Written Evidence submitted by Cactus City Studio Community Interest Company (MiM0027)
About Cactus City Studio
Cactus City Studio CIC (“Cactus City”) is an organisation dedicated to making the music industry a safer and more welcoming place to women and gender minorities in music. It was initially founded in 2018 by Vanessa Threadgold, law graduate and artist manager as a recording studio. In 2020, Salli Flaherty, was brought on as Marketing Director and as such Cactus City developed into an organisation to drive change in the recorded music industry, music production, and surrounding career paths. Both founders have worked in the music industry for over ten years, and have been artists from a young age.
Why we exist
Cactus City was born in response to experiences of female music industry professionals in recording studios. working in both creative and supporting roles. The time Vanessa spent working as a manager of a majority female client base exposed the problems within this area of the industry and it became apparent that a safer and more welcoming environment needed to be created for women working behind the scenes of the industry.
As this is an early stage of career development, Cactus City found that the bad experiences create a barrier to entry and prevent many women from carrying on with their careers.
Although our primary focus is currently early career stages and spaces, such as recording studios, we have a long term goal of making music industry working environments safer, as well as being able to encourage those who have left careers in the industry to return via a safe path, with support available, should they wish to. We believe this is beneficial to the music industry economy and has wider economic benefits. Our aim is to eventually be able to provide and facilitate specialist counselling services and support to women in the music industry.
What we have done in the last 12 months in support of equality
In the last year we have engaged with the diversity and equality initiatives in the music industry, examples being: Round table UN Women UK; Sony Music; Strawberries and Creem Festival; Key Change; PRS Foundation; Help Musicians; The Flist; and UK Music. We maintain regular conversation discussions with trade bodies to share good practice and suggestions of ways to improve the support that is currently available to victims of sexual assault and harassment in the music industry. Cactus City has galvanised a young audience to engage with the issues on social media platforms with over 50,000 followers across our social media platforms. In addition to our work in the music industry, we also engage across different sectors in entertainment, such as acting and dance to learn from each other. As well as partnering with women’s safety companies looking at tech solutions for the dangers women face.
We run live events, including an event named “Story Slam”, which provides a safe space for people to talk about their experiences through song, poetry or acting pieces. For the benefit of participants and the audience, mental health practitioners are on hand at these events.
In addition to our Charter of Good Practice, which we will expand on in our submission, we are also building a database of music producers and sound engineers, which will include information and details individuals DBS status, as well as example work and reviews.
How we work
Our organisation is currently funded by social investment loans from friends and family. Our organisation has also been a Kickstart employer, creating 15 jobs via the scheme, and retaining one third of those placements in either permanent employment or on extended fixed term contracts. We do not believe in the use of free labour to solve the problems within the music industry. Less than 1% of our spending has been derived from the UK music industry corporations. For some part, this is because we need to maintain a certain degree of independence to undertake the work we do, but also the reluctance of the industry to accept the problems within the space. Our current workforce is made up of 85.7% female identifying and 14.3% male identifying. We have a 0% gender pay gap and pay the Living Wage or above for all roles.
What will this submission be about?
In our submission we will mainly be addressing the existing support available within the industry, what more we think can be done by the music industry and the steps the Government could take to tackle misogynistic attitudes towards women. We discuss expectations on women working in the industry, especially the work women are already doing to combat misogyny in the industry and how that can be built upon. We will also discuss our work in this area, exploring our Charter of Good Practice for Recording Studios, and why we think this kind of accountability and a proactive approach is needed.
What else will we speak about?
We will address the other questions posed by the government, about lyrics and festivals, although our work is not primarily in this area.
What have we done to prepare for this study?
In support of our submission to this inquiry we have surveyed our online community (our social media following, and newsletter subscribers) between 10 July 2022, and 16 July 2022. During this period we had 106 total responses to the survey.
The demographic of our audience is made up of 82.4% female, 15.8% male and 1.8% gender minorities.
Age groups
13-17 - 7.9%
18-25 - 27.1%
26-34 - 40.2%
35+ - 24.8%
Why are we submitting evidence?
