Ellie Goulding Says ‘Landscape’ of Music Industry ‘Changed’ Since #MeToo: ‘I Wasn’t Alone’

Ellie Goulding says #MeToo has transformed her experience of making music – and that of younger artists.

The “Love Me Like You Do” singer, 36, shared her thoughts on BBC Radio 4 about how she thinks the music industry has changed since the #MeToo movement took off in 2017 — and even opened up about her own embarrassing experiences in the industry.

“I definitely think the landscape has changed a little bit, especially since the MeToo movement,” Goulding said.

She continued: “I think it was really, really important for people to keep talking about their individual stories, because I know there was a lot going on that just wasn’t talked about.”

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The singer said she thinks “a lot of people don’t feel comfortable” talking about their experiences and revealed that she herself has faced some really awkward situations in the past while in the studio.

“I’ve had experiences that I kind of normalized in my head and thought, ‘Oh, maybe this is just a thing,'” Goulding told Radio 4.

“You know, when you go into the studio and afterwards the producer asks if you want a drink. And I’m a pretty decent person, I don’t like to let people down. I don’t like to disappoint people. I don’t like to disappoint people, I don’t like to disappoint them.” So I said, ‘Yes, of course, by all means, go for a drink,'” she explained.

Ellie Goulding performs in San Francisco in November 2023.

Steve Jennings/Getty

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“And then and there it kind of becomes like a romantic thing when it shouldn’t be,” she added. “You don’t want it to be a romantic thing, but there was always a slight sense of uneasiness when you walked into the studio and there were only one or two people writing or producing.”

Goulding said at the time that she had to “try to figure out if it was just me” feeling uncomfortable or if there was something else going on. It wasn’t until the #MeToo movement took the entertainment industry by storm in 2017 following numerous sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, who was later found guilty, that she realized she wasn’t alone.

“But when I heard so many other stories, similar stories from other musicians and singers, I realized that I’m not alone in this at all,” the singer shared. “It wasn’t just me, because I was particularly friendly.”

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Ellie Goulding performs in Birmingham in October 2023.

Steve Thorne/Redferns/Getty

She described such situations to Radio 4 as “a kind of currency” that artists would pay in the music industry – something that has slowly disappeared.

“It was kind of an unspoken thing where if you were working with male producers, it was almost like an expectation, which sounds crazy to say out loud, and that definitely wouldn’t happen now,” she said. I mean, very rarely, because things just changed.”

The “Still Falling For You” singer said younger artists at her record label Polydor “now have chaperones” when they go into the studio to record and can even “talk to a counselor or talk to someone” to talk about their “experiences as a musician in rise.”

It’s a positive thing to come out of the industry, as she noted, “it’s a vulnerable place when you’re in the studio writing music.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education