The Me Too movement has not penetrated the music industry to the same extent as it did with the film industry, a House of Commons inquiry has heard.
The landmark Misogyny in Music inquiry is part of The House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee’s work in preventing violence against women and girls.
It aims to examine what misogynistic attitudes exist in the industry and what steps can be taken to improve attitudes and treatment of women working in music.
Today’s public evidence session is on Misogyny in music. We’ll be hearing from Dr Nicola Puckey @CMT_UoW, Dr Cassandra Jones @philorch, Dr Rosemary Hill @RosemaryLHill and Charisse Beaumont @cactuscityuk
— Women & Equalities Committee (@Commonswomequ) October 26, 2022
On Tuesday, the first evidence session featured experts who said very few women reported misogyny faced in the music industry and suggested no action was taken for those who did.
Dr Cassandra Jones, lecturer in Criminology, Department of Social Sciences, University of Northumbria, said: “The very nature of the music industry itself is rife for toxic workplace behaviours.
“There is something unique about the music industry that the Me To movement hasn’t really penetrated to the same extent that it has like the film industry.”
Ms Jones, who surveyed everyone who works in the industry in “any form or fashion” from promoter reps to musicians, said she found 80% of women did not report abuse.
“Of the 20% who did report, nothing would happen. In some instances, their career was hurt and they were issued with an non-disclosure agreement or a cease and desist,” she told the inquiry.
“So when that happens to one woman and then another woman sees this, they’ll often think ‘well why should I report look what happened to her.’
“There is no accountability for perpetrators at the moment. There needs to be something that oversees or scrutinises or monitors the music industry that has legal statutes behind it.”
Chief executive of Black Lives In Music, Charisse Beaumont, compared the music industry to “the wild west” as there is no central place to report bad behaviour.
“I think there could be more signposting, more obvious ways of showing that there will be a consequence for the perpetrator and that you’re going to be protected and safe,” she said.
The inquiry suggested less than five per cent of women are producers in the music industry.
Off to the Misogyny in Music committee this afternoon. Eek! pic.twitter.com/MOkSViTtx5
— Dr Rosemary Lucy Hill (@RosemaryLHill) October 26, 2022
Dr Rosemary Hill, senior lecturer in Media and Popular Culture, School of Music, Humanities and Media, University of Huddersfield, spoke about how the gender imbalance translates to a misogynistic culture.
She said: “If we have got a music industry that is dominated by men, we hear stories told from men’s perspectives, they’re really interesting but they’re only half the story.
“We should be able to hear ourselves reflected in the songs that we listen too and what we want to sing along with.
“We also need to acknowledge that sometimes the way that men portray women in songs is not how we would like to see ourselves portrayed so it is really important to hear women’s stories and to hear the different things we have to say about the world and reflect our different experiences.”
Speaking about her survey, Ms Jones said 96% of women had been subjected to bullying and harassment in the music industry.
She added: “We are talking almost every single woman who took part in our survey.
“We looked at this over the course of their career and over the course of their career they were experiencing bullying and harassment 19 times a day.”
She said that drawing on research from traditional workplaces, when there is a gender imbalance in senior leadership there is “little incentive for men who are in power to have their views challenged or change what they’re doing”.
She added: “It translates to certain manifestations such as sexual assault and rape but also bullying and sexual harassment, so it becomes this vicious cycle when men are dominating these things.”
Dr Nicola Puckey, senior lecturer, Department of English, Creative Writing and American Studies, University of Winchester, added that she thinks we are “slowly” seeing more diversity with female artists producing music, using the example of female-fronted rock band Wet Leg.
The inquiry hopes to uncover more about how these attitudes “filter through society” impacting the treatment of women and girls, including at live music events.