ILMC’s Misogyny in Music panel: Key takeaways

In the wake of the recent Misogyny in Music report, key figures from the music industry came together at ILMC last week to discuss the “endemic” misogyny and discrimination in the UK music industry.

Louise Halliday (Royal Albert Hall), Christina Hazboun (PRS Foundation/Keychange), Jen Smith (Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority – CIISA) and John Shortell (Musicians’ Union UK) assembled for last Thursday’s panel, moderated by Eunice Obianagha (Enspire Management/UK Music).

The panel considered the report and its recommendations and what more the live music business can do to combat misogyny and sexual harassment in the workplace. Below are five key takeaways from the session.

Women in senior leadership positions are crucial
Halliday: “If you’ve got women in positions of authority then that people feel that they have allies. For example, at the hall, we have our event managers and I think almost all but one are women. I think that’s a really important statement.”

Christina Hazboun, PRS Foundation/Keychange, said: “The core problem is mainly white cis men being in leading positions and the normativity that comes with the gender expectations and behaviours that come with that. This is very problematic for many women.”

The non-reporting of sexual harassment and misogyny is high
John Shortell, Musicians’ Union UK, said: “Our membership is made of about 35,000 musicians and 40% of that are women. We surveyed our female members about their experiences with misogyny and sexual harassment while working in the music industry. Over 48% of people who responded had been sexually harassed and of that 85% of them didn’t report it.

“So [the report] was an opportunity for us to voice the concerns, opinions and experiences of our female members without them suffering any dire consequences. We provided a written submission to the court for evidence, as well as oral evidence.”

Louise Halliday, Royal Albert Hall, said: “The thing that’s most worrying for us is underreporting. It’s easy to think that if you’re not hearing this as a problem, it means that it’s not a problem. So what we’re trying to do is to instil a culture of listening and hearing.”

Freelancers aren’t protected by existing policies
Jen Smith, CIISA: “70% of people working across the creative industries are freelancers so it’s really difficult to get a grip on the scale of what’s happening to people.

“We’re all reliant on freelancers and individuals who support the music. Sometimes they are left with nowhere to go or a multitude of places to report and that’s one of the failings that the report articulates – that the part of the jigsaw that’s missing is an overarching body.”

Resources and support must become unified within Europe
Hazboun: “This is a huge challenge where the moment you leave the UK and go to other countries, even across Europe, it becomes challenging to feel protected. The tools and mechanisms become less unified, especially after Brexit.”

Smith: “Jurisdiction is one of the key legal technical underbellies of CIISA. So if you are touring abroad, you’re based in the UK normally, we will consider that to be part of our jurisdiction. In terms of an international version, that’s something that the government is very keen to move forward with in the coming year.”

Shortell: “Different legislation in different countries prevents us from taking legal action but we’re definitely someone that you can always call to receive advice.”

If you’re not measuring representation, you can’t change it
Halliday: “We’ve got an audience development plan and we have milestones and targets that we were working towards because if you’re not measuring it, you don’t know where you are. It is a challenge for us, honestly, to get that kind of diversity and that balance in the lineup. But it’s something that having specifically measured and put targets in place, we can start to move towards it.”

To read more about the Misogyny in Music report, click here.

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