Is music finally ready to confront misogyny? DiS meets CheerUpLuv

Sep 25, 2025

Eliza Hatch is a journalist, photographer, and the founder of the Cheer Up Luv project, dedicated to documenting everyday harassment in the music industry. In this engaging talk, she delves into the shocking stats revealing over half of women in music face discrimination. Eliza discusses the role of grassroots initiatives and how everyday sexism contributes to a hostile environment. They explore the responsibilities of men in combating misogyny and envision a safer, more equitable music scene by 2050, emphasizing the need for accountability and reform.

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ANECDOTE

Origin Story: Cheer Up Luv

Eliza started Cheer Up Luv after a man told her to 'cheer up' and she realised that everyday harassment was normalised.
She turned it into a photo series and then a wider platform documenting gendered harassment and creating community resources.

INSIGHT

Startling Stat Sparked The Investigation

The project's launch question was whether people were shocked that over 50% of women in UK music face discrimination.
That statistic and the government's initial rejection of recommendations triggered the deeper investigation.

INSIGHT

Everyday Harms Build Hostile Culture

Everyday micro‑aggressions like addressing only men or assuming women are groupies create an insidious, cumulative hostile culture.
These small acts are often unnoticed but make studios, gigs and venues feel unsafe and unwelcome.

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In music, abuse, harassment and discrimination is normalised whilst accountability and justice is rare, so how can change finally happen?

In this episode of the Drowned in Sound podcast:

For the past eight years, journalist and photographer Eliza Hatch has been documenting everyday harassment through her platform Cheer Up Luv. Following her recent Glamour investigation into misogyny in music, which has reached over a million people, DiS founder Sean Adams sat down to talk about the reactions to the stat that more than half of women in the industry have faced discrimination.

From government failures to arena tours by artists like Chris Brown and Marilyn Manson, this is a wide ranging conversation about the challenges and the solutions. We also hear how artists like Lambrini Girls and Nova Twins reacted to hearing that over 50% of women in music have faced discrimination.

And we talk about the role men can play in smashing the patriarchy, the rise of the far right, and what a safer, more equal music industry could look like by 2050.

Chapters:

00:00 – Misogyny and music: the scale of the problem
10:30 – Everyday discrimination that builds hostile spaces
20:00 – When the government rejects reform: stalled progress and NDAs
24:00 – The role of media, libel laws, and silence in enabling abuse
26:00 – Chris Brown, Marilyn Manson, and the “separating art from artist” debate
33:00 – Why accountability is so rare in the music industry
42:00 – Smashing the patriarchy is good for men, too
52:00 – The far right, feminism, and why musicians need to speak out
57:00 – What the industry could and should look like in 2050

Continue the Conversation:

Email sean@drownedinsound.org with your thoughts or experiences
Subscribe to the DiS newsletter for weekly insights on music, culture, and resistance

Links:

Cheer Up Luv on Instagram
Sign up to the Cheer Up Luv Newsletter
Eliza Hatch’s piece for Glamour
We Are Music - resources for musicians facing harassment
On Wednesdays We Wear Black - Podcast documenting Marilyn Manson’s crimes