We are responding to this inquiry because we believe there is drastic and swift intervention needed to react to the culture of misogyny within the music industry. We do not believe the corporate music industry in its current form has the inclination to commit to doing this work due to reputational and potential financial implications. However, we believe the majority of people working in the industry generally want changes to be made. We think the present level of investment into this area means that any attempts at finding a remedy or making strides forward are currently destined to fail.
We would suggest that organisations working towards change would benefit from support in developing into fully fledged bodies. We would also suggest that a degree of independence should be maintained by these organisations so they are able to hold companies accountable to change or act as and where necessary.
Executive Summary
The question we asked: “What types of support is available for women in the music industry?”
● 60.5% of respondents did not know of any support available or said there was barely any support available.
● 28.9% said their support is found in networks of other women, or women lead organisations reliant on volunteers.
● Only 13.2% were aware of more established and developed organisations such as the Musician’s Union - who have a reporting tool, and/or Help Musicians who have a bullying and harassment helpline.
The truth is that there is support, but the support that exists is minimal or not specific enough to the needs of those who have suffered harm. Of those who accessed support, respondents told us the support they received was not adequate, or there was no follow up when they did report. Women are left to shoulder the burden and do the work required to address the issues within the industry. Most do so with little to no pay and a lack of resources.
There are lots of organisations dedicated to women in music, with varying purposes such as addressing festival line ups, campaigning for more equality and diversity in boardrooms and on committees, creating safer spaces at live events. The sheer number of these organisations addressing these issues is indicative of the problems that exist within the music industry.
These organisations are sparsely funded, or completely volunteer lead, so whilst it’s disappointing respondents are not aware of their existence, it is not surprising, and the amount of support that can be provided on a national level is not clear.
Often these organisations are run alongside people’s primary jobs, so the development into larger, more strategic organisations can be stagnated. Any strong response to misogyny in the music industry is generally thwarted by the culture of “blacklisting”. Sometimes a conflict of interest between women’s main job roles and the positions taken by organisations addressing certain issues, as industry is reluctant to accept or acknowledge the problem. We are aware of instances where employees of major labels are not allowed to take part in panels led by organisations addressing equality concerns surrounding women in the industry.
Many organisations rely on grant funding or sponsorships, much of which is limited to 18-30s within music, but also mostly project based, and therefore it’s difficult to get organisations off the ground. Whilst useful, panels, and on stage representation and at conferences does not go far enough. We need more tangible solutions and effective change. Respondents to our noting that “lip service” and “awareness raising” about the problems is very widespread with the majority mentioning a lack of investment into any real solution.
We are concerned about the lack of awareness of the support that is available and the potential for victims to seek alternative remedies that may be damaging. A concerning trend is that women are turning to spaces that are potentially exploitative to tell their stories such as online gossip blogs or “Twitter Spaces” with the conversations being led by people with no training or experience in handling the issues. Whilst we appreciate the need for victims to be enabled to use their voice however they feel most comfortable, these examples are often a result of a victim feeling like there is nowhere else to turn to. We think more focus on victim focussed response would provide other outlets with genuine support.
This example is one of many, and we anticipate many more to come until the music industry addresses its culture of protecting abusers. As part of our work, we speak to hundreds of women, and the general consensus is that the music industry will always put a potentially lucrative but abusive person they view as an asset ahead of the needs of victims.
Of respondents, 99% of people surveyed believed that the music industry needs to do more about misogyny and 94.8% of people believed the government needs to do more.
So what can be done?
● Fund the viable organisations that already exist but have unreleased potential. Working with these organisations to create a national and strategic approach.
● Make sure those organisations are able to reach and effect change at all career levels, doing outreach to educational spaces, and not just at a corporate level.
● Work to remove barriers to entry and address sexism in education and early career stages.
● Ensure organisations are diverse and executive boards and roles reflect the diversity of the music industry.
● Invest into women training in traditionally male roles, such as sound engineering, production and A&R.
● Implement immediate safeguarding measures as a short term solution whilst attitudes grow and change over time, such as the creation of more safe spaces.
● Invest into a victim focussed response for victims of sexual harassment, abuse and domestic violence, including specialist counseling services and other avenues of support, not just spaces to report to.
● Work on changing the public attitude to change around investment into solutions for violence against women and girls and how it is beneficial to the economy to make sure women are able to access help and support quickly.
