Today the Music Industry Review into Sexual Harm, Sexual Harassment and Systemic Discrimination report, Raising Their Voices, was released.
The report provides a blueprint on how we can take action to make the music industry safer, more inclusive, more respectful, and ultimately stronger. The report is based on robust evidence, drawing on a survey of almost 1,300 and the stories of over 300 music industry people who spoke to or wrote directly to the Review team.
Read the full report on the Music Industry Review website.
Music Industry Joint Statement of Acknowledgement
As leaders in the Australian contemporary music industry, we accept the distressing findings of the Review. We acknowledge the harm documented by the Review, and we are sorry.
This Review has been a vital process of listening and truth telling. We thank all the participants for their courage in speaking out, in bravely re-living their experiences, and engaging in this critical report. We acknowledge the impact of these behaviours on the lives of victim survivors from our industry.
Everyone has the right to work in an environment free from bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault and discrimination. As disturbing and confronting as the findings are, the Australian music industry is committed to change and to rebuilding trust. The music industry should – and will – foster safe, welcoming, respectful, creative, and fun environments.
We have been listening and have heard your calls for change. We can and will continue to do better. We all can.
As leaders and members of the music community, we all have a responsibility to model courageous leadership and do our best to bring an end to poor and destructive behaviour. We implore all in the music industry to continue working with us to implement long-term, sustainable change for the better. We all have a personal and professional responsibility to make our culture the best it can be.
We are committed to working through the recommendations of the report, doing the necessary work and being accountable, to ensure our industry is a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace. Our work has already started, and it will not stop until we have a culture that is safe for all.
Signatories to the statement can be viewed on the Music Industry Review website.
APRA AMCOS Chairs and CEO statement supporting the national Music Industry Review report
“The Raising Their Voices Report marks a watershed moment for all of us in the music industry. It provides compelling evidence of the hurt and suffering that persistent bullying, sexual harassment, sexual harm and exclusion in our industry has caused.
“APRA AMCOS accepts the findings of the national Music Industry Review and is committed to considering the recommendations and working with our colleagues in the industry to implement those recommendations. We support the accompanying Music Industry Joint Statement issued today that acknowledges the hurt and the harm. It is right to say sorry: we have all been part of an industry where people have been hurt and have caused hurt.
“For some, especially people of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander background, the trauma and hurt stemming from a history of racism and exclusion has been transgenerational and has taken an unsustainable toll. This is evident in the stories and submissions shared by First Nations’ participants in the Review.
“Importantly, the Report provides a blueprint for a way out. The fact that we have collaborated on this Review shows there is already a deep drive for change at work in us and our industry. As an organisation that has been a collective since our inception in 1926, APRA AMCOS is committed to bringing our collective spirit to this work and to working with our colleagues to co-create the fuller and bigger ‘we’ that is long overdue.”
Jenny Morris APRA Chair
Jaime Gough AMCOS Chair
Dean Ormston APRA AMCOS CEO
If you or someone you know needs support, there is help available:
Support Act Helpline: 1800 959 500
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
Lifeline Hotline: 13 11 14 or text their helpline on 0477 13 11 14
SANE: 1800 187 263
Beyond Blue - (First Nations specific supports available): 1300 224 636
Q Life - LGBTIQ+ support: 1800 184 527