A rippling wave has been triggered as more and more female musicians have spoken up in solidarity. Chloe Little, the other half of the duo ‘Wings of Desire’, shares some unsettling stories that all have a common theme of gaslighting. At age 19, she sent a notable producer her music. After he expressed his enthusiasm, he invited her to work with him. The producer, a man double her age, invited her not to a professional location, but to his hotel room in Mayfair to collect the music. The fear of confronting him at her young age played a big role, along with the manipulation that she would have to “prove” she was good enough and to do so, this was the “normal” protocol.

The British singer and songwriter Katie Waissel, who rose to fame on season seven of The X Factor, spoke up on the 30th of January, 2024. The 38 year old interviewed with Sky News, and stated that her time within the industry was a “frightening place to be.” Like Chloe, as young as sixteen, most of the time Waissel was “unsure of what (was) actually happening.” She reported to The Sun that X Factor “ruined her life,” and in early 2023, she was planning a legal battle against one of the companies that run X Factor: Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment. 

Despite great changes that have occurred, it hasn’t changed the toxicity behind closed doors. Men in powerful positions often use the vocabulary related to female mental health to mask misogyny. A stomach-churning method that has worked because the public have sympathised with this vocabulary, which has driven “change”.

The root of Katie’s reluctance to speak out was the fear of losing her job because of the “zero-transparency” non–disclosure agreements (NDAs) which were left unsigned. These contracts were shown to her without receiving any guidance. She described that every speck of the music industry was led by powerful male figures who operated within the same circle. Interviewee of Sky News describes it as a “boys club.” All of which,  “swim in the same pond.” The music industry is “A very small pond – with fish that believe they are large.” (Waissel) This hierarchy of figureheads, whether these are leaders of PR / marketing firms, or record labels, possess a style of behaviour that resembles a cardboard cut-out of one another. She describes this replication of behaviour as a “trickle-down effect”. The bosses behaviour sets a precedent which is subsequently seen as socially acceptable.

This is a tremendously important conversation because, as Waissel states, she has “finally found the confidence” to contribute to the conversation, and she expresses her disbelief that this “hysteric behaviour has been going on for so many years…” She was motivated to speak up after the Women and Equalities Committee spoke out in early January, 2024. MPs have outwardly stated that misogyny and discrimination is endemic in the industry. The Committee has gathered that women are holistically underrepresented in key roles of the industry. 

It appears men have copied one another’s behaviour because of the underrepresentation of women within the industry which has created a toxic power imbalance. As a response, and new mother of one, Katie has pursued a career into protecting artists within the creative sector. She is now the founder of the OWHL Foundation which offers support to female artists – a service she wished she had access to during her time within the “pond” that is the music industry. She is “turning poison to medicine,” states Waissel. She is contributing to an important time in music history, something that has potential to reach the successful heights gained by the “MeToo” movement in 2017. More and more artists are speaking up about the darkness behind the previously pristine and glamorous face of the UK Music Industry.

The BBC has revealed that a total of 6 complaints were received about the behaviour of Tim Westwood- one of which was referred to the police and was described by representatives as; “historic” and “found in its files.”. This is since the Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie said at the time; “we have looked at our records and seen no evidence of complaints”.

The representatives of the beloved broadcasting company went on to say; “We are establishing the facts around it”-saying the matter; “did not relate to conduct at the BBC, BBC premises, or conduct towards a BBC staff member, nor was it an accusation of physical assault.”

The 5 other complaints have not been brought to the attention of the police and the BBC at this time declines to share when they were received and whether they came after the statements made by Davie.

The Statement from the BBC read; “As we have said, if people have things that they want to raise with the BBC, then they should do so. People have now done so and we will continue to investigate.  We also said that we would dig into what happened in the past. We are doing that with great care. All of that work hasn’t concluded and is ongoing. We said we would take this seriously, and we are. When that work has concluded, we will say more.”

The allegations against Tim Westwood were the product of an investigation by the BBC and the Guardian and also were featured in a BBC documentary titled; Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power.

