Is music finally ready to confront misogyny? DiS meets CheerUpLuv

In music, abuse, harassment and discrimination is normalised whilst accountability and justice is rare, so how can change finally happen?

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In this episode of the Drowned in Sound podcast:

For the past eight years, journalist and photographer Eliza Hatch has been documenting everyday harassment through her platform Cheer Up Luv. Following her recent Glamour investigation into misogyny in music, which has reached over a million people, DiS founder Sean Adams sat down to talk about the reactions to the stat that more than half of women in the industry have faced discrimination.

From government failures to arena tours by artists like Chris Brown and Marilyn Manson, this is a wide ranging conversation about the challenges and the solutions. We also hear how artists like Lambrini Girls and Nova Twins reacted to hearing that over 50% of women in music have faced discrimination.

And we talk about the role men can play in smashing the patriarchy, the rise of the far right, and what a safer, more equal music industry could look like by 2050.

Edited by:

Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio (dubbleaudio.com)

Chapters:

00:00 – Misogyny and music: the scale of the problem

10:30 – Everyday discrimination that builds hostile spaces

20:00 – When the government rejects reform: stalled progress and NDAs

24:00 – The role of media, libel laws, and silence in enabling abuse

26:00 – Chris Brown, Marilyn Manson, and the “separating art from artist” debate

33:00 – Why accountability is so rare in the music industry

42:00 – Smashing the patriarchy is good for men, too

52:00 – The far right, feminism, and why musicians need to speak out

57:00 – What the industry could and should look like in 2050

Continue the Conversation:

• Email sean@drownedinsound.org with your thoughts or experiences

• Subscribe to the DiS newsletter for weekly insights on music, culture, and resistance

Links:

• Cheer Up Luv on Instagram (instagram.com/cheerupluv)

• Sign up to the Cheer Up Luv Newsletter (0c1428f4.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAK6AlUI2WUFmn1…)

• Eliza Hatch’s piece for Glamour (glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/music-industry-m…)

• We Are Music (wearemusic.info) - resources for musicians facing harassment

• On Wednesdays We Wear Black (podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/marilyn-manson/i…) - Podcast documenting Marilyn Manson’s crimes