In the quiet hum of everyday life, radio often blends seamlessly into the background—whether playing softly in kitchens, cars, or retail spaces, its presence seems ubiquitous yet unnoticed. Despite the rise of digital streaming platforms, radio remains a dominant force in the cultural soundscape, especially in Ireland and the United Kingdom, where weekly reach extends to nearly 90% of adults. The COVID-19 pandemic only intensified its role as a source of comfort and connection during moments of global uncertainty, underscoring the deep-rooted trust and familiarity listeners feel toward radio broadcasters.
However, beneath this seemingly neutral ubiquity lies a carefully curated ecosystem shaped by gatekeepers who influence which voices are heard and which remain in the shadows. This curation is far from incidental; it echoes long-standing patterns of exclusion that significantly impact the visibility and success of artists, particularly women. Between 2010 and 2020, official Irish Singles Chart data starkly revealed that no solo Irish woman had topped the charts, despite an active and vibrant community of female musicians producing critically acclaimed records and touring internationally. This absence was a glaring indicator of systemic issues within radio programming and the broader music industry.
Intrigued and disturbed by this disparity, radio and music analyst Linda Coogan Byrne launched “Why Not Her?” in 2020 during the COVID lockdown. This independent audit scrutinized gender representation in prime-time radio airplay and festival line-ups across Ireland and the UK using comprehensive broadcast data acquired through Radiomonitor, a sophisticated airplay tracking system trusted by global record labels and broadcasters. The question underpinning her research was deceptively simple: who gets played during peak listening hours when the audience and the commercial stakes are highest, and why?
The initial findings were unsettling yet resonated deeply with women in Ireland’s music scene. Domestic female artists were granted a mere 7.7% share of airplay on mainstream Irish radio. On certain stations, Irish women virtually disappeared from heavy rotation — the highest echelon of playlist status ensuring multiple daily broadcasts — for years, at times spanning half a decade. This form of programming is not just about popularity; it is a commercial strategy that generates exposure and momentum, and ultimately shapes the perceived success of artists.
The implications of heavy rotation sampling extend beyond mere airplay statistics. Radio airplay wields significant influence, driving streaming algorithms, affecting charts, and dictating festival bookings and label investments. This creates an ecosystem where visibility and opportunities compound cumulatively—artists who are played flourish commercially, while those marginalized remain invisible. Thus, the decade-long absence of Irish women from chart-topping positions was less an anomaly than the foreseeable outcome of a structurally biased system.
When Byrne presented these findings to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, the response revealed entrenched institutional inertia and implicit resistance. Change was projected as a slow process, spanning several years, and there existed cautious attitudes about adjusting playlists too rapidly for fear of alienating male presenters who depended on the status quo. Suggestions to “gradually” introduce women and artists of color into overnight slots—periods of low listenership—highlighted a tacit relegation of diversity to the margins.
This form of gatekeeping, reflective of cultural industries worldwide, operates largely through subtle mechanisms: habitual practices, risk aversion, and assumptions about listener preferences that are self-reinforcing. Listener preferences themselves, however, are not innate but shaped by the repetitive exposure to a narrow set of voices. The absence of women from rotation perpetuates a feedback loop where female artists are deemed commercially risky due to unfamiliarity, which in turn justifies their exclusion.
The intervention of transparent data collection, as exemplified by “Why Not Her?”, disrupts these entrenched cycles. By systematically compiling and publishing airplay data based on existing, industry-accepted metrics, Byrne transformed anecdotal grievances into empirical evidence that demanded attention. Contrary to creating antagonism, the concrete data activated public discourse, attracted media scrutiny, instigated parliamentary inquiries, and spurred internal reviews in multiple countries.
The expanded scope of the audit into the UK showcased contrasting institutional dynamics. Unlike Ireland, the UK’s response to the exposure of gender disparities in radio and festival programming was more proactive and reform-oriented. Accountability measures gained prominence, leading to improved gender balance in airplay. By 2024, women artists had outpaced their male counterparts on the UK Top 100 radio airplay chart report, a landmark shift that signaled real change rather than symbolic gesture. This transition was mirrored in the 2026 Brit Award nominations, with women securing 70% of the nods, and documented economic impacts underscored their vital role in generating historic revenues exceeding £1.57 billion.
These findings lay bare a fundamental lesson for cultural gatekeepers: genuine change is not the product of goodwill or softer public attitudes but emerges from persistent measurement and public reckoning. Disparities must be named, quantified, and presented repeatedly until institutions either commit to reform or justify their perpetuation of inequality. The transformative power of transparency fosters pressure for equitable programming strategies and inclusive representation.
The ramifications extend beyond traditional radio to digital streaming services, which are often mythologized as neutral platforms governed solely by listener choice. In reality, recommendation algorithms inherit and perpetuate historical inequities since they rely on data patterns shaped by prior exposure biases. Absent deliberate algorithmic interventions, systemic imbalances encoded in listener behavior and industry practices will continue to marginalize women and other underrepresented groups.
Yet data alone cannot resolve these disparities. Rather, it dismantles the veneer of plausible deniability that has long sheltered discriminatory practices. Quantifying what was previously dismissed as accidental or organic reveals it as a conscious choice with significant cultural consequences. Every percentage point reflects an artist striving for recognition, and every absence denotes a silenced voice shaping cultural memory invisibly.
The path forward mandates a reframing of equality not as an abstract ideal but as a measurable outcome embedded within institutional frameworks. Radio broadcasters and festival organizers must institutionalize the publication of annual gender balance reports covering programming, bookings, and leadership roles. Linking public funding to documented progress would introduce tangible incentives for change. Above all, the decision-making bodies controlling playlists and line-ups must diversify to reflect the communities they serve, ensuring broader perspectives influence cultural gatekeeping.
Radio endures because it continues to influence cultural familiarity and thereby the trajectories of artists’ careers. These careers, in turn, shape cultural history by determining which voices resonate for future generations. The “Why Not Her?” initiative began with a probing question but evolved into a diagnosis that challenges an entire industry to rectify a historical imbalance. Once silence is exposed and quantified, it ceases to be an accident—it becomes a deliberate act, demanding a conscious response.
The question no longer concerns the existence of gender disparities in radio and festival programming but hinges on the decisions the music industry will make next. Will it choose to perpetuate exclusion or embrace accountability and change? The future cultural landscape depends on that choice, one grounded in evidence, transparency, and a commitment to genuine inclusion.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Why Not Her? Gender, Power, and Gatekeeping in Irish and UK Radio and Festival Programming
News Publication Date: 7-Apr-2026
Web References: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1765784
References: Not provided
Image Credits: Maria Del Carmen
Keywords: Gender representation, radio airplay, music industry bias, cultural gatekeeping, gender disparity, music charts, radio playlists, female artists, streaming algorithms, industry accountability, Why Not Her?, Ireland music scene, UK music industry
