News October 8, 2020

Chapter Music donated proceeds from an accused abuser’s music to charity

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains contains references to sexual assault and/or abuse which may be distressing to readers. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

“I think it’s very important to be guided by the victim.”

Guy Blackman was speaking about the handling of abuse and misconduct allegations at AIR’s annual Indie-Con conference last week on a panel called Code of Conduct For The Music Industry.

Blackman and Ben O’Connor, his partner in life and business at Chapter Music, run a queer, female and people of colour-friendly label and management firm. Blackman revealed he and O’Connor once had to navigate an issue where an artist on their roster was accused of abuse.

“We tried to instigate an accountability process, and it came to a situation where the artist wasn’t willing to engage with this process,” Blackman said.

Blackman’s handling of the situation stood out as a golden standard after he and O’Connor realised the accused artist was not willing to be guided by the survivor in the accountability process.

“When we met a point where it looked like accountability wasn’t going to be a possibility, we stopped working with the artist straight away,” he said. “And we stated that we would donate any proceeds from recordings they were involved with to charity.”

No men in positions of power for the next 100 years. It’s our last chance to save the planet.
— Guy Blackman (@guyblackman) June 27, 2020

Gathered together virtually last Friday (October 2nd) the Indie-Con panel was moderated by this journalist and was a conversation about our future, about how we can make the music industry a better and safer place.

The co-head of the record label Tone Deaf once called “almost unequivocally the most treasured record label in Australia” was joined by artists Kira Puru and Jaguar Jonze, Eleven: A Music Company’s John Watson and Bonnie Dalton, the General Manager of the Victorian Music Development Office (VMDO).

Jaguar Jonze, AKA Deena Lynch, was largely the impetus for the panel being included at Indie-Con. The work she’s done alongside photographer Michelle Pitiris has been integral to progressing the Me Too movement in Australia.

She noted that organisations and events should ask themselves what kinds of safety processes they have in place. She listed safety text lines, mediation spaces and policies, safety officers, a feedback system, a reporting system using open communication channels, staff training, culture management, and much more.

“If you’re running a festival, do you have security guards that have a process? And are they briefed on that process? So if a patron comes to the security guard they know exactly what to do to protect the patrons at your event,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.