Facing the music

A culture of sexism and intimidation is being revealed as the Australian music industry experiences its #MeToo moment. But is the noise enough to create real change?

Walk into any busy music industry event in Australia and – if you know what you’re looking for – you’ll probably see it. Huddles of women – record company executives, PR juniors, managers and even the artists themselves – in pairs, threesomes, groups, talking about the open secret that so many of them live with, day in, day out. A toxic culture that they say powers the entertainment industry with the intensity of a stack of Marshall amps. “Watch out for that guy, he gets handsy.” “You can’t write songs about sexism, the label won’t like it.” “I was asked to go back to his hotel room and he got really nasty when I said no.”

Amber Petty confirms that “everyone knows about the boys’ club – you warn each other.” She worked in various roles at major Australian music labels in the early 2000s before leaving to begin her own independent PR business. “The music industry seems like it’s this really cool space to be but it’s actually exhausting and stressful.” Contributing to its loose atmosphere are the constant gigs, hard drinking and late-night partying taking place outside office hours, providing the grounds for a murky culture to permeate and flourish.