Thirteen women share their experiences of misconduct in the music industry. Five of the women have had encounters with the same man. Five women connected to the music industry are revealing their experiences of misconduct with a well-known Danish male musician in a new documentary by DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The documentary, with its first two episodes released on Monday morning, sheds light on structural issues of sexism in the music industry. A significant part of the first episode focuses on the women’s encounters with the male musician.
Stine Bramsen, former member of Alphabeat, recounts how in 2009 she was offered to sing a duet with the musician. But during a conversation with him, she was suddenly invited to his home to have a glass of wine. “Suddenly it feels like a negotiation, that he must get something to sing this duet,” she says in the documentary. An anonymous woman also describes a secret romantic relationship with the male musician, which started when she was 16 years old. Singer Signe Svendsen shares that she and the male musician stayed at a third musician’s apartment after a concert. “Suddenly I wake up with the male artist creeping under my duvet and touching my breasts,” she says.
In total, 13 women participate in the documentary, but DR and the production company Impact TV have spoken with over 150 sources during the production. One of these sources is Pernille Rosendahl, former lead singer of Swan Lee, who discusses general sexism issues in the music industry. “One of the major issues with the fact that there’s a currency in the industry about being ‘fuckable’ is that it takes a lot of focus away from what you’re actually good at,” she says.
All individuals with whom the participants had misconduct experiences are anonymous in the documentary. Eight out of the 150 women mention having encounters with the male musician. It is revealed in the documentary that the male musician declined to comment. After failing to secure an injunction against the screening of the documentary, the musician posted about it on Facebook. “I have been blind to the fact that my often crude and flirtatious humor, which is part of both my professional and personal life, could be perceived differently and crossing boundaries,” he writes according to DR.