“And maybe, maybe maybe” consequences follow: 5 indie artists, including MilleniumKid & Mayberg, confess in a collective statement to reported cases of structural abuse of power
In recent years, anyone who wanted to go to a concert by German indie artists didn’t always have to buy a ticket – sometimes crew and band members also helped out their fans in front of and behind the stage. Admission may then be free, but the price that some fans have to pay instead is far greater. And there is no refund. At most, promises.
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Abuse of power is nothing new within the music industry. For decades, young women have been used and discriminated against in the music industry – whether fans, so-called groupies, journalists, employees or the singers themselves. The myth of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll is one that holds up bravely – but behind the often enough glorified image of casual backstage life there continues to be an abuse of power.
The suspected perpetrator was part of the crew
On October 13th, five artists published a statement at once in which they exposed cases of abuse of power within their “crew”, as it was described in the letter. Mayberg, Benjamin Amaru, MilleniumKid, Lyschko and the band TILAR apparently not only share the music genre, but also the personnel.
“We have received information that a person has committed structural abuse of power and serious border crossings as part of projects. Cases of sexually transmitted infections have been reported,” write the artists. They also emphasize that the perpetrator took advantage of his position towards individuals and that cooperation with him was immediately terminated. “We expressly condemn the actions of the person concerned and accept responsibility. We are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent cross-border situations,” says the public statement.
In a total of four screenshots of the Apple note app in dark mode, Amaru, Mayberg, MilleniumKid, Lsychko and the members of TILAR explain that they would work with those affected and specialist departments to come to terms with it. They list what they have “already done internally” in five bullet points, essentially describing the minimum standard expected. First, they would have ended their collaboration with the perpetrator and would work to prevent his further influence within the industry. They don’t get any more specific here. But: There is a need for professional processing act aware eV. as a specialist office, including with regard to contacting those affected and providing them with support.
They also began to critically question their own power structures and dynamics with the help of “mentoring, training and regular conversations within the crew, booking and labels”. As the fifth “internal action” the artists write: “This process is designed for the long term in order to take responsibility sustainably and change structures.”
The post, which was published on the Instagram account of the “Maybe, maybe” interpreter MillenniumKid as a collab with Amaru, Mayberg, Lyschko and TILAR, asks for understanding, sympathy and an “awareness of the underlying” structures. In the comments section, many readers express their admiration for the motivation to come to terms with it and thank them for the transparency and disclosure of abusive structures. “Thank you for making it visible and for your commitment, because if no one does it, power is almost always abused,” writes one user, with a peace emoji glowing at the end of the sentence.
No further statements – due to privacy
The statement does not describe in more detail who the crew member is who was able to exert such an influence in five music projects without anyone initially noticing it. According to the artists, it was only through the tips received that it came to light that cases of structural abuse of power and sexual relationships had occurred because of this person. Presumably with fans. Because it is usually fans and “groupies” who fall victim to such power imbalances – but here Mayberg, Benjamin Amaru, MilleniumKid, Lyschko and TILAR refer to the protection of the privacy of those involved and do not provide any more detailed information.
In response to direct press inquiries to all five managements, we only received one response. Elias Bruns from the Berlin label and artist management “The place“, with whom Mayberg is under contract, explains: “We do not want to give any further interviews or statements at the moment and refer to the joint statement from the bands involved, which everyone can view publicly.”
As insiders report, the “crew member” is said to be a former employee of a major music label. He is said to have worked in different roles in the five music projects; for example, he acted as a stagehand at Benjamin Amaru’s concerts and he worked in management for the synthpop singer MilleniumKid. But all profiles have already been deleted, the collaboration with MillenniumKid appears to have ended and the remaining signatories no longer have any connections to him.
Abuse of power in the indie scene is not an isolated case
Unfortunately, situations of abuse like those suggested in the artists’ joint statement still occur in the music scene. Sometimes they are tacitly tolerated or ignored. One reason may be the size of the scene – many indie artists share the same labels, the management teams and booking agencies are often small and networked, and employees know each other across brands. Let’s note: Structural abuse of power also happens in the environment of acts that are a few sizes smaller.