Exploitative Music Industry Practices Undermine Artist Autonomy and Earnings

Key Quotes

"You know, we often hear people say, 'Oh, you know, what, women are on the rise.' Like, women, yes, but we still live in a patriarchy. And you think 2010, I, you know, doing research for this, I went back and I looked at interviews, the question, some of the questions, not some, many of the questions that you got, it's like you would never have received those questions if you were a man."

Estelle highlights that despite perceived progress, women in the music industry still face a patriarchal system. She points out that the questions directed at female artists, even in recent years, are often inappropriate and would not be posed to their male counterparts, indicating a persistent double standard.

"I never felt like it was about my talent. Well, I'll tell you from my observations, some of the questions that I saw that you would get a lot was about you dating. Always. Yes, always. So it wasn't, you know, what's the next album? What's the next song? Are you touring? It is, well, who are you with? Who are you seeing? Yes. You know, we saw you pictured with this person, are you guys hooking up?"

Cheryl Lloyd describes how the focus on her personal life, particularly dating, overshadowed discussions about her musical talent. She explains that interview questions consistently steered towards her relationships rather than her career, suggesting a lack of genuine interest in her artistry.

"I could tell you the craziest stories of this stuff that's been said to me or the things that have been taken away because I refused to go and hook up with people. Like, what? What's been taken away? So I remember once, um, while I lived in the US and I was promoting my album in the US, I walked into the record label at the time and they hadn't given me a promotional budget to promote this album. That's, you know, we spent millions on this album, but there's no budget to go get people to hear it."

Cheryl Lloyd recounts a disturbing experience where her record label withheld promotional budget for her album. She was implicitly told that to achieve success, she would need to engage in relationships with famous individuals, indicating a transactional and exploitative approach by the label.

"It just is an industry, as we are learning, that can attract any facet of society, any, any kind of character. There is no, um, graded scheme of entry. You can have a mate who's like, 'Oh, do you know what? My brother drives cars,' and suddenly the next thing you know, he's the driver. Next thing you know, he's the tour manager. Suddenly, you know, you can work your way up in a very different manner, and you don't know, you know, no one's DBS checked, nobody's, there's nothing right."

Myleene Klass describes the music industry as the "wild west," emphasizing its lack of structured entry or vetting processes. She explains that individuals can ascend to significant roles through informal connections rather than formal qualifications, leading to an unpredictable and potentially unregulated environment.

"So who do you trust at this time? Only each other. Only each other. I mean, my hands are tied because there's so much I would love to say to you, but obviously, there were other forces at play as well with phone tappings and things, but I guess you can read between the lines that the only time we could really be really safe is when we're just talking to each other."

Estelle conveys a sense of deep distrust within the music industry, suggesting that artists can only rely on each other for genuine support. She hints at external surveillance, like phone tapping, which further isolates artists and reinforces the need for solidarity among those experiencing similar pressures.

"And rather than seeing the power of the group, we were divided. I see. Can you disclose how much you made during that period? Um, it's not a patch on what I make now because it was split between five, the band, then it was split with the manager, six, then it was split with the record company, seven, then it was split with the TV company, eight. Then you bring in tax. I mean, all those people that were trying to take advantage of us, they did it with our time and our image, and, and they obviously took their cut, but we weren't making the amount of money that people think we were."

Cheryl Lloyd explains that her former group's downfall was due to internal division and external mismanagement. She details how the revenue was split among numerous parties, significantly reducing the artists' earnings and highlighting how their collective power was undermined by being divided.