Can there ever be "Me Too" Reckoning in the Music Industry?

Adjudicating sexual predators is just the tip of the iceberg

What did I think when I heard all of the allegations against P. Diddy that culminated in his arrest a few weeks ago? 

I thought, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

This is not shocking. 

For years I was asking why the music industry never had a Me Too reckoning like Hollywood did. I screamed until my voice was hoarse, and no one was listening. So then I stopped asking. I gave up.

In the music industry, abuse isn’t a problem within the system - abuse IS the system.

The top of the music industry is comprised of men who gain power from taking it from other people. This represents the epitome of success within the standards of the Patriarchy - gather as much power and wealth as possible. Nothing else matters. Winner takes all and don’t inspect the path he took to get there.

Years ago, when I was doing a series of interviews over a Me Too situation that I was involved in, a reporter asked me if I thought that sexual abuse was more rampant in the music industry because it was so male-dominated. I thought for a moment and answered, “What industry isn’t male-dominated?”

It’s been eight years since that interview and I still don’t know the answer to that.

The music industry is the bellwether for culture as a whole. Underground musical movements have long set the trends for fashion and marketing, as well as cultural shifts like desegregation and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Yet behind the so-called “progressive” ideals seemingly set by music lurks what is truly the indicator of everything that happens in the world- abusive men accumulating power at the cost of those who strive to listen to their good angels while keeping their demons at bay.

To be clear, when I say “Fuck the Patriarchy,” I am not saying “Fuck all men.” I fully believe that the patriarchy supports systematic abuse, and those who thrive within the system rise by participating in the abuse. Those who do not buy into the system are forced to cooperate or leave. Thus, the Patriarchy HURTS men as well as women. I want all men and all women and all non-binary and all people to be successful, and I do not think that the Patriarchy is a system where that can ever be possible. I do think there are successful men within music who are not abusive, but I think they are the exception and not the rule. At the very least, successful men have had to turn a blind eye or be willfully ignorant to things they saw going on, which I recently wrote about here.

I think the real reckoning within music needs to be about these enablers rather than the unwell sexual deviants. Without the enablers, the abuse would not happen. Most sexual predators are not going to change, but they would not be able to do what they did without the platform that the enablers give them. 

I use the word “systematic” instead of “systemic” because I believe that the abuse within the music industry is deliberate and intentional. Rather than being a general problem within the system of the industry (systemic), I believe that the problems within the music industry are methodical - aka systematic. An example of this is the common practice of having women sign NDA’s wherein they cannot talk about violence they witnessed or experienced at their jobs within the industry. This is a systematic process in which everyone knew the abuse was happening and steps were taken to not only allow it to continue unhindered by the threat of judicial action, but to ensure that no one outside of those rooms ever heard about what was going on within them.

I have not heard about NDA’s yet in the Diddy cases but I’m sure they will come out at some point. These were common in the 90s, ostensibly to ensure privacy about the recording process, but too often protected sexual predators within the industry from being exposed.

What’s been interesting to me is that a lot of Diddy’s deviant behavior was seen out in the open at parties and events. Because he had risen to such fame and influence, the raucous treatment of women was overlooked and normalized. I would pair this with the Patriarchy’s undervaluing of women’s humanity that created the perfect storm in the flagrant abuse of women and subordinates. 

I’ve heard some express surprise that a person of Diddy’s stature would be engaging in sexual misconduct. In contrast, I believe that he rose to power precisely because he was an abusive person. There are plenty of extremely talented producers and rappers that you’ve never heard of or will never hear from because they did not have the audacity and capability for cruelty that it takes to rise to the heights of Diddy’s power. There are many much more talented artists out there that did not receive recognition or fame because the music industry values “going for it,” and in many cases, “going for it”  involves taking others' power to support their own.

The music industry as a whole needs to be revamped and reevaluated. Diddy is not the first and certainly won’t be the last person to benefit by abusing others. Until we look at how the system thrives on hurting people, the suffering will continue.