April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I’m not writing this open letter to shame anyone, but to invite you.
The music industry has had several opportunities for reckoning in recent years. So far she has managed to avoid this reckoning. What we have seen instead: isolated moments, isolated court rulings and public spectacles that generate headlines but fail to deliver systemic change – which this industry desperately needs. The wave of attention that swept Hollywood at the height of the #MeToo movement largely bypassed the music industry. And although the pressure has increased in recent years, the industry’s response has been, above all, silence.
Historically, the legal window for victims of sexual violence to seek justice has been shockingly narrow. In criminal law, prosecutors in New York had only five years to file charges for most sex crimes as Felony. Under civil law, those affected only had three years to file a lawsuit. In California, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of rape cases was 10 years and for civil lawsuits it was 3 years.
Tight deadlines, real consequences
Anyone who understands how trauma actually works – how long it can take to process what you’ve experienced, to find the right words, to feel safe enough to go public – knows that these deadlines were never realistic. In 2019, New York extended the criminal statute of limitations for certain sexual offenses to up to 20 years and also expanded the civil statute of limitations to 20 years. In 2016, California completely eliminated the statute of limitations for prosecuting rape cases and gave victims of sexual abuse 10 years to file civil lawsuits. But none of these changes were retroactive – those who had already missed their time slot remained locked out of the legal system.
In 2022, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA) to close this gap. It opened a one-year retroactive window that allowed victims to file civil lawsuits that had previously been blocked by statutes of limitations — regardless of when the abuse occurred. The City of New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Act created another legal recourse for those affected. More than 3,500 lawsuits were filed before the ASA window closed in November 2023, and the music industry was at the center of some of the most high-profile cases. The lawsuits filed under these retroactive windows did not just reveal individual misconduct. They exposed systems, institutional silences and a culture that too often placed reputation and revenue above the safety of the people whose lives and work keep the industry running.
California followed suit with the Sexual Abuse and Cover-up Accountability Act – its own retroactivity window that revived civil sexual assault claims under certain conditions. A one-year window for incidents before 2009 required proof of an institutional cover-up. A related two-year window for incidents after Jan. 1, 2009 was broader but was scheduled to close at the end of this year. After the original law’s vague language led to inconsistent court decisions, the California legislature passed a second law, the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2026.
New laws, old silence
The new law opened an additional two-year filing window that is fully retroactive and expands the ability of those affected to hold individual perpetrators accountable for sexual assault, regardless of how long ago the acts occurred, without having to additionally name a company or allege a cover-up. This window closes on December 31, 2027. These laws don’t just affect courtrooms. They affect culture. This wave of legal change signals that the legal system wants to create more realistic ways to keep pace with society’s evolving understanding of the dynamics that make sexual violence possible.
“In an industry where so much is informal – in studios late at night, at private events, where the lines between business and personal life are blurred – the opportunities for abuse of power are omnipresent.
Tiffany Red“
And yet, despite all these new laws and lawsuits, the industry still hasn’t seen its reckoning. Fame, wealth and power continue to distort and prevent justice. What fan culture and pop culture prove time and time again is that if someone is talented enough, famous enough, and rich enough, there will always be people willing to overlook their crimes – especially if those crimes are of a sexual nature. Nostalgia and stardom have a way of captivating people. I experienced this up close. Fame is a special form of power that makes people ignore things they would never tolerate from “normal people.” When the accused person is someone whose music is the soundtrack of their life, the public reaction is not outrage. It’s a negotiation. It’s, “But I love this song.” Celebrity turns the search for justice into “content.” It turns those affected into characters in someone else’s story. And it gives the industry permission to do what it has always done: wait for the news cycle to pass and move on.
The same power dynamics in the industry play out behind closed doors and away from cameras every day, leaving the most vulnerable vulnerable to manipulation or worse. The gatekeepers who decide whether your song gets chosen, whether your deal gets signed, or whether you get invited back into potentially life-changing spaces have an influence that extends far beyond the professional realm. And in an industry where so much is informal – in studios late at night, at private events, where the lines between business and personal life are blurred – the opportunities for abuse of power are omnipresent.
