Leslie Fram

LESLIE FRAM, coming off her 13 year role as Senior Vice President of Music and Talent at CMT in Nashville, has assembled a team of strategically aligned and select music business veterans for the purpose of offering advisory services to music-related entities. Leslie was and continues to be uniquely positioned within the Nashville community not only as a top tier tastemaker, but also as someone who has made a career of breaking artists and knowing the answer to the question…Who’s Next!

With a career spanning several decades in Rock and Alternative Radio, and her role at CMT (Country Music Television) Nashville, Leslie has become a staunch advocate for country music’s female artists. While at CMT, Leslie launched the “Next Women of Country” campaign in 2013 to support and expose developing female talent, both signed and unsigned, in a male-dominated format. The campaign showcases emerging female artists across all CMT screens throughout the year, and in the eleven years since its launch, CMT has expanded the initiative to include five CMT NEXT WOMEN OF COUNTRY Tours, anchored by superstar acts including Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride and Sara Evans, a CMT.com digital series, NEXT WOMEN OF COUNTRY LIVE, and more. 2013 - 2024 11 years of...Notable alumnae Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Lauren Alaina, RaeLynn and Lindsay Ell.

Change the Conversation https://www.changetheconversation.net/ was co-founded by Leslie in 2014 to address the growing gender disparities in country music. Despite country’s history of strong female voices, by the 2010s, few women were played on country radio.

CTC dispels the myths that women don't support other female artists or desire to hear from more female voices. We act as a speakerphone for the truth of women's successes across this industry, such as album sales, ticket sales, social media influence and endorsement deals. We aim to support new artists development, mentoring opportunities and other guidance to help young female singer-songwriters and industry professionals.

Referred to as the “First Lady of Modern Rock” Leslie is highly respected for both her hit intuition and hard-driving passion for music. Leslie was the first woman to receive the The T.J. Martell Foundation Award in recognition of outstanding performance in the music industry in 2000, and was presented with the NARAS-Atlanta Chapter Heroes Award for her outstanding contributions to music and the music community. In 2009, she was honored as a Lifetime Achievement Inductee in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, the recipient of the very first ‘Innovation In Music’ Awards held 3 years ago and recognized by the Nashville Business Journal’s ‘Women In Music’ 6 years in a row. Leslie has served on the Board of the ACM - Academy of Country Music, Recording Academy / GRAMMYs/Nashville/Atlanta and New York Chapter, Save The Music, Nashville Music Equality and an alum of @Leadership Music Class of 2014. Fram is an avid philanthropist and spokesperson, using her voice to support numerous non-profits and causes. Leslie is a Save The Music Board Director as well as a member of the Music Industry Advisory Board, The Grammy TV Committee and continues to work with Equal Access and Change The Conversation.

Leslie now moves from “Who’s Next” to “What’s Next”. The answer to that question comes in the form of her own version of Next Women Of Country…… FEM Country….. Empowering Female Voices In Country Music……. Coming September 2025.