Brothers for Sisterhood: A Missed Opportunity for Accountability at the Australian Women in Music Conference.

A Review of the Men’s Panel That Left Women in the Music Industry Traumatized, Silenced, and Dismissed Amid Dangerous Comments on Hotel Room Misconduct and work place Sexual Discrimination.

During the disgraceful and damaging "Brothers for Sisterhood" panel at the Women in Music conference on October 1, a panel of four men in the music industry was supposed to offer hope and support to the women and non-binary individuals in the room regarding the changes taking place in an industry that has statistically been prevalent with abuse, sexual violence, and abuse of power. The concept of brothers for sisterhood aimed to provide support and set an example of how men can be allies during a time when a lot of darkness is coming to light. In a culture and industry facing extreme levels of sexual violence, harassment, workplace abuse, power imbalances, trauma, dissociation, ingrained misogyny, grooming, trafficking, coercion, drugging, manipulation, and financial abuse, this panel could have set the stage for much-needed conversations about the issues we face as a collective in 2024.

Let’s be frank: the discussion was a downward train wreck, comparable to watching a grave being dug deeper and deeper, until the audience was yelling, some people were crying, and shaking, and the entire room was visibly upset and triggered by what was a live-time reality check unfolding. It was a sobering example, post-Me Too, of where we are at, what hasn’t changed, how bad it is, and how there are no safety measures when it comes to confronting toxic masculinity and misogyny head-on.

The CEO of Oztix, known as ‘Smash,’ who has a 20-year music career and is recognized for his involvement in major festivals like Big Day Out and Soundwave, made deeply troubling remarks that perpetuated harmful stereotypes about women in the workplace. He openly stated that "pent-up men on-site" couldn’t control themselves after being away from their wives for two weeks, blaming a woman’s clothing for being a "distraction." He recounted sending a woman home at a festival site to change because she was supposedly distracting the men. Furthermore, he insisted that women in the industry need "thick skins" to handle the rhetoric directed at them, stating that women need to learn to and be able to ‘give it back’, deflecting questions about creating a safer workplace by re-educating men on what is no longer acceptable, going against the whole purpose of the discussion.

This line of reasoning not only excuses men from accountability but also perpetuates the myth that women are responsible for managing men’s behaviour based on how they dress, normalizing misogynistic thinking and shaming women for men's actions. The entire room reacted strongly; you could cut the tension with a knife. The situation worsened when the sexual assault commissioner, who had just emphasized the need for accountability and safety in the industry, failed to challenge these remarks. Instead, she gave him a platform, repeatedly dodging the conversation by referring to "the time," which felt hypocritical given her earlier stance on holding people accountable. This moment was problematic, enabling harmful attitudes rather than confronting them directly.

I was visibly shaking, and everyone around me was shocked and stunned by what was unfolding in what could have been an opportunity for brothers to support sisterhood. It only got worse as he continued speaking. He remarked that he had realized early in his career that if you want anything done in the music industry, it’s not the three Michaels (Michael Chugg and Gadinsky) who are the gatekeepers saying ‘yes or no’ to the entire industry, but the administrative women who do all the work. I’m unsure if he realizes it is 2024, his viewpoints mirrored a darker time when women were not allowed an education, a job, or even bank accounts, with their entry into the workplace often limited to secretarial roles. These points highlight the arguments feminists have been making about free labour and the ongoing struggle for women to gain recognition for their contributions to this industry.

When he turned to Missy Higgins's manager, John Watson, to claim he has women working for him, I felt relieved when Watson quickly responded, “They work with me, not for me.” This comment exemplified equality while exposing the underlying misogyny in the CEO's remarks, Thank you, John Watson. The CEO of Oztix appeared taken aback and corrected his line of thought, although he often referred to himself as ‘The Boss’ throughout his discussion, only revealing what seemed to be his true feelings about women and non-binary individuals in the music industry. His statements showed us that outdated views suggesting women are merely subservient to men are perhaps still very relevant to some men in high positions of power in the music industry.

The CEO’s comments escalated when he mentioned how he was put in a difficult position when he had to fire the General Manager on his first week on the job, after an incident took place where the general manager of OzTix entered all the women’s hotel rooms on a work trip with alcohol, pressuring them to party with him. He downplayed the gravity of the situation, saying, “I don’t think he was acting sleazy or had sexual intentions because he has a wife and kids.” The room erupted with remarks, with audience members yelling comments toward the stage.

In a time when the music industry is having a reckoning after getting a ‘Hall Pass’ on #MeToo, we have seen first-hand how detrimental hotel rooms are in grooming and abusive practices, highlighted by cases such as Diddy's—where a video surfaced showing him abusing a woman in a hotel room and subsequently paying $50,000 to silence the story—and the notorious incidents involving Harvey Weinstein. Why these comments are so problematic is that Oztix is the largest Australian ticketing company and middleman, to every tour that comes to Australia and New Zealand. In an industry that is built on touring and sleeping in Hotel rooms, these remarks revealed the pervasive culture and ignorance surrounding men's behaviour and the positions they put women in.