The music industry thrives on collaboration. She thrives on trust. A songwriter walks into a session with a producer he may never have met before. An artist meets with an executive behind closed doors to discuss a deal that could change his life. A young manager shows up on his first day at work with the only desire to prove that he belongs. All of these moments require an environment where people feel safe enough to create, negotiate, learn and say no – without fear of consequences. We all know that this environment does not always exist. And too many of us looked the other way.
Numbers that accuse
A 2024 global study by MIDiA Research, TuneCore and Believe surveyed more than 4,100 music creators and industry professionals in 133 countries and found that three in five women in the music industry have experienced sexual harassment and one in five have experienced sexual assault. More than 70 percent of these women did not report it – out of fear of retaliation and the belief that nothing would change anyway. And for the women who did come forward, the results were hardly better. Fifty-six percent said their statements were ignored or dismissed, and nearly a third were told to remain silent.
So why hasn’t anything changed? Part of the answer lies in the structures.
One of the biggest differences between the film industry and the music industry is organization. Hollywood has unions, guilds and collective advocacy groups that represent workers across the industry. When the #MeToo movement began, these structures did not lead the movement, but they gave it a place to dock and became vehicles for new codes of conduct, reporting systems and protections. The music industry doesn’t have the same structures – but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless. It means we have to build differently. You don’t need a union to be united. You don’t have to negotiate collectively to have a collective consciousness. The safety of people in the spaces where music is created is a human rights issue – and that should be something every company in this industry can come to the table about.
An industry under observation
The last few years have made this impossible to ignore. We have seen the federal indictment and conviction of one of the most powerful figures in music history on charges related to the exploitation of people within his own organization. We have watched victims go public, at enormous personal cost, to tell stories that too many people in this industry have long known.
And yet the question remains: What are companies doing about it? Not the individuals. The companies. The record labels, music publishers, management companies, studios and agencies. The institutions that fund careers, expand reach, and decide what behavior gets addressed and what goes ignored.
As the founder of The 100 Percenters, a nonprofit organization that aims to change the standards of the music industry so that every working music creator can build a secure, sustainable career, I’ve watched this industry dodge its reckoning long enough. In response to this reality, The 100 Percenters launched the Safe Music Business Pledge. A public commitment from companies across the music industry to four clear principles: Protect your employees at work and in studio sessions; Reports harassment and abuse when it occurs and takes action; does not tolerate inappropriate or abusive behavior; and creates a safe space for those who do not feel protected.
The Pledge and its demands
That’s it. Four commitments. None of these are controversial.
Organizations such as the Recording Academy, BMI, SONA, LVRN and others have already signed the pledge, and we look forward to continued support of this important work. We are looking for record labels, publishers and management companies with artists, songwriters, producers and employees in their ranks. Companies that have the resources and influence to set the standard for the entire industry.
Anyone who has not signed the Pledge is not automatically unsafe, and anyone who signs it is not automatically safe. But the signing sends a signal that counts. It tells your artists, your songwriters, your producers and your employees: We see the problem and are ready to do something about it.
The laws are evolving, the culture is shifting, those affected are raising their voices, and the public is watching. The reckoning that this industry has so far avoided is coming. The question is which side of this you will be on.
Act now
If your company has not yet signed the Safe Music Business Pledge, please visit the100percenters.com and do so this month. If you are an artist, songwriter or producer reading this, I ask you to share the Pledge with the companies you work with and explain to them why it is important to you. We’ve even prepared a template on our website that makes this as easy as possible.
The Safe Music Business Pledge is a concrete step toward ensuring that the people who create the music that powers this entire ecosystem can do so without fear. The industry is built on songs. Let’s make sure everyone who writes, produces and performs them can walk into any room knowing they are protected.
