Aside from original programming, another way CMT attempted to expand their audience was by partnering with Hollywood to include songs within films. This strategy, again, pulls from other genres that began appearing in film long before country music in its current form. For example, the 1990 film Pretty Woman brought attention back to the 1982 rock and roll song “Pretty Woman” by featuring it as a soundtrack.
Though initially utilized to enhance the film’s traditional “country” iconography, country music began to appear in ways similar to other genres, which benefitted both Hollywood and country music. After appearing in a film, a country song’s music video would then incorporate key concepts/visualizations of the film to make clear connections and help draw film audiences to the videos (Brackett, 2001).
Through original television programming and film, CMT simultaneously sought to modify “outdated stereotypes about the country-music audience” (Moss, 2003). The use of country soundtracks helped expose wider audiences to a genre of music that had historically been stigmatized as rural and white, and over time, audiences began to more widely accept country music within popular culture (Wiggins 9; Brackett).