The general manager, who had the authority to control hiring, firing, and financial decisions, entered women's hotel rooms without consent and pressured them to party with him. Instead of acknowledging the gravity of this behaviour, the CEO remarked on what kind of CEO he would be if he didn’t set an example and had no choice but to fire him on the spot. This comment only fueled the audience's outrage, as many were triggered by his blatant minimization of such misconduct, causing the energy in the room to shift to anger and discomfort.

During the Q&A, while visibly shaking and feeling traumatized, I was handed a mic in front of the auditorium. I began by saying, “There are a lot of discussions in the media right now such as the Diddy case.” My voice started choking, and I addressed why: “First, I want to say I’m very triggered, and I’m sure a lot of people in this room are as well, regarding the comments made about what a woman is wearing being the reason for men’s behaviour.” The two people beside me put their hands on me and pushed my mic forward. While I’m known in my personal life for being very direct and cutthroat, I am new at facing confrontations head-on. Nervously, I followed by saying, “How are we going to re-educate men on-site and in the workplace so it’s not the woman’s fault?”

I then addressed the elephant in the room: “We are seeing serious allegations such as drugging in the touring and music industry. If you see something happening, how are you going to call it out and stop it from happening?” These leading questions exposed the truth when the Sexual Assault Commissioner, who had just emphasized the need for accountability and safety in the industry, didn’t give the men on the panel an opportunity to engage or answer the questions, which was shocking to the entire room as she dismissed, avoided, and deflected pressing topics that are all over the media, including Rolling Stone Australia and Triple J. Instead, she awkwardly dismissed my valid and pressing questions, saying, “We will get back to this question; we are almost out of time, who is next?” This response silenced me while the room filled with trauma, with people crying, shaking, and gasping loudly. Her dismissal highlighted how little had changed, Jenkins further added, “I will not have you single out a panel.” It was a brutal reminder of the ongoing issues we face.

In a moment of solidarity, Alexis Benedict from Tomboi Records, who was sitting beside me and providing support, turned on the microphone and interrupted them to defend me by stating “Women have always been blamed for the way they dress and blamed for bad behaviour from men—whereas I think it is the misogynistic programming that men have grown up with that leads them to think it is okay to sexualize and objectify women. The other side of the coin is that I know multiple women in music who have been told to dress less to attract men when they are gay women and don’t have any desire to do so. There are artists who dress completely covered but still receive sexual videos sent to them and are sexually harassed by so-called ‘fans’—e.g., Chappell Roan. So how do you as men try to re-educate men on how to treat women and speak and look at women while focusing on the bad behavior of men? As well as encouraging women to be themselves and not ‘blame’ them for bad behaviour? Women are professional peers, not objects. I believe that women should stop having to apologise for men’s bad behaviour.” Smash responded by stating that a woman dressed inappropriately fell in OH&S while his previous comment was actually centred around the men having pent up energy from being on site for two weeks away from their wives.

While OH&S regulations aim to maintain safety and professionalism on job sites, they often fail to address gender biases in clothing expectations. For instance, a woman wearing shorts and a crop top to combat the Australian summer heat at a festival may be labelled as “inappropriate,” despite men comfortably removing their shirts without consequence. This discrepancy not only undermines women’s professional status but also perpetuates harmful stereotypes about women as distractions, rather than recognizing their equal professionalism and contributions in the workplace. Women should not have to apologise for men's discomfort or misconduct based on their attire.

The panel description framed the discussion around the notion that “men are leaders, managers, supporters, funders, and peers to women in music.” Yet, in 2024, we are still far from achieving equality in the music industry. Facilitated by Kate Jenkins, the panel aimed to explore men’s roles, their gender education, the actions needed to achieve gender equality, and their messages to other men. Unfortunately, the conversation fell short by neglecting critical issues like sexual abuse and victim-blaming, perpetuating the cycle and messaging for men to be misogynistic, ultimately undermining the goal of creating a safe space for women and non-binary individuals.

Thank you to the other men who participated in the panel and were able to step up in parts of the discussion. Afterwards, some of them expressed their disappointment and embarrassment at being on stage while the conversation took place. John Watson, manager of Missy Higgins, remarked, “It was a valid point and a missed opportunity,” emphasizing that my question should not have been dismissed.

The continued focus on safety without confronting the systemic problems only highlights the industry’s reluctance to engage in the hard conversations necessary for real change. As allegations in high-profile cases like Diddy’s unfold, we must demand accountability from those at the top and ensure our voices are heard, rather than merely ticking boxes.

Perhaps god sent me to this panel as an undercover journalist, as the tip-off I received over the past seven weeks reveals serious issues in the festival and touring industries, paralleling the patterns seen in the Diddy allegations. I call for an internal review of Oztix's practices and those of other music industry players. We need to address reports of misconduct, including alarming incidents and a culture of drugging, trafficking, and discrimination that have emerged. If you have information regarding these issues, I encourage you to come forward.