‘I’m constantly on guard’: From Rina Sawayama to Nova Twins and Self Esteem, women share damning tales of misogyny in the music industry
In January this year, a damning report exposed the misogyny and abuse still rife in the UK music industry.
Despite increases in representation both in the charts and at awards ceremonies, it was found that female artists are still routinely undervalued and undermined, receiving fewer opportunities than their male peers.
The report also exposed the culture of silence that prevents survivors of sexual harassment, assault and abuse from speaking out, either out of fear of repercussions for their career or that they will be met with disbelief.
After The Independent reported on the findings, musician Chloe Little of the indie rock band Wings of Desire began reaching out to her friends and peers, to ask about their personal experiences of misogyny in the music industry.
She soon found herself inundated with responses from artists, managers, photographers, agents and major label employees, who shared their devastating accounts of sexism, racism, abuse, sexual assault and coercion.
Prominent British talents, such as Mercury Prize-shortlisted artists Rina Sawayama, Nova Twins and Self Esteem, along with rising stars such as Lily Fontaine of the rock band English Teacher and Heather Baron-Gracie of Pale Waves, detailed their encounters with men who have gaslit them, assaulted them, patronised them, or punished them for attempting to call out the misconduct of other men.
The music industry has yet to face its MeToo moment. The Independent is sharing these stories – some on record, some anonymous, all brave – in the hope that it encourages more women to speak out, and that the British music industry will wake up and start holding those who abuse their power and influence to account.
Chloe Little – artist, Wings of Desire
When the WEC’s report into misogyny in music was released, the findings were not surprising. I was disturbed that the culture has been deemed ‘endemic’, and yet I doubt you’d find any woman working in the music industry who hasn’t experienced some form of misogyny. From personal experience I know it’s an industry rife with discrimination, yet any conversations around what many women have endured always seem to be quashed.
The music business is a notoriously difficult industry to get into, and women face an entirely unique set of challenges. Women are discouraged and bullied out of what has been described as a ‘boys club’. As a teenager I tried desperately to form a band with boys at school, but none of them wanted to play music with a girl. Surprisingly it didn’t deter me and I continued with incredible naivety that things would change. Later on, I spent years being sent to writing sessions with “up and coming” producers in their forties, who often had studios in remotely located flats or even bedrooms. There was no safeguarding, you are gaslit into thinking this is how you prove you are worthy enough for a label to invest in.
There was no safeguarding
On one occasion, aged 19, I sent an award-winning producer some of my demos and he said that he’d love to work on them. This guy, a man in his fifties, called and said he had a song for me – but if I wanted it, I needed to visit his Mayfair hotel room that night to collect it. I was too scared to confront him, I just made a polite excuse as to why I couldn’t go and then I never heard from him again. The shame I felt for luxuriating in the fantasy that I was good enough stuck with me. It took years, but I finally found a support system and I now have a healthy creative
