Ep#199 - Louise Distras - Cancelled By The Music Industry
May 17, 2024
auto_awesome
Musician Louise Distras discusses cancel culture in the music industry, sharing experiences of being banned and dropped for her views. She delves into the challenges of recording new music amidst bias. Topics include clashes with online trans activists, cult-like behaviors in gender debates, and the impact of class identity on progressive movements.
Louise Distras faced cancellation in the music industry for standing up for women's rights and free speech, highlighting vulnerabilities and exploitation within the industry.
Louise Distras discusses the challenges of expressing her identity as a woman in music amidst evolving gender definitions, emphasizing the constraints of language norms in the industry.
Deep dives
The Challenges of Cancellation in the Music Industry
Louise Distrass shares her experiences of being cancelled in the music industry, starting with her first cancellation due to standing up for women's rights and freedom of speech. She highlights the exploitation and vulnerabilities in the industry, leading to her being blocked and exploited, resulting in her first cancellation without even realizing it. This pattern of exploitation and fear is common in the music industry, making many artists reluctant to speak out.
Navigating Gender Ideology in the Music Industry
Louise Distrass delves into her experiences with gender ideology in 2021 when she confronted issues of hate speech and the subjectivity of language. She highlights the challenges of expressing her identity as a woman in her music amidst the evolving definitions of gender. The pressure to conform to specific language norms restricts artistic expression, creating a narrow bandwidth of acceptability in the industry.
Impacts of Self-Censorship and Creative Freedom
Louise Distrass reflects on the importance of creative freedom in her music, emphasizing the need to explore dark and personal aspects through her artistry. She discusses the existential threat posed by self-censorship in the current climate, where artists feel confined to narrow boundaries of acceptability. The freedom to express and explore diverse themes in music is essential for the authenticity of artistic creation, despite external pressures.
Building a Counterculture Movement in the Music Industry
Amidst challenges and cancellations, Louise Distrass embraces the idea of a countercultural movement in the music industry. She envisions a space where artists have autonomy over their work and audiences can make informed choices. The pushback against censorship and dictation reflects a growing desire for alternative platforms and a return to creative independence. Distrass highlights the resilience and solidarity within the countercultural movement, driven by the need for artistic expression and freedom.
This week on The Knight Tube, Stephen Knight (@GSpellchecker) speaks to musician Louise Distras (@LouiseDistras)
0:00 Intro 0:37 About Louise 1:00 On the perception of ‘cancel culture’ and a bad childhood. 6:13 Policing the language women are allowed to use in this debate 7:13 The political climate in the music industry. 11:20 What first got you in to trouble on the gender debate? 13:28 Being banned from Bandcamp and dropped from her booking agent. 20:27 Is Louise able to record new music now? 22:02 The Smiths singer Morrisey 25:26 Online trans activist mobs 26:55 What happened with Billy Bragg? 30:02 Religious and cult-like behaviour 32:20 Is there a class issue in all this? 35:44 Would Louise keep quiet about this issue if she could go back in time? 39:08 The power of smears and cause for