FEATURE:
To Wash Away Your Crown…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madison Beer/PHOTO CREDIT: Forbes
Madison Beer’s King of Everything and Men in the Industry Controlling Women
_________
PERHAPS an appropriate thing…
PHOTO CREDIT: Elizaveta Dushechkina/Pexels
to write about as we look at next year. We are a day away from it being a new year. In terms of things that need to be prioritised in the music industry is how women are treated. I am thinking about young artists and the way those with power will try and control them. The misogyny that goes hand in hand with that. It is a story as old as time unfortunately. So many young women – it does affect male artists but is much more prevalent with women – are subjected to abuse of power. Madison Beer is a major U.S. artist whose latest album, Silence Between Songs, came out earlier in the year. She released her debut album, Life Support, in 2021. The twenty-four-year-old has had an experience like a lot of young women in the industry. The way those higher up exert power and control. Behaviour that at best is insulting and scary. At worst, it is abusive and criminal! In an interview with NME, Beer discussed her experiences of this:
“Madison Beer has said her song ‘King Of Everything’ is about her relationship with men who have “abused their power”.
The pop singer spoke to NME about her album ‘Silence Between Songs‘, which was released in September this year. In particular, she gave the backstory to ‘King Of Everything’, which includes lyrics such as “Look what you’ve done / Taken advantage of people so young / Ridin’ the high road on everyone’s lows”.
“There’s a few topics, honestly, within that song,” she said. “There’s the direct relationship I’ve had with a few people – many people – who are those men in positions of power that I feel have maybe abused their power or not been great with it… I don’t quite know how to say it.
“You know, [there are] things I’ve seen and been through where now I’m older, I’m like, ‘That’s crazy.’”
Beer also said the song was about “growing up around so many successful businessmen and big celebrities and billionaire managers and seeing how, like, truly lonely a lot of those people were.”
She added ‘King Of Everything’ reflected “how you could have all the success and money and whatever in the world, but if you’re a miserable person, you’re gonna be miserable no matter what.
“It was pretty eye-opening to me and something I always recognised,” she continued. “So yeah, in the least harsh way possible, we wrote ‘King Of Everything’ [about all of that].”
Beer has spoken up about misogyny in the music industry before; last year, she praised Billie Eilish for her bravery in writing songs addressing the struggles of being in the industry.
“I think the topics [Billie] touches on in her music are so prolific,” Beer said. “She speaks about things that a lot of other artists don’t and are maybe afraid to, which is valid because we’ve all been conditioned to be afraid of speaking about certain things”.
There are women coming out speaking about the things they are facing. Whether it is assault or abuse, discrimination or finding they are being made to stay quiet. Madison Beer mentions Billie Eilish and how she has written about it. It can be hard for women to come forward and discuss that toxic side of the industry. Where you are this young artist that is subjected to awful behaviour and misogyny. Madison Beer, whilst she did not give specific examples, has clearly been the recipient of that blatant abuse of trust. That she can look back at it now and confront it is amazing. Her story and recollections will resonate with many women throughout music. It is obviously still happens. Not all young women will be impacted, though it is clear that there are many who do not want to speak out through fear of reprisal and commercial loss. It is obvious that next year needs to be one where the industry needs to tackle its worse aspects. From the high number of sexual abuse cases reported through to the ongoing imbalance and sexism, there is a lot to challenge and overturn. It will not be a quick process. It is important that women in the industry feel safe and secure. It is driving a lot of women out of music. Rarely tackled by many other men in the industry, that desire and necessity to protect women and ensure that they do not have to face what the likes of Madison Beer have gone through is paramount. Misogyny is something that has been rampant through the industry though the decades. Things have slowly improved, though so many women are impacted. Whether it is a label boss or producer that is abusive or controlling or a successful rising group is accused of being an industry plant, why is this sort of thing still so prevalent in this day and age?! It is a major concern that definitely needs to be eradicated.
IN THIS PHOTO: Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg/PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
In November, Far Out Magazine wrote how misogyny is destroying the music industry. If women coming into music see what is happening and realise what so many of their peers have to deal with then that is really dangerous. How many are we going to lose because they would rather not have to go through that?! Something that is heartbreaking to consider:
“Pinpointing the different sources of insidious misogyny in the music industry would be enough to fill a book. In fact, many artists, journalists, and authors have actually put pen to paper to expose this exact issue. Contemporary artists, although the freedom to express and experiment musically is less likely to face trolling commentary (unless it’s the internet, in which case there absolutely will be trolls), are still susceptible to the enduring sexism that the industry refuses to loosen the reigns on.
Wet Leg and Björk, for instance, have had to deal with more than enough backlash. The former have been accused of emerging as an “industry plant” since day one because the idea that an all-women band becoming quickly successful just isn’t fathomable, is it? Haim, too, cannot escape the succession of media and internet opinions and let’s not even get started on Taylor Swift.
Let’s face the truth: women in music often face unjust labels, unequal opportunities, and a lack of recognition for their achievements compared to male musicians. Despite substantial progress in recent times, a persistent gender imbalance has disadvantaged our talented female artists for decades. From Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez to Etta James, Aretha Franklin, PJ Harvey, and many more — when will publications feature a more diverse lineup on their covers when celebrating the greatest musicians in history?”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Green/Pexels
I have written about it quite a bit through this year. When there are various cases of misogyny that are reported. Features that discuss the continuing issue. Madison Beer’s words add to that. She is an amazing artist that should not have to speak about this. Men controlling her and the sort of behaviour that is reprehensible! One hopes that there was nothing as serious as sexual assault or abuse. You do worry that there are still so many men in music that feel this is okay. That they can act appallingly around young women. There are women fighting against this and sharing their stories. There needs to be more activation and commitment from the industry at large. More men speaking out and ensuring that there is this unified attack against misogyny through the industry. Without this sort of support, it is women having to battle against something that is solely created by men. Why should they have to do this alone?! They have their sisters in support, yet it is incumbent on men to lend their support. 2024 should be a year of improvement and sanitisation. Where lingering discrimination and gender imbalance is properly addressed and overturned. It is easy enough to do. There doesn’t seem to be the willing and commitment from those who have power and sway. One of the most crucial priorities for next year should be women’s safety. Showing them respect. That there are no cases of women having to talk about being controlled and feeling unsafe or unheard. It is clear that things cannot continue…
THE way things are.