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'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

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Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#31

It's hard to imagine this is only the music industry. Human use sex as a weapon and a tool all the time. True, it might be more useful in the music industry but why would sex as currency only exist there? Where there are humans, there is sex. The obviousness of how that plays out may differ but the underlying theme is universal.

Any industry where there's a massive power differential between "the boss" and "the employee" will likely have this happen.

US Gymnastics. Movie, TV, and music industries. US Presidents (and other politicians) and employees.

Hell, you still get it in normal business. The stories my wife tells about former co-workers and bosses are disgusting and a primary reason she no longer works at a former employer.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#32

what interests me is: how do people maintain their integrity in such a foul environment? I mean if you can't look yourself in the mirror then how do you keep on creating anything?

> how do people maintain their integrity in such a foul environment?

They can not require sexual favors when they are about to decide who to help. This ability is entirely within their possibilities.

Because really, the biggest integrity fail in this is sexual harassment, making business decisions based on sexual favors (demanding ones or accepting them) and abuse of power.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#34

what interests me is: how do people maintain their integrity in such a foul environment? I mean if you can't look yourself in the mirror then how do you keep on creating anything?

An important topic here is that shame is also a construct, and it is a collective construct. Certain things are shameful in one culture, not in another.

This isn’t to say that we don’t have a gut feeling when something feels wrong. We have an inner sense of boundaries which eg. can be damaged by trauma and deeply affects our ability to connect and such.

But when it comes to adult relationships there is a wide spectrum of behaviours and unless everyone tells you something is deeply wrong, I think there are times and places where people may not endure the same sense of shame.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#35
post #9

I’m reminded of an axiom, which I will paraphrase: Everything is about sex. Except sex, which is about power.

Actually I'd bet that neurologically sex is far from power games, but along each growth the system gets used for personal benefits rather than union. Might be a cultural lens too.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#36
post #13

It makes perfect sense. Music industry is a economics of superstars. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1803469 Very few stars get huge profits and after that it's long slim tail. Talent or high work ethic is not enough for success, "getting discovered" aka someone likes you and invests the initial money and effort is another factor. If personal effort is not enough and the artist has nothing else, selling your ass for an…

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Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#37
post #22

Don't know why they picked a headline that buried the other big point of the article - "Mafia 'owned' pop stars" This is a huge thing hugely related to the rest of the 'industry culture' being talked about.

I remember reading about a scandal in the 90's or 00's fashion business where it came out the top modelling and talent agencies were in-effect used as escort agencies by super wealthy clients. The arts have always been seedy, but they have also always been a key path to social mobility, so it's kind of a story as old as time.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#39
post #26
post #9

I’m reminded of an axiom, which I will paraphrase: Everything is about sex. Except sex, which is about power.

I've always thought this phrase is a bit silly. It completely erases the existence of asexual people and their goals and ambitions.

Not that I'm supporting asexual erasure, but sayings like the quote in GP are usually fairly general. Statistically, there are much much fewer asexual people than not, so in general it may hold but that's not to say it holds for every single person.

Re: 'Sexual favours were the norm in music industry'

#40
post #13

It makes perfect sense. Music industry is a economics of superstars. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1803469 Very few stars get huge profits and after that it's long slim tail. Talent or high work ethic is not enough for success, "getting discovered" aka someone likes you and invests the initial money and effort is another factor. If personal effort is not enough and the artist has nothing else, selling your ass for an…

> if Jeff Besos would come to you and say: I invest into your startup $100M if I can fuck you into the ass tree times, very high percentage of HN crowd would immediately say yes.

What's the name for this kind of arguments?

Also, why specifically Bezos? Why not the billionaire next door?

Also, why only the HN crowd? Wouldn't a lot of people too?

Do you have a beef with the HN crowd or Bezos?

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