(Toronto) A new report on Canadian radio airwaves indicates that music performed by women is still largely underrepresented on commercial music stations.
The study looked at the 150 most played songs between 2013 and 2023, as well as all tracks played in 2023 on popular radio formats, including top 40, country and rock music.
She found that regardless of format, songs by women – particularly those by women of color – were played significantly less than those by men.
Although there was an “increase in programming” for women’s songs across all radio formats last year, the study says it is too early to say whether it is just a temporary improvement.
Women were least represented on rock stations, particularly hard rock, where they received only 1.9% airplay on average in 2023, or one song per four-to-five hour programming block.
Among country radio’s top songs, women were played 12.8 percent of the time, or two songs per hour.
The study was conducted by musicologist Jada Watson as part of her SongData research program, in partnership with the National Arts Center in Ottawa and the activist group Women in Music Canada.
In total, nearly 14,000 bands and solo artists were represented in the study.
The researchers said they focused on radio stations for several reasons. Historically, they say, songs with greater radio support are also more likely to achieve broader commercial success, helping to launch mainstream careers.
Without strong radio airplay around a song’s release, it’s easier for songs to fall out of rotation and not be considered part of the canon of Canadian hits and the broader music culture, notes l ‘study.
Songs written by Canadian women were “not a priority” in programming, the document says, and were played less than songs by international female artists.
Women of color were “largely underprogrammed” in all formats, while artists identified as trans, non-binary, two-spirit, or queer were “nearly absent overall,” with only a few international artists and no Canadians in the three pop formats.
The same results are reflected in two portfolios of French-language stations included in the study, said Watson, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.