FEATURE:
Eireplay: Doubling Up
IN THIS PHOTO: Denise Chaila/PHOTO CREDIT: George Voronov via District Magazine
The Urgent Need to Correct Gender Imbalance on Irish Radio
_________
ONE issue that seems to come up…
IMAGE CREDIT: Why Not Her?
every year is the gender imbalance across radio stations. In the U.K., there is still this problem with women being underrepresented. There is also a comparative lack of artists of colour. It is slowly improving on some stations, though there are major ones that have a huge gulf. The same is true of Irish radio. One might say there are fewer female artists (compared to men) across the Irish music scene, meaning it would be harder to create that sort of balance. A recent tweet by Linda Coogan Byrne (GDEI Consultant + Equality Campaigner at Why Not Her?) looked ahead to the gender disparity report that will come out in January. It documents the imbalance across Irish radio. There are a lot of great new Irish artists coming through that are not getting played. As I will explore, maybe the industry is not supporting women and creating an environment where they can be heard and in the mix. It is going to be quite angering reading:
“So far on Irish radio this year, in the Top 100 most played songs on Irish radio: (Jan -Oct 31st)
Only 18% of Irish radio is by Irish artists on Top 20 Playlists across all radio stations.
Dermot Kennedy still reigns across the radio, having 4 songs on heavy rotation the entire year round.
14% are white male artists.
4% is female artists and that is The Cranberries, Aimée and Jazzy making up that 4%.
Of the 18% of Irish artists, 2% make up Irish POC artists and that one artist is Jazzy, with two track, one her solo project release under Jazzy and second one is with her collab with Belters Only.
4% of Irish radio's most played artists were comprised of 3 female artists/lead female vocalists.
82% make up International Artists.
Doesn't seem right does it?”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kynsy/PHOTO CREDIT: Paula Trojner
It is not the case that there is a lack of great Irish women to play. From CMAT to Denise Chaila through to Biig Piig and Kynsy and Pillow Queens, there is enough variety and choice out there. It is not a new issue, imbalance. Look at this feature from last year that reacted to the 2022 Gender Disparity Data Report:
“The 2022 Gender Disparity Data Report on Irish Radio by Why Not Her? has stated that no artists of colour from Ireland featured in the Top 100 Most played songs on Irish radio in 2021.
Irish women artists make up just three per cent of the Top 100 Most played songs on Irish radio in 2021.
Dermot Kennedy is now the highest-impacting artist in the last five years across Irish radio with Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” being the most-played song in 2021.
The Findings
RTÉ Lyric FM and RTÉ Radio 1 had the greatest gender balance out of all Irish radio stations while Spin 1038 was the most improved.
FM104 significantly lagged behind for the third year in a row, with only three female artists in their top 20 most-played acts.
The report noted that “if you are a white Irish male artist, it is five times more likely that you’ll make it to the Top 100 than if you are an Irish female artist.”
Linda Coogan Byrne, founder of Why Not Her? and data analyst commented on the report’s findings: “There is a diverse multicultural vibrancy that is at an all-time high, this needs to be reflected in the radio stations in Ireland. It is my continued hope that these data reports can continue to set the precipice for a lot of change to come. Change can happen at a quick rate, (as is evident in Spin 103.8, Rte2fm etc) when an unconscious bias is stripped back and when the effort is applied to make the shift towards DEI.”
“It is a sad situation that we mostly rely on the privileges and power of white men to make the decision as to whether women and artists of colour are good enough to be seen and heard. I hope one day this changes. We will continue as a collective to stand with our colleagues and friends in broadcasting and the music industry in working towards reaching an equal voice for women and artists of colour alongside the LGBTQIA+ community across every facet of Irish culture and we will never be afraid to ask the question Why Not Her?”
Upcoming Legislation
Under new government plans to encourage greater participation of women on the airwaves, radio and TV programs may be required to show or publish their gender balance.
Media Minister Catherine Martin has issued a proposal for gender balance in the media that will be included in several amendments in the Online Safety and Media Regulations Bill which provides for radical moves for the establishment of Coimisiún na Meán.
Some of Minister Martin’s amendments will provide that Coimisiún na Meán may make media services codes to promote gender balance on current affairs programmes on TV and radio, as well as promote the broadcasting of musical works composed or performed by women on radio services”.
There is a gender disparity that has existed for years. It is evident that there is insufficient support of female artists on Irish radio. Like the U.K., the industry does seem to still favour male artists. I don’t entirely think it is a lack of visibility that causes these alarming statistics. Not only is there a gender disparity on U.K. radio. Sadly, there is racial imbalance too. I am not sure whether this is going to be corrected completely in the next few years. The more we see inequality across Irish and U.K. radio, the more it will impact negatively in the future. Apart from a natural bias that has always worked against women, I think there is an ignorance of talent. The talent is out there, yet there seems to be this blindness. I know that fewer female artists are signed to labels. This means it can be harder to build a large profile to make it onto radio playlists. Female artists are performing live and releasing music online, though how many have a realistic shot of reaching the same level as male artists who have a label and bigger push from the industry?! I don’t think the larger industry can be blamed entirely. Like on Country stations, there seems to be this block against women. Not playing a run of songs by female artists. It is insulting to the brilliance of music being made by women. There are so many Irish women who are making incredible music. Again, it is men who dominate and take most of the airplay. Sadly, the Gender Disparity Data Report 2023 is going to highlight inequality across Irish radio. It is very clear that…
THIS time next year.