Is the music industry finally facing its #MeToo moment?
When he entered the guitar store, she knew who he was. It was July 2005; his music video was on TV all the time. Newly graduated from music school, the aspiring female songwriter had been in New York City two months. Suddenly a cute rock star was charming her.
鈥淗e would ask questions that really got to the heart of your hopes and dreams like, 鈥楧o you write songs? Are they good? How can I hear them?鈥� 鈥� recalls the songwriter, who wishes to remain anonymous. That night he came to see her show. He promised to produce her album. She was living in her very own 鈥淎 Star is Born.鈥�
Within a week of what she viewed as a casual hookup, he asked her to be his girlfriend. But the $3,000 guitar he tried to give her gave her pause.
Why We Wrote This
Is this time different? Sexual misconduct in the music industry has long been excused or covered up, even in the #MeToo era. But with iconic artists now facing a reckoning, 鈥渢his is the first time that the men in the industry are truly maybe thinking that their actions have consequences,鈥� says influential music publicist Judy Miller Silverman.
鈥淒eep down I knew he would hurt me and it was too good to be true,鈥� the songwriter recalls. She responded, 鈥淣o.鈥� That鈥檚 when, she says, he started playing psychological games. He wouldn鈥檛 give her the recording they鈥檇 made. She later discovered that was his M.O. with numerous female songwriters.
Stories of powerful players offering access in exchange for sex are rife in an industry where the #MeToo movement has so far had less visible impact than in film, TV, and media. That may be changing. In recent weeks, iconic artists R. Kelly, Ryan Adams, and the late Michael Jackson have finally faced a reckoning for alleged sexual abuse. Credit a rise in the power of female musicians and shifts in public opinion about sexual abuse. Change-makers are pressing their advantage at a time when old music-business institutions are waning in power, forcing the industry to reckon with a tradition of sexual exploitation that鈥檚 as deeply ingrained as the grooves of a vinyl record. 听
鈥淲e are seeing some long-standing institutions being challenged by new ways, by a new generation, by new technologies.听In some cases by new institutions,鈥� says NPR music critic Ann Powers.
Of late, it鈥檚 been insurgent documentarians and investigative reporters outside the music industry who have exposed #MeToo abuses of both sexes.
The new HBO documentary 鈥淟eaving Neverland,鈥� centering around two men who say Michael Jackson abused them as prepubescent boys, has sewn a shadow onto pop鈥檚 Peter Pan. The FBI is investigating a New York Times report that indie rocker Ryan Adams sexted听a 16-year-old bass player. Mr. Adams鈥� texts to her appear to indicate that he suspected she was underage. Persistent reporting by Chicago music writer Jim DeRogatis, plus two recent TV documentaries, have clipped the wings of 鈥淚 Believe I Can Fly鈥� singer R. Kelly. The R&B titan faces 10 charges of sexually abusing girls, three of whom were reportedly 13- to 17-years-old.
鈥淚n the history of popular music 鈥� and let鈥檚 just start conservatively 鈥� Frank Sinatra through Chuck Berry, through Led Zeppelin, through Aerosmith, up to Ryan Adams last week, we have seen many, many men, horribly, inexcusably, tragically abuse women. But Kelly is singular. I know the names of 48 women whose lives he鈥檚 ruined. That鈥檚 a body count that is unparalleled,鈥� says Mr. DeRogatis, whose book 鈥淪oulless: The Case Against R. Kelly鈥� comes out in June.
Robert Kelly, known by his stage name R. Kelly, pleaded not guilty, Mr. Adams disputes the Times鈥� claims, and Mr. Jackson鈥檚 estate is suing HBO.
Ms. Powers says that one reason why this sort of sexual misconduct has historically been difficult to expose is that, unlike Hollywood, the music industry isn鈥檛 a centralized entity. Its male-dominated silos 鈥� including record labels, the concert-tour sectors, and media promotion 鈥� often protect abusers by enforcing 辞尘别谤迟脿.
鈥淚n a society in which people are uncomfortable talking about sex, music was a realm where we could experience sexuality,鈥� she says of an industry where 鈥漡roupies鈥� were regarded as job perks and female singers and musicians were encouraged to play up their sexuality to advance their careers. 鈥淏ecause of that there鈥檚 been a kind of permissiveness around the music-makers鈥� sexual lives that we are now having to reckon with.鈥�
But in the age of internet distribution, record labels and music trade publications have lost market share to streaming services and new media. Once-powerful figures are now vulnerable. John Amato, CEO of the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group (which includes Spin, Stereogum, and Vibe), resigned last year following a Daily Beast report that he鈥檇 quashed articles about alleged serial sexual harasser Charlie Walk, the now-former president of Republic Records.
鈥淭his is the first time that the men in the industry are truly maybe thinking that their actions have consequences,鈥� says influential music publicist Judy Miller Silverman, proprietor of Motormouth Media.
