosts Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown. While the full show aired again on CBS and Paramount+, there’s also a little something extra for the true CMT fans. Comeaux revealed there is a 30-minute extended cut available on CMT, which includes bonus performances and outtakes.

In Austin, there were block parties, pop-up events, and concerts around Congress St. during the week before the awards. Fram also called out some “rocking” performances, noting the long history of rock-and-roll and country music and the collaborations between genres. Slash, Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette, The Black Crowes, and several other unexpected guests took the stage.

The Home for Live Music

This year, Fram and Comeaux are making one major change: The location. Since 2005, the CMT Music Awards have called Nashville home, but now, they are making the move to the live music capital of the world, Austin, TX.

“Austin was such a logical and easy choice for us to make, because of its reputation for live music,” says Comeaux. “We've really been able to lean into the city and they're super excited about having us there.”

As producers, they were able to plan around the central location of the Moody Center to create an immersive experience for attendees and those fans who won’t make it in the doors.

“When you start thinking in the planning stages about moving a show of this size that is so reliant on the city and the environment around it, Austin was such a logical and easy choice for us to make,” adds Comeaux. “We'll have events in and around the city—CMT Music Awards Week in Austin is going to be real and it'll be fun.”