Speaker Sessions: Jada Watson on the Unheard Voices of Radio Airplay

Join us on Tuesday, August 11 at 7 p.m. for a conversation with music researcher and SongData founder Jada Watson. In this program, Watson explores whose stories get airplay in country music—and whose are left out. Through more than a decade of research, Watson’s work has illuminated how inequitable programming practices at country radio have limited opportunities for women and artists of color, while also shaping what audiences hear. Tracing this work back to “TomatoGate,” the session highlights how these patterns are not only ongoing, but deeply rooted in the genre’s history. The discussion invites listeners to hear country music differently by asking whose voices are amplified—and whose are missing.
Special thanks to the United Company Foundation for their support of this program.

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Virtual on ZOOM

Cost: Free and open to the public, RSVPs are requested
RSVP HERE

Jada Watson is an associate professor of digital humanities in the School of Information Studies at the University of Ottawa, where she teaches courses on cultural heritage, ethics, and policy. In 2018 she founded SongData (www.SongData.ca), a public-facing research program that uses music industry data to examine racial and gender inequities through descriptive statistical analysis, with a particular focus on country radio in the North American industry. This research has informed legislation on radio ownership in the United States, been cited in reports by the Recording Academy and the Black Music Action Coalition, and been presented at the annual Seminar of the Country Radio Broadcasters. Watson also works extensively on Canadian radio and broadcasting policy, with a particular interest in how Canadian content and language regulations shape the programming of songs by women and marginalized communities. In 2024 she released Share the Air: A Study of Gender Representation on Canadian Radio (2013–2023) in partnership with Women in Music Canada and the National Arts Centre.