“Irish radio is excluding half of the marketplace of Ireland. If you do not see it, you cannot be it.”
Totally Dublin contributor Sarah Pennington recently sat down for an enlightening discussion with Why Not Her? founder Linda Coogan Byrne to lay bare the stark realities behind the Irish radio industry.
Even today, in an age where online streaming services and fifteen second social media clips are the main avenues of consumption for music lovers, radio plays a crucial, crucial role in the development and growth of young musicians.
For as long as there has been art, there has been a woman making it that has been ignored or unrecognized solely on the merits of being female. These days, people are working to change that, as in our recent feature with Wallis Bird, and the incredible ‘Visions of Venus’ collaboration with Spark! that celebrated unsung female composers throughout history.
One of the people at the frontline of that fight is Linda Coogan Byrne, a woman who has made an indelible mark on the Irish music industry, championing diversity, equality, and innovation. As the CEO of Good Seed PR, an exhaustive list of her accomplishments would certainly be a handy way to hit our word count, but that would do her good work a disservice. Among her myriad accomplishments, a nomination for ‘Campaigner of the Year’ perhaps serves this piece best, as it is the merits of her advocacy that won her the consideration in 2023 last year.
Why Not Her? has worked tirelessly to shine a light on this disparity, championing artists like CMAT, Qbanna, Áimee and Jazzy, and more recently Irish male artists of colour like Rejjie Snow, Monjola, Chris Kabs and Jyellowl, with the discovery that Phil Lynott is the only black male Irish artist featured on these Irish radio reports.
Totally Dublin contributor Sarah Pennington sat down for an enlightening discussion with the Why Not Her? founder to lay bare that stark realities that lay behind the Irish radio industry.
After reviewing the presentation, I find it very interesting that statistically as you move out of Dublin–a metropolitan hub thriving with diversity–other radio stations in outer cities become even more disparaging towards diverse artists. Do you think this has any sort of implication for cities that do not encounter or are not confronted with ideas of inclusivity and diversity?
It has to reflect our cultural tapestry. We are so diversified now, cross-culturally. If you are a black male artist in Ireland, you don’t really get a look in. Dublin isn’t diverse in terms of radio, it just isn’t.
2XM and RTE are both the only stations nationally and regionally supporting diverse artists, period. There are a few that are starting to culminate but it is very, very slow. It is pathetic, to put it very bluntly. You can quote me on that. If you look at the landscape in relation to the presenters, the producers, and the heads of music, they are predominantly white middle-aged men who are holding the culture.
Even in the case of artists like Celaviedmai, who is a hip-hop, black R&B artist from Galway, or Rejjie Snow, who is massive internationally with millions of fans, he’s from Kildare.
I think it’s a case of over the last few years, they were trying to put themselves out there because the areas weren’t ready. So they went to Dublin to see what they could do there and the live scene is starting to flourish, but certainly on the radio, it seems static.
The research shows that more international artists get radio play vs. local talent. Do you think music politics and label funding might have a part to play in this? Or do you think in part it is radio stations trying to appeal to a wider audience and negating homegrown artists?
What we’re hearing year in and year out is, that if we confront the radio stations, they blame the labels and vice versa. There is a common thread where accountability doesn’t exist because there is no authoritative figure. It is excuse after excuse. This year the UK has reached total gender parity on the radio, in their Top 100 women have taken over male artists– 41% to 39%. It is thriving and mirrors the ecosystem across festivals, gigs, and tours.
It’s amazing what they have done. It has happened because they took accountability – people who wanted to have change. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Why does Ireland not want to? Performative activism is something that Irish radio is really good at doing.
It is interesting that in the findings, most Irish women’s talent being played most often on the radio are the late Irish icons except for one artist, Jazzy. Why do you think that is?
I’d love to know the answer to that. Sinéad O’Connor and Dolores O’Riordan [The Cranberries] are the only two recurrent women being played every year on the report. However, every year there is a constant change between a single artist who is a woman of colour. One.
If we look at the wider spectrum of the annual charts, 80% are international artists with a very gender-balanced chart. Irish radio doesn’t have a problem playing women artists, but just Irish women artists. Britain seems to be breaking our female artists now, which is problematic.
I would love to know why. Is it because Sinéad O’Connor stepped out of turn and ripped up a picture of the Pope? Did it scare Irish radio enough to never support another woman artist? Does the Church still have a hold on people on a subconscious level? We just publish the data and we hope it changes.
Jazzy is the first Irish female solo artist to top the charts in 14 years. Her genre is very dance-pop and club-influenced. What do you think it says about the current state of Irish radio?
Across the board in the UK and Ireland, gender collaborations have increased massively. Dance music continues to be the leading genre related to radio plays. For example, Dua Lipa holds 5% of the UK radio market–just her.
Dance music is just dominating UK and Irish radios right now. The likes of Jazzy, Ella Henderson, and Becky Hill who have broken through, had to have their careers jockeyed by jumping on collaborations with large male DJs before they could do their solo careers.
Raye is another prime example. Her label didn’t know what to do with her on a solo artist level and benched her. But then when she broke out with a #1 with Escapism, I am sure the previous label took note of that. So they applied the same idea to other artists. So the state of Irish radio is very focused on collaborations across the board with dance and pop music.
The report highlights the need for further advocacy for gender and racial equality in the music industry. What responsibility would you say is on the consumer vs the radio and music labels in boosting local Irish artists?
Radio and record labels have the power of being culture changers. They are setting the tone and the sonic landscape–they always have and they always will. It is not on the consumer. The consumer will only know what they are being given.
Irish radio is excluding half of the marketplace of Ireland. If you do not see it, you cannot be it. If we aren’t exposed, we aren’t going to know who they are.
What you hear is what you are gonna go and seek out. There are 3.6 million people who still tune in to the radio and over 80% in the UK–it’s growing every year. People want that personal reach. They want the personal association with the DJs. They trust the DJs and the playlisters to give them what’s good, and what’s hot. It is definitely on the labels and radio stations. In Ireland, 2% of the Top 100 is one dead woman and one woman who the UK broke.
I also noted that your website has a petition that will be sent directly to the Minister and the heads of Irish radio media. I see that the goal is 2,000. After that is reached, do you see yourself extending the signature amount or is there another call to action you have planned?
It actually was 1,000 and we kept going up. We have been back and forth with the media commissioner and they’re saying we have to wait, give it time.
They are saying they will do their own independent data over the next few years. We haven’t heard that they find it terrible and want to address it immediately. We have been giving them this data for the last 5 years and going back over 25 years of chart data. There has been no response from any person of authority within the government, broadcasting, or new media commission. Empty promises and inaction. This is the third or fourth petition we have done and we have had huge artists, producers and DJs who have signed petitions but it doesn’t seem to matter to the government and broadcasters. Do they even care? I don’t think all of them truly do.
What has been the most rewarding part of this journey for you?
2FM was 5 – 10% women when we started, and now it’s up to 35%. On the diversity angle, even though it’s not massive, it went from 1 to 6 artists of colour in the last few years which is good. There is good in showing it can actually be done, it is just about making that decision. Radios aren’t going to be forced, they have to want to make the change.
Words: Sarah Pennington
Photo Credit: Jazzy by Ariel Pedatzur
An online seminar Why Not Her? Taking a Look at Gender & Racial Parity in the UK and Irish Radio Landscape takes place on Friday August 30th, from 11.30am to 12:30pm (GMT). This seminar will dive deep into the findings from recent reports, shedding light on the stark realities and ongoing challenges in achieving true diversity and inclusion within the radio industry, in addition to covering the massive improvements made across the board in the UK, specifically across the BBC. Register to participate here.
