August 11, 2026 | 7 pm @ Online
BRISTOL, TN-VA- The Birthplace of Country Music Museum presents a virtual Speaker Session with Jada Watson titledThe Unheard Voices of Radio Airplay, Tuesday, Aug.11 at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to join the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and music researcher and SongData founder Jada Watson for the August installment of the museum’s monthly Speaker Sessions. During this conversation, 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 will highlight how these patterns are not only ongoing, but deeply rooted in the genre’s history. The discussion is sure to invite listeners to hear country music differently by asking whose voices are amplified—and whose are missing.
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, ethicsand 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 releasedShare the Air: A Study of Gender Representation on Canadian Radio(2013–2023) in partnership with Women in Music Canada and the National Arts Centre.
Special thanks to the United Company Foundation for their support of this program.
Speaker Sessions are hosted monthly by the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and are designed to connect audiences with artists, scholars, historiansand other experts who explore the rich musical and cultural heritage of Appalachia and beyond. Through engaging presentations, conversationsand demonstrations, the series offers unique opportunities to learn more about the people, traditions, musicand stories that have shaped the region and country music. Every Speaker Session is free and open to the public.
August’s Speaker Session is held virtually onZoomfrom 7–8:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Anyone who is planning on attending can register for this virtual event viathis linkor visitBirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org/Main-Events.
Category: Lecture