FEATURE:
Frequency Modulation
IN THIS PHOTO: British-born Grace Carter is one of the most talented and promising artists of the moment
The Continued Gender Imbalance on Radio Playlists
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ONE story that comes up every year…
that one wishes wouldn’t is radio playlists, and how few women are included. The figures are even starker when we look at producers, engineers and women behind the scenes. Maybe it is harder to easily rectify the number of women in studios are in top positions in the industry, but it is still alarming and we need to see a change there! Things are very slowly changing, and I do hope that there will be greater balance in the next few years – though that might be slightly ambitious! Something that can be corrected more quickly is the number of British women on radio playlists. I am not sure whether the figures are as bleak for international women but, as this article from The Guardian outlines, the situation is bleak for homegrown talent:
“British female musicians are dramatically underrepresented on UK radio stations, a study has found.
A survey of the top 100 songs by British acts to feature in the UK airplay chart between 1 January and 15 August this year found that only 19% were by female acts. Male artists accounted for 51%, and mixed-gender collaborations made up 30%.
The inequality was starker still behind the scenes: 80% of British songwriters on the surveyed tracks were male, 19% female and 1% non-binary. Only 3% of producers were female.
Becky Hill, whose 2019 collaboration with the male DJ Sigala was among the most played tracks in the period, said the findings reflected the challenges facing women in the music industry.
IN THIS PHOTO: Becky Hill
“Whether it is about what they look like or what they write about in their songs, or how they conduct their day-to-day lives, it would appear that women need to be more than just talented to be accepted and successful,” she said.
Female acts accounted for just 10% of the most played songs by British artists on BBC Radio 1 and on Radio 6 Music during the 12-month period. On BBC Radio 1Xtra the figure was 14.3%, on BBC Asian Network 20%, and on Radio 2 it was 40%.
In commercial radio, the Bauer Media stations Absolute Radio and Kerrang! and Global Media’s Radio X had no female acts among their top 20 most played songs by British artists. British women accounted for 15% of the top 20 on Kiss FM, 5% on Kiss Fresh, and a sector high of 30% on Bauer’s Magic FM.
Eleanor McEvoy, the chair of the Irish Music Rights Organisation, said gender disparity on radio appeared to be worsening.
“The unconscious bias towards male musicians, songwriters and performers is staggering. Looking at these figures I’m frustrated at the talent that we’re losing, the song that will be missed and the voices that we’re never going to hear,” she said.
BBC research last year found that three times as many male as female pop stars appeared on the biggest singles of 2018, and suggested female acts were losing exposure in an era heavy on collaborations”.
I have collected together various exerts from the article, but the picture painted is very worrying. There are so many brilliant British women in music and, whilst I can appreciate American female artists probably get more airplay than British artists, there is still a huge gender imbalance and bias towards men. One might say that there are fewer British women in music, but that is not the case. Just look at various music websites and magazines; check out new releases and listen to what is out there, and it is evident that there is more than enough British talent. I know radio stations have their demographics and particular musical tastes, but that is not to say they are limited by that at all. I would be interested to see what the figures are like when you factor in all female artists – one suspects there is still a massive imbalance. It is down to radio stations to nurture and promulgate brilliant artists, and so many British artists rely on the bigger stations to get their music out there. In order to break out of this continuing pattern, radio bosses need to look at the research and commit to change. From Dua Lipa, Rina Sawayama, Laura Marling, Charli XCX to Jessie Ware, some of the best albums of this year have come from British female artists. Whilst I admit that, perhaps, American female artists account for more big singles and albums than British women, there is not a massive disparity in terms of nationality, and there are ample options regarding British women.
Maybe more women behind the scenes would help push terrific British female artists to the surface. Those figures from the top of this article – “80% of British songwriters on the surveyed tracks were male, 19% female and 1% non-binary. Only 3% of producers were female” – gives one pause for thought! Again, there are so many terrific British women who are songwriters and producers, and I wonder whether there is this culture that makes it inherently hard for them to be accepted. This bias towards men is undeniable, and there is not enough being done in the industry to encourage more women into studios. I know some brilliant female producers, and they are lobbying hard for greater equality, but they say that there is either not enough support from their male peers, or women are not coming through - most likely due to the shocking statistics and, still, the studio is seen as a male domain. I know a lot of female artists self-produce and, in an age where D.I.Y. music is rife, the figures do not necessarily take this into account. If we are going to see improvement when it comes to radio playlists, there needs to be consideration for the foundations and bringing more women in to studios and changing practises. I was shocked to see how few female songwriters accounted for the most-played songs on radio. One might also argue that the research findings are about the more popular songs, and there are plenty of more underground, lesser-known female artists being played.
IN THIS PHOTO: Arlo Parks/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Almeida
Excuses aside, nobody can deny that women are underrepresented, and that their musical contribution is just as valuable and strong as that from the men. In fact, every year, the best music I hear is from women. So much of this musical excellent comes from Britain, and I am seeing so many hungry and talented artists put out sensational music. Let’s hope that these findings do propel movement, and it would be a shame if we were in the same position this time next year. It is such a pity that so much bright talent is not being acknowledged by radio stations. One can hear so many fantastic British women every week, but that is not translating into airplay! As music festivals are still struggling to create gender-equal bills – Glastonbury achieved it this year before they had to cancel -, one does sigh and wonder whether we will see correction in the next few years. I have the utmost respect for the brilliant radio stations in this country, and they have provided strength and company to us all during this hard time. From Grace Carter, beabadoobee (she is Filipino-born but a British citizen) and Arlo Parks to Celeste, there are so many exciting British women coming through, in addition to those established artists. The quality and choice is out there; it is a case of recognising it and committing to tackling the glaring gender imbalance. Our fantastic female artists definitely…
DESERVE a lot more than this.