Even so, she observes that several executives fired for sexual misbehavior, including L.A. Reid and Mr. Walk, are now working elsewhere in the music biz. Ms. Miller Silverman refuses to work with men with bad reputations, or the companies that employ them. 鈥淚 definitely think that the industry, as the world has changed, thinks it鈥檚 changed. But it hasn鈥檛 changed, the real core of it.鈥�
A 2018 survey of 1,227 US musicians bolsters Ms. Miller Silverman鈥檚 claim. The Music Industry Research Association (MIRA) and the Princeton University Survey Research Center found that 67 percent of female respondents claimed to be victims of sexual harassment. Seventy-two percent of female musicians reported that they鈥檝e been subject to sexual discrimination.
But the women 鈥� one-third of musicians are women 鈥� aren鈥檛 resigned to a defeatist attitude. As Dua Lipa, winner of Best New Artist at 2019鈥檚 woman-dominated Grammys put it during her acceptance speech, women have 鈥渟tepped up鈥� as of late. The likes of Beyonc茅, Taylor Swift, Janelle Mon谩e, Kacey Musgraves, Solange, and Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches regularly work to raise awareness of sexual harassment and sexism.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying what a lot of women in other industries are saying: It鈥檚 been a boy鈥檚 game.... They鈥檙e not going to take it anymore,鈥� says Sheila Weller, author of 鈥淕irls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon.鈥� 鈥淚t was a long line to get to that point. It started with a generation of singer-songwriters that I wrote about.鈥�
Many of those women musicians realize that social media platforms can be more powerful than Marshall amps cranked to 11. After the Adams scandal, Laura Burhenn of indie pop band Mynabirds used Instagram to trumpet My Secret Handshake, a project she鈥檚 co-created to make the music industry safer for women. Amber Coffman, Phoebe Bridgers, Julia Holter, and Lydia Loveless have used their online platforms to name their respective alleged abusers in the music scene.
This time feels different
As the constant drip of #MeToo revelations from Hollywood, sports, churches, and Wall Street begin to feel like a flood, a widespread mood of zero tolerance has taken root. Wary of public wrath, jittery businesses now quickly disassociate themselves from accused persons. That鈥檚 why, when it comes to Mr. Kelly and Mr. Jackson, this time feels different. Sony/RCA dropped Mr. Kelly from its roster in January. Radio stations have yanked Mr. Jackson鈥檚 songs from their playlists. Britain鈥檚 National Football museum has removed its statue of Mr. Jackson, and 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥� has said it will no longer air an episode in which the pop icon guest-voiced. Universal/Caroline Distribution scrapped the release of three upcoming Adams albums.
Mark Redfern, editor of Under the Radar music magazine, supports a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct. After robust debate and a staff vote, the magazine excised coverage of the bands Ducktails and Hookworms following widespread reports of sexual misconduct. Mr. Redfern vetted the allegations first. He offers a cautionary reminder of how Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, was dogged by claims of raping a woman in 2014. The accuser then publicly admitted that her claims were 鈥�100 percent false.鈥�
Under the Radar has taken other steps, Mr. Redfern says, out of a genuine love of the music of the female artists it supports. That includes using more work by women freelance writers. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no chance of them writing from the male gaze,鈥� he says.
In addition, 鈥渨e鈥檝e tried not to over-sexualize female artists in photo shoots,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e just announced our new issue and we have Mitski on our front cover, who is Asian-American, and on our back cover we have boygenius, which is three female artists and two of them are gay.鈥�
Changes behind the scenes
Kurt Cobain鈥檚 remark that 鈥渨omen are the only future in rock and roll鈥� often seems prophetic. But in order to create a safer work environment, women in the industry say, long-term reforms are still necessary.
鈥淭he most important changes have to do with things happening behind the scenes,鈥� says Ms. Powers. 鈥淢ore woman tour managers. More women behind the soundboard. More women engineers in the recording studio. More woman producers in the recording studio. These are the changes that really need to happen to truly make the industry equitable.鈥�
There are more women writers covering music now than before 鈥� a stark contrast from when Ms. Powers started her career. It鈥檚 often easier, she says, for a female artist to confide in a female writer about sexism or harassment. After all, she may well have experienced similar misconduct herself.
One female music journalist, who wishes to remain anonymous, recalls how an indie-rock artist tried hitting on her by sending her direct messages on social media. She won鈥檛 tolerate unprofessional behavior even if it means losing a paying gig. She recalls interviewing a lead singer who kept trying to look down her shirt. 鈥淚t was gross,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 threw money down on the table to cover both our coffees and walked out.鈥�
As for the songwriter whose demo was held for sexual ransom? She warned her friends to stay clear of the rock star. 鈥淗ow do you think whispering networks start?鈥� she says.
The songwriter wishes it were easier for women in her position to tell their stories. 鈥淭he thing that needs to change is this attitude, 鈥楽he should have known better.鈥� The person who should have known better was him.鈥� 鈥�
The songwriter is about to release a new E.P. 鈥淚 choose not to be a victim,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou know, flowers always grow from the dirt.鈥�
