CMT and management services company mtheory revealed the six candidates for the second year of its Equal Access Development Program on Tuesday. The program launched in 2022 is an intensive artist and management training initiative to support underrepresented voices in country music.

The year-long project extends funding, training and provides up-and-coming artists and management professionals with access to industry leaders to build diversity and creativity in country music.

The participants in year two of the Equal Access Development Program are singers Angie K, Camille Parker and Denitia, with management professionals Ahsaki LaFrance-Chachere, Alex Evelyn and Roberto Martinez.

"CMT, along with Paramount Global and its Content for Change initiative, is proud to partner with mtheory once again and is committed to leading the industry in igniting systemic change," Leslie Fram, SVP, Music & Talent, CMT, said in a statement. "Equal Access accentuates our roster of groundbreaking initiatives, including CMT Equal Play and CMT Next Women of Country, and contributes significantly towards leveling the playing field in country music. We look forward to collaborating with this amazing new group of artists and managers to amplify their work to CMT audiences and beyond."

This year's class is a mix of men and women and has members from the Black, Native American, Hispanic and LGBTQ communities.

"We're all in the business for change," said Ahsaki LaFrance-Chachere. "I can speak for all of us. When we saw the call of action of change needed in country music. We all felt it. And we can all bring value to this movement. We're all very unique. So that's the beautiful part of Equal Access - the being a champion of that diversity, inclusion and being that head of the movement."

K, a member of the LGBTQ community, said she knows many "hard-fought battles" happened before she arrived in Nashville, which made her path less rocky.

"There were real people that pushed back against anyone being out in this town," K said. "Chely Wright and Shelly Fairchild, these are real people that lost a lot of their careers because of loving somebody, which to me now sounds pretty crazy."

She explained her "only job" is to keep moving forward to make it look easy for the next LGBTQ female who wants to break into country music.

"I'm in this beautiful step of just not letting them down," she said.

Equal Access is one of the music industry's first collaborative programs intended to boost and create community and commercial opportunities for artists and business people of underserved groups in country music.

The 2023 Equal Access group managers are anxious to work together on potential projects.

"I'm excited to bring a collaboration of our different unique backgrounds to country music," said Evelyn. "The audience is there; it's just they need more people like us in the background."

Martinez added: "I'm excited to see what could happen because there's no telling what we could accomplish."

The inaugural 2022-23 Equal Access cohort included artists Madeline Edwards, Miko Marks and Valerie Ponzio and music management professionals Charlene Bryant, Kadeem Phillips and Marques Vance. In its first year, Equal Access was instrumental in creating over 100 country music industry connections for its members with organizations including Country Music Association (CMA), BMI, Recording Industry of America (RIAA), Academy of Country Music (ACM), the Grand Ole Opry, YouTube Music and more.

"Research continues to show the enduring racial and gendered hierarchy within the industry and its ripple effect throughout every facet of the business: radio airplay, songwriting, publishing, streaming, record label signings, artist development, touring and more," said Cameo Carlson, CEO of mtheory. "Only through deliberate, consistent efforts like Equal Access, will we begin to see stronger representation of underserved groups in the format."