● Provide more support for freelancers, parents and older women within the industry
● Drive awareness of support, higher visibility. This will lead to more reliance and demand but with reasonable funding this can be achieved.
How would this be funded?
All music businesses over a certain size could pay levies to fund the work into the research and the work being done to promote equality and to fight misogyny in the industry. Whether or not this would be compulsory or voluntary could depend on a number of factors, such as the size of the business, or the nature of the business that the company engages in. We believe this may require some government intervention to set up and work effectively.
Generally, most respondents answered “yes” to the question “do you feel safe at festivals?”. However, 29.4% of those that attend festivals or live events said they were actively making the decision to only go to places or festivals where they would feel safe or with a group so they had safety in numbers.
Some respondents said they don’t feel safe in festivals at night, especially in campsites, despite feeling safe throughout the day.
They are organisations working in this area such as UN Women UK initiative “Safe Spaces Now” and Safe Gigs 4 Women. At festivals and live music events these festivals are generally supported by volunteers.
The organisations working in this area are potentially making a difference given the responses to our survey are generally favourable in their view of festivals. However, the majority of respondents were unaware of the organisations doing this work or unaware of what role they play other than being visible at entrances to festival sites. Unfortunately, some respondents noted they would not know where to go if anything were to happen to them at a festival.
At present, our work is mostly based around safety in the women’s music industry. An example of this is our Charter of Good Practice for recording studios. The charter is made up of ten simple and straightforward pledges, based on data from our community, interviews with studio users, and collective experiences in recording studio spaces in professional environments and higher education settings. At the end of 2022, we will begin to promote the charter, and do further outreach to individual studios and studios in educational settings asking them to adopt the practices laid out in the charter.
The Charter of Good Practice Pledges:
Why do we think this can work?
We think this will work through a combination of education, accountability, social pressure and economic impact. Having signatories to the charter will allow us to provide a list of companies willing to change attitudes or already providing safer spaces. We currently field regular requests to help source safe or female owned and run recording studios for those looking for a safe space to record. We want to drive business and traffic to the studios and businesses that are actively addressing the issues of women’s safety in music.
We believe this may create a social and financial pressure on those who are not already following good practices to change. The feedback we have received on the charter has been generally positive, and it has been well received by industry. There is a consensus that it doesn’t feel like an attack on men, yet provides an easy way of knowing how to be respectful and address certain scenarios.
The charter gives a route for users to provide feedback on the spaces they have visited. Should we receive feedback which is contrary to the charter, depending on the severity of this feedback a studio would either be removed, or further training and assistance could be provided.
Our research suggests that misogynist lyrics are more of a result of lack of women in the working environment, rather than the cause. They feed into the normalisation of these attitudes within society. We believe misogynistic lyrics to be a result, and symptom of societies views on women, and we do have a belief it can go some way towards normlising the use of certain language.
Respondents drew parallels with this. Although 88.7% of respondents answered yes to the question “do you think lyrics impact violence against women?”, the majority noted it was more a reflection of attitudes rather than a driver. It was noted that they would be less likely to take misogyny seriously in music than in everyday conversations. Respondents compared music to any other visible media, more of a symptom of a misogynistic culture we live in, as well as a reflection of the lack of education into consent.
Summary
In summation, we think the music industry has a long way to go to create a shift as misogyny is deeply woven into the fabric of the industry. We want to see a better and safer industry for everyone, and we are positive but realistic in how this is approached. Whilst we would like for the industry to take the steps necessary without the need for intervention, we do not believe this will be addressed effectively or as urgently as we think to be necessary in the near future. A fight without resources is not one that can be won and women in the music industry want a fair chance.
Recommendations
To industry: Fund the grass roots and independent organisations already doing the work. Your employees and users are relying on them, and the problem will remain until more action is taken. Help drive awareness to independent support available.
To the Government: Consider implementing a levy on corporations in music to fund the work required to address equality, diversity and misogyny and creating independent victim focused responses and services.
References
Cactus City Studio. “About.” Cactus City Studio. Accessed July 16, 2022. https://www.cactuscity.org/about.
The F-List. “Sister Organisations.” The F-List. Accessed July 16, 2022. https://thef-listmusic.uk/who-we-are/sister-organisations/.
July 2022