Charlotte Church - ‘I was totally exploited. I was a commodity’
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Exploitation and financial abuse in the industry
Charlotte details being exploited by the male-dominated music industry, poor contracts, and a manager taking a large share of her earnings.
Charlotte Church is currently starring in the first ever series of BBC One’s Celebrity Traitors. But she first found global fame as the young classical singer with the voice of an angel. By 22, she had sold 10 million records and performed for popes, presidents and princes. The success came at a devastating personal cost - here, she tells us what really happened and how she found her way into what is arguably her most powerful iteration yet: her healing phase.
This episode was recorded live in Bath earlier this year.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
06:33 Reconnecting with Nature
08:55 Psychedelic Experiences and Healing
10:31 Creative Struggles and Musical Journey
16:38 Reflections on the Music Industry
21:09 Family and Ambitions
21:33 Struggles with Patriarchy and Colonialism
22:30 The Symbolism of Tattoos
24:13 Understanding Patriarchy
29:57 Challenges in the Music Industry
31:28 Personal Identity
34:39 Embracing the Wild Woman Archetype
40:08 Balancing Fame and Personal Beliefs
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
There's no two ways about it: I was not looked after, I was not nurtured, I was just totally exploited. I was a commodity and the industry was incredibly razor sharp.
What makes us advance, is suffering.
I'm dreaming of a world where everybody can start to feel what balance truly feels like.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Charlotte is starring in Celebrity Traitors on BBC One
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
📚 WANT MORE?
Tom Daley - discusses overcoming perfectionism, anxiety, and the fear of failure. He also shares how failure shaped his resilience and coping strategies - like knitting! https://play.megaphone.fm/deiztbmwsrw-vz5by9ajtw
Claudia Winkleman - talks hilariously about her dislike of perfectionism, her introversion, struggles with sleep and the challenges of living in the present. https://play.megaphone.fm/cszzpxoqqb6_jx2furt7ba
Paloma Faith - reflects on her experiences with rejection and self‑judgment, struggling to conceive, and the tension between her public persona and inner vulnerabilities. https://play.megaphone.fm/rq-vrlg6sla2hyboi6znkq
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
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Live Engineer: Will Kontargyris
Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Sound Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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