 The victims range in age from late teens to 20s and their stories share a commonality in that often Mr Westwood took advantage of his notoriety in the UK’s rap and RNB scene to carry out the assaults. As stated by one of the alleged victims; “He could make or break your career, if you wanted to get any kind of exposure, you would try to get your demo to him and pray that he would play it. He had absolute power. Within the recording industry and the black community, despite him being a white man, he had absolute power.”

The music world has always been jam-packed with Harvey Weinstein’s, though it would appear that systemic music culture like the era of groupies and ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ has conditioned toxic behaviour to be normalised within the industry. From Elvis, to Bowie, to Dylan – none of their alleged sexual abuse claims prevented them from continuing to uphold a high status in the music world. It took almost three decades for R Kelly’s allegations to be taken seriously, despite his fondness for very young girls being of known knowledge.

Many female artists including, Lily Allen, Rebecca Fergusson, Chloe Hawl, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Kesha have come forward opening up about alleged sexual assaults and exploitation that has taken place within the music bubble. In an interview, Lily Allen spoke about the impact drug and alcohol-use has had on increasing harassment within the industry. Adding, “There isn’t a HR place to go to because everyone’s self-employed. You can’t go to the record company, nobody there’s looking after you. Management’s not looking after you. You’re all on your own.”

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As a result of the above, Dorothy Carvello, who is a survivor of sexual abuse, as well as the first female to become an A&R executive at Atlantic Records, has launched her own foundation called ‘Face The Music Now Foundation’. This foundation aims to provide a safe space for anyone working within the music world to report discrimination and sexual harassment, and in turn pave the way for these individuals to “reclaim their lives”. On the Face The Music Now Foundation website, multiple statistics have been shown, revealing 72% of female musicians have reported some type of discrimination, a further 67% have reported they have been a victim of sexual harassment, and an additional 85% of victims have not reported their harassment due to fear around the industry’s culture. Carvello states, “I want to hear the stories of people who have been cast out of the music business. For those afraid to come forward, I’ll tell their stories for them”.

I’m certain there are still a cascade of stories yet to be heard within the music industry, but perhaps with foundations like Face The Music Now, more people will feel empowered to speak up and help change a system that for multiple decades has been filled with institutionalised abuse.

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Find out more about the Face The Music Now Foundation here.

In a lengthy statement released yesterday by the festival organisers, the band agreed that ‘their inclusion began to impact negatively on the other artists performing’ and ‘that it would be best if they refrained from performing’ at the festival in November. Making the decision ‘was not taken lightly’, with the event’s ‘top priority… the safety and well-being of both its artists and attendees’.

In their statement released yesterday, Sticky Fingers called out ‘the perpetrated negativity from a small pocket of the music industry’, which it claimed ‘needs to be quarantined so it doesn’t affect other innocent parties’.

Following the cancellation, This That are offering full refunds for fans. This form must be filled in before 5pm on Thursday 5th July.

Sticky Fingers have been embroiled in a number of controversies in the past 2 years. Indigenous Australian artist Thelma Plum alleged that band’s frontman, Dylan Frost, threatened and intimidated her at a Sydney pub back in December 2016. During the incident, in which Plum had ‘honestly never felt so unsafe in [her] life’, Frost swore and spat at the singer and chased after her Uber. In another incident in July that year, Frost was accused of racial abuse against a local indigenous rock band, Dispossessed, at a Sydney venue. The band’s lead guitarist, Birrugan Dunn-Velasco, complained in a Facebook post that he is ‘not a monkey to play on command’ and that the group ‘walked off stage when the lead singer of Sticky Fingers among many others began grossly shirt fronting us…’

This That’s decision to book the band, best known for their singles ‘Australia Street‘ and ‘How To Fly‘, was met with outcry. After the June 26 announcement, critics took to social media. Another performer at the festival, dance musician Godlands, said she found it ‘extremely difficult to be on the same bill’ as a ‘woman and [an] artist’. Led by LGBT activist Sally Rugg and artists like Miss Blands and Camp Cope, the backlash became more organised, with some calling for boycotts.

Meanwhile, the festival is set to go ahead on 3rd November, with appearances from artists like Amy Shark, Boo Seeka, Thandi Phoenix and The Rubens.