#84: Meet the Data Driven Divas reshaping the Music Biz
Meet the Data Driven Divas reshaping the Music Biz
In this energy-loaded episode of Audio Talks, host Oisín Lunny is joined by two leading voices for change in the music industry: Linda Coogan Byrne, music publicist, DEI strategist, and author of Why Not Her?, and Vick Bain, music business consultant, academic, and founder of The F-List for Music.
Together, they dive into deep-rooted gender inequalities in the industry, discuss the most important data and explain what it means, and share their personal journeys as activists, researchers, and change-makers.
Tune in for a vivid conversation about resilience, representation, and rewriting the soundtrack of the future.
Audio Podcast
About Linda Coogan Byrne
Linda Coogan Byrne is a globally recognised music publicist, writer, artist, journalist, and entertainment consultant with over two decades of experience in the music and media industries. As CEO of Good Seed PR, she has led groundbreaking campaigns for internationally acclaimed artists and emerging talent across multiple genres. Renowned for her expertise in artist development, branding, and media strategy, Linda has established herself as one of the most trusted voices in music PR, known for delivering meaningful impact and cultural change.
Beyond PR, Linda is a driving force for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the music industry. As CEO of Why Not Her?, she has spearheaded efforts to dismantle systemic biases in Irish and UK radio, championing gender and racial parity. Her pioneering Gender & Racial Disparity Data Reports have reached millions, igniting global conversations and catalysing institutional policy changes. The #WhyNotHer movement, born from her research, has become a rallying call for justice in media representation.
A respected writer and thought leader, Linda’s work has appeared in The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Telegraph, The Sunday Times, Irish Examiner, Metro, Daily Mail, BBC, RTE, and IQ Magazine. She was recognised among Ireland’s Top 100 Most Influential Women (2021) and Top 20 (2024), and was a Campaigner of the Year nominee at the 2023 Music Week Awards before being inducted into the Music Week Hall of Honour (2024).
An in-demand public speaker, Linda has delivered guest lectures and keynote addresses at universities across Ireland and the UK, as well as major industry events including Hotpress MixSix, Output, FFWD London, BBC Big Weekend, Metropolis, and MUTEK Barcelona. Through her advocacy, data work, and unapologetic voice, she continues to challenge the status quo and shape a more inclusive future for the creative industries.
More info: https://lindacooganbyrne.com
About Vic Bain
Academic & Business Research Consultant with a focus on Diversity & Inclusion
I am the Past President of the Independent Society of Musicians, the former CEO of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (now trading as the Ivors Academy) and a Henley Business School MBA graduate with 25+ years experience in music and the creative industries.
I offer a range of services from strategic business reviews and impact evaluations, equality and diversity research, consultancy, and training workshops. I am also a regular music business and research consultant for Counterculture
I also offer diversity and inclusion consulting through developing EDI policies and action plans, EDI research reports, data collection strategies, a variety of single topic workshops for 10 – 100 participants and a full EDI skills and governance system called The Music Culture Creator.
All of my work is grounded in lived experience and high quality research as a current PhD candidate at Queen Mary University of London in the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity.
My not-for-profit interests include being the Founder of a not-for-profit organisation supporting female musicians The F-List for Music CIC and as an Advisor to numerous music industry boards and collectives. I am a judge for the Brits, the Music Week Awards and the Women in Music Awards.
I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the British Academy of Management and recently made a Companion of LIPA by Sir Paul McCartney. I have been inducted into the Music Week Women in Music Awards Roll Of Honour and the BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Music Powerlist.
More info: https://vbain.co.uk
About Why Not Her?
At the core of change comes unity. Why Not Her? began as a movement made by a unity of womxn that came together to enact positive change within our society. That movement led to a meeting of minds with some of the best Culture Changers in the industry to create a company that seeks to share one of the biggest powers we have; knowledge. We are all about demonstrating and indeed using your human rights. Be it in our activism and campaigning work or in our teaching workshops and seminars, we want to share our knowledge with you.
When we come together as a united force of people from all creeds, gender, colour, age and orientation who are no longer accepting inequity and gender bias; anything is possible and we should never ever be afraid to ask the question Why Not Her?
More info: https://whynother.eu
About The F-List for Music
Vick Bain, the creator of The F-List for Music, is an advocate and campaigner for equality and diversity in the music industry. She has over 25 years’ experience in the business and has been enrolled into the Music Week Women in Music Awards Roll Of Honour and featured in BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Music Powerlist.
The F-List directory grew out of research she undertook in 2019, analysing the gender of the rosters of over 300 UK record labels and publishing companies. Her findings were published in the report ‘Counting the Music Industry’. For the first time, it provided data that demonstrated how few women are supported financially by the music industry, in comparison to men.
Using data from that research, The F-List is the first directory of its kind to feature up-to-date information on UK-based female* musicians, songwriters and composers. We’re not a commercial organisation, we don’t take a cut from any earnings, we simply signpost and give information, like a wiki site, about talented musicians working in the UK today.
Many event or festival organisers want to promote female artists but don’t know how or where to find them outside of their own network. The F-List solves this problem. With thousands of professional musicians who are currently signed to labels across all genres of music, this directory makes it easy to search for, and discover, great female talent. And as more women upload their music and information onto the site it will keep growing as a resource, like a wiki for UK female musicians.
But The F-List is not just a list. It’s a growing community, supported by a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, that’s committed to creating a future where gender equality is celebrated and properly represented throughout the music industry.
Over the past few years, it has been a fact that at the large UK festivals it’s often less than 15% of the musicians on the main stages are women. This is even though women possess the talent and desire to pursue a career in music – over the past five years they made up almost half of all music performance degree students. And this figure also drops dramatically when it comes to female representation on UK record labels and publishers.
You will have heard of many of the artists we feature – Adele, Sade, Charli XCX, Little Simz, Hildur Godnadóttir, Anna Meredith to name a few. But it is still a fact that many female musicians do not receive the professional opportunities their male counterparts may enjoy.
So whether you’re already famous or just starting out, The F-List community can help you. We provide support and development through a network of people who have years of experience within the music industry.
It’s never been easier to find female talent within the UK music industry!
More info: https://thef-listmusic.uk
About HARMAN
Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, HARMAN designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things.
With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world.
More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
In March 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. HARMAN is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
HARMAN offers a great work environment, challenging career opportunities, professional training and competitive compensation. Looking for a challenge where your experience is valued? Come see what you can achieve as a leader with HARMAN!
More info: HARMAN.com
Audio Talks
A podcast on all things audio presented to you by HARMAN and our family of audio brands including JBL, Harman Kardon and AKG. Host Oisin Lunny, music journalist and audio enthusiast, will interview expert guests, legends of the music industry, and audio scientists to discuss the power of music and audio in all its facets.
Audio Talks is presented by Harman.
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