SURVEY - Sexual violence: free speech in the music industry

INVESTIGATION

Speech is gradually freed up in the music industry.

One in four women has been sexually assaulted or harassed there, according to a survey by the Collective for the health of artists and professionals in the sector.

For several months, initiatives have multiplied to denounce these actions, while the environment is still very dominated by men, who represent 86% of label directors and 88% of current music hall programmers.

This is the case of the collective "Music too", born in mid-July, which collects many testimonies.

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On the Instagram account of "Music too", we find calls for witnesses like this one: "If you have been sexually assaulted by a producer of festivals in the Center region, you are not alone, contact us".

There are six like that, with the sector of activity, the region concerned and the nature of the attacks.

A producer in the Grand Est accused of rape, the artistic director of a label in Île-de-France of sexual harassment ... In two and a half months, the "Music too" collective claims to have received 150 testimonies that resemble that of Maud when she was a trainee press officer at a major record label.

"My internship supervisor wanted me to reserve a unique hotel room for the artist and me when we went on promotion, because the artist found me sexy. It would have been a bit of a gift," he says. she.

"Whether it's bosses, whether it's colleagues, in fact, on a daily basis, you have thoughts like that." 

"I'm afraid for my career if I go to the end"

Like that of a producer in Maeva, singer, who offered her a payment in kind against accommodation at Printemps de Bourges.

The young woman also tells Europe 1 another violent episode.

"Before being a singer, I was a volunteer journalist for a music blog. I interviewed an artist whose work I liked. At the end of the interview, I allow myself to tell him that I write too , that I like his texts, and asks him if I can send mine to him to have his opinion. He reminds me several hours later by insulting me and telling me that he had seen my eyes of slut and that 'he wanted me to come and fuck me,' she reveals. 

By testifying on "Music too", these women have the feeling of not being alone, because it is easier to take legal action together.

It is precisely the objective of "Music too": to put in relation the victims of the same man between them.

To do this, they must name their attacker.

The collective, which for the moment refuses to speak publicly, undertakes to then provide legal aid to file a complaint.

Lucie (the first name has been changed), she is still thinking about testifying on "Music too", and would be relieved to know other victims of the same man as her.

Its story is linked to that of soprano Chloé Briot, who filed a complaint for sexual assault against her partner in the opera

.

Professional flutist, Lucie says she was raped by a great musician from a Parisian conservatory, but fears the consequences of a possible speaking out.

"I'm afraid for my career if I go to the end of the legal steps. The world of classical music is very small," she says.

"He is an important person, and in the eyes of people, he is a great orchestral musician, father of a family. When I spoke to one of her former colleagues in the orchestra, she m 'said in essence that I had been looking for it. "

"Change record" and "Balance your major"

Other initiatives to strive for equality are emerging: the association "Change de Disque" will create working groups to fight against the problems of remuneration and career progression in the music industry or even "Wah! ", a mentoring system to develop the professional careers of women in contemporary music.

Finally, the anonymous Instagram account "Balance Ta Major" is responsible for publishing testimonies of victims of gender-based and sexual violence and racism experienced within the largest labels in France.