#metoo

Believe it or not sexual assault in the music industry has been going on for decades, yet it is something that is not discussed as frequently as it should be. It has only been in the spotlight for a short while with media covering Kesha and her legal battle with Dr. Luke starting in 2014, then to Russell Simmons and recently R. Kelly (again), Michael Jackson (again, thanks to a new documentary on HBO) and Ryan Adams. When will the music industry follow suit and have their #metoo movement. Some people think that it is on the horizon now. The whole heart of music is based on the slogan “sex, drugs and rock n roll” so are we even surprised that they have not came to a #metoo reckoning yet? There is also a major lack of female leadership in the music industry so when a young girl just entering the field have no one to look up to and turn to for advice they are either left on their own to navigate or they are forced to turn to these men that treat them less than for help. These girls are felt pressured to play along and move forward with these sexual acts in the hopes that it will help their career move along. According to Stacy Waronker who was the manager of Third Eye Blind and Troye Sivan “women are taught that you need to be able to ‘hang’ with the guys if you want to make it in this industry. and by whistle blowing in the industry, even for men who truly deserve it, we fear our repercussions. Because the terrible men in the music industry are still much stronger than this movement.” (Kennedy, 2018)