The Australian Music Industry Can’t Afford To Waste This #MeToo Moment
After a series of explosive revelations, momentum is finally building - but we can't let it go to waste.
“Do you think [insert industry boss] will finally be called out this year?”
“I just read the latest post…they’re talking about that producer, aren’t they?”
“Shit’s about to get hectic now, and it’s about time these people get what they deserve.”
This is how conversations have either started or finished in my inbox over the past few months. Everyone is talking in hushed tones, everyone seems to be waiting.
— Content Warning: This article contains discussions of sexual harassment and abuse. —
At this moment, the Australian music industry is a tinderbox — ready to ignite and expose its long and vile history of sexual assault and harassment. Shamefully, we all have a story. Whether or not we’ve had experiences ourselves, or we know someone who has, the music industry has been rife with tales of victimisation, abuse, gaslighting, and cover-ups for decades.
As we’ve seen around the world, this isn’t a problem unique to Australia — definitely not. But because of the music industry’s relatively small size in Australia, there has existed a sense of cosiness and nepotism that has enabled perpetrators to get away with horrifying behaviour. The stories seem more intense when they concern individuals whose names are inescapable within our small walls; the silence more deafening.
But now, we’re seeing the walls of protection start to crack — and it’s an opportunity we can’t afford to squander.
A Renewed Call To Arms
In November 2020, the industry saw a new figure enter the scene; one without a face, but with what turned out to be an incredibly strong voice.
The Beneath The Glass Ceiling Instagram account, established by an anonymous team of people who ‘wish to give a voice to those who have been silenced by the injustices that exist within the Australian music industry’, has become a haven for support as much as it is an avenue for exposure. In just 59 posts, the account has detailed stories of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse of power from all areas of the industry. Though their digital footprint may not be massive, the ripple effect Beneath The Glass Ceiling has had throughout the industry in just six months has been momentous.
The account, coupled with public movements spearheaded online by the likes of Jaguar Jonze and, more recently, a detailed report made public by The Industry Observer, has made ignoring this very real issue impossible.
Thorough and detailed findings by Dr. Jeff Crabtree in the report into workplace harassment in the Australian music industry showed a distinct connection between ‘social exclusion, sexual objectification, sexual harassment, and sexual assault’ across the study.
Through his findings, there emerged familiar threats many of us will have come across or at the very least, be aware of:
You’ll never work here again if you speak out.
No one will believe you, even if you did.
In some cases, participants in Dr. Crabtree’s study noted that they had feared for their lives should their identities be made public. Some even said that they had colleagues who had taken their own lives because of harassment they had endured. And yet, the industry machine gears up and keeps on keeping on for another day.
The perpetrators are kept safe behind the walls of money and intimidation that come tied to their company or, sometimes, just their last names. In some cases, the figures at the centre of stories — either now public or close to becoming so — are hiding in plain sight. Australia’s defamation laws have never worked as hard as they have over the last few months.
Now Has To Be The Time
It is a system that has been benefiting perpetrators for far too long in this industry — but the new energy that is surging through the movement right now has kicked it up a gear.
Earlier this week, a summit was announced that will see representatives from all sectors of the industry meet to discuss cultural, long-term change. ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd described the summit as the first part in a long journey towards an ultimately safer and more accountable industry.
“There will be many people across the industry who are experienced and committed who will become involved and this meeting is not about excluding anyone, it is simply a small first step on what will no doubt be a long and challenging path.”
The gathering, led by ARIA, APRA AMCOS, and PPCA is already prompting some questions: Who will be involved to offer expert opinions when it comes to harassment, harm, and abuse in the workplace? Will this summit be open to all to gain access, or will it be closed off to the wider industry and music community? Will any investigations be undertaken by an independent body?
I hope that more information about how this event will roll out will be made publicly available, at least to instil confidence within those of us who are already concerned about this seemingly sudden public show of support from the higher-ups — in some cases, the same higher-ups that have been implicated in the stories of abuse.
For too long, there have been those who have held positions of power within the music industry who have fostered an environment of fear. People have been afraid to speak out because these individuals have used their authority and sphere of influence to overpower and intimidate them into silence.
The onus should not be on the victims and survivors to bring about change.
The onus should not be on the victims and survivors to bring about change.
These peak bodies need to be open to and acknowledge the harsh truths many of us outside the inner sanctums have known for years: that even people in their own ranks have played a role in keeping the industry’s culture of toxicity alive. There are likely to be a number of people involved in this summit who are worried about how their reputations stand to be affected as this #MeToo moment gains more momentum, or even how their past actions may have been hurtful, no matter how minor.
To them I say: Good — sit in that discomfort. Everyone must hold a mirror to their own behaviour.
There are those of us who carry guilt for knowing of these stories and being too afraid to come forward. There are those of us who have enabled the behaviour of the perpetrators without realising they have been gaslighted or manipulated themselves.
The optimist in me hopes that the conversation will reach a point where, even if it’s uncomfortable, people will begin to feel safe enough to speak up more. But until we can see support and security reflected beyond performativity, I fear that we’ll wind up back here in another six months. Another 12. Another 18.
But it can’t happen in 18 months — it has to happen now. Finally, finally, the industry — and those who have the power to actually create change — need to show up and prove it can be the inclusive and tight-knit community it purports to be.
To borrow from another movement: time’s up. Now let’s make it count.
Sosefina Fuamoli is a Samoan-Australian music writer and content producer living on Wurundjeri land. You can find her on socials @sosefuamoli.