Celebrity Celebrity Belief & Identity Celebrity LGBTQ+ Issues Ellie Goulding Says 'Landscape' of Music Industry 'Changed' Since #MeToo: 'I Wasn't Alone' Prior to #MeToo, the singer shared she was sometimes invited by male producers for a drink after studio sessions which became "like a romantic thing" By Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 28, 2023 11:25AM EST Ellie Goulding in London on Dec. 4, 2023. Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage Ellie Goulding says #MeToo has transformed her music-making experience — and that of younger artists. The “Love Me Like You Do” singer, 36, shared her thoughts on BBC’s Radio 4 on how she thinks the music industry has changed since the #MeToo movement took off in 2017 — and even opened up about her own unpleasant experiences in the industry. "I definitely think the landscape has changed a bit, especially since the MeToo movement," Goulding said. She continued, "I think that was really, really important for people to keep speaking out about their individual stories, because I know a lot was happening and just wasn't being talked about.” Ellie Goulding Reprioritized Career to Be with Son Arthur: He 'Zaps' My Anxiety Away (Exclusive) The singer said she didn’t think “a lot of people felt comfortable” to talk about their experiences and revealed that she herself had dealt with some really uncomfortable situations while in the studio in the past. "I had experiences which, in my head, I sort of normalized and thought, ‘Oh, maybe this is just a thing,'" Goulding told Radio 4. "You know, when you go into a studio and afterwards the producer asks if you want to go for a drink. And I'm quite a polite person, I don't like letting people down. I don't like disappointing people. So I was like, 'Yeah, sure, absolutely, go for a drink,'" she explained. Ellie Goulding performs in San Francisco in November 2023. Steve Jennings/Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “And then and then it sort of somehow becomes like a romantic thing when it shouldn't," she added. "You don't want it to be a romantic thing, but it's like there was always a slight feeling of discomfort when you walked into a studio and it was just one or two men writing or producing.” Goulding said at the time she had to “try and figure out whether it was just me” feeling uncomfortable or whether something else was going on. It wasn’t until the #MeToo movement gathered steam across the entertainment industry in 2017 after numerous sexual assault allegations were levied at Harvey Weinstein, who was later found guilty, that she realized she wasn’t the only one. "But then hearing so many other stories, similar stories from other female musicians and singers, I realized that I wasn't alone in it at all,” the singer shared. “It wasn't just me, being particularly friendly." Ellie Goulding Addresses Tom Grennan Backlash After His Comments on Her Breastplate Top at BRIT Awards Ellie Goulding performs in Birmingham in October 2023. Steve Thorne/Redferns/Getty She described those kinds of situations to Radio 4 as a "kind of currency" artists would pay in the music industry — something which has slowly gone away. "It was like a sort of unspoken thing where if you're working with male producers, that was almost like an expectation, which sounds mad for me to say out loud, and it definitely wouldn't happen now,” she said. “I mean, very rarely, because things have just really changed.” The “Still Falling For You” singer said that younger artists at her record label Polydor “now have chaperones” when they go into the studio to record and can even “speak to a counselor or speak to someone” to discuss their “experiences as an up-and-coming musician.” It's a positive thing that's come from the industry, as she noted, "it's a vulnerable place when you're in a studio writing music."