Awareness campaign highlights lack of airtime for female artists

The Why Not Her campaign found that Munster radio stations are among the worst in the country when it comes to Irish female artists getting airplay

Music industry consultant Linda Coogan Byrne is involved in the launch of the Why Not Her, #whynother, action plan for Irish radio stations to tackle gender inequality.

Campaigners seeking equality in chart radio airplay for Irish female artists have challenged their male counterparts to amplify the issue, as an awareness campaign begins in Munster this weekend.

The data-driven Why Not Her campaign found that Munster radio stations are among the worst in the country when it comes to Irish female artists getting airplay compared to their male peers.

The campaign compiled data from June to December 2020 on the top 20 most played songs by Irish artists on radio stations across the country, finding that 85% of artists in the top 100 airplay charts across all stations were male.

Led by music industry consultant Linda Coogan Byrne, global development executive Bernadette Sexton, and researcher and academic Dr Brenda Donohue, Why Not Her has now launched an action plan for Irish radio stations to implement in order to tackle the inequality.

Cork-based radio stations such as 96FM, C103 and Red FM were among those named as having room to dramatically improve.

According to the report, 96FM and C103 had just 10% and 5% respectively of Irish female artists in the most-played between June and December, while Red FM had just 10% of Irish female artists in the most-played. 

96FM and C103 group station director Kieran McGeary vowed to improve.

The stations would "continually strive to improve our diversity while balancing our licence requirements and the preferences of our audience" highlighted through significant investment in ongoing music research, he said.

An awareness push by Why Not Her, including posters made by Leeside company Notes from Cork, will launch this weekend to try and change public perception of the opportunities given to female artists, and to improve their airplay.

However, the lack of major Irish male artists backing the campaign has been glaring, Linda Coogan Byrne said.

It is disappointing to see the lack of solidarity from male acts and fronted bands who are dominating the airwaves on Irish radio and the Irish music scene, towards their female counterparts. 

"If it was the other way around, the women would be posting and issuing complaints to radio on the lack of support to men. But alas, that would never be the situation in a whitewashed homogenised music industry in Ireland where the male voice has always come first. This has to change," she said.

She praised those who put their heads above the parapet, including the likes of Conor O'Brien from Villagers.

Mr O'Brien said: "Mainstream Irish radio is a commercial enterprise but it needs to fully recognise its potential as a cultural establishment too. 

"Unfortunately that establishment is currently giving a voice to only half of the population and the societal ramifications of this, both conscious and unconscious, are monumental."