'You Need People Who Are Going to Protect You': Julia Jacklin Gets Candid About the Music Industry

There’s not a lot of protection in the music industry for artists, according to Julia Jacklin, who says a strong support network has become crucial to navigating the business.

On stage at BIGSOUND in Brisbane, Jacklin reflected on what she has learned about surrounding herself with the right people, both professionally and personally, over the course of her career. 

“I've learned that I need to have a lot of support outside of the industry because, you know, there's like not heaps of protection in this industry for artists and it can be pretty... I don't know,” Jacklin trailed off. “You've got to have really good, solid friends, I believe, who can support you through stuff. But also, if you can, you need people who are going to protect you in some way. 

“Just like cool people who believe in basic human rights for all, so they've got to be pro-Palestine, you know, if they're working for me, and not a misogynist, not an internal misogynist. And they've got to have a good foundation too, outside of this industry."

Jacklin is entering a new chapter of her career with a new label and management team behind her, ahead of the release of her fourth studio album, The Gem. Asked what she now looks for in the people representing her, Jacklin said their relationships and reputation within the wider industry matter.

“You want people who other people want to pick up their phone calls,” she said. “Like you want somebody who walks into a room and people go, ‘Oh, cool. They're here.’ You know what I mean? Which seems like an obvious thing, but it's really key because they're out there representing you and talking to people and, yeah, it reflects on you.”

However, Jacklin acknowledged that being selective about who an artist works with isn't always possible, particularly for those earlier in their careers. “It's annoying sometimes to come to conferences or like talk to people in the industry who say things like that, with this implication that there's an abundance of choice, and that you have like the luxury of choice, which is not really the case,” she said.

“A lot of young artists... feel like they have to take the first thing that comes, that comes by, you know, because it can feel like there's not going to be something else.”

Jacklin experienced her own period between management and label arrangements while making The Gem, which she described as a welcome opportunity to “catch my breath”. 

“I feel like I've kind of been go, go, go since I started in this business,” she said. 

The time away from some of the machinery surrounding her career also allowed her to reconnect with why she started making music in the first place. “I've loved music since I was a child. Like I have a very deep connection to it. It doesn't just exist within the music industry,” she said. “It exists, it's part of me as a human being. And I needed to remember that I would be doing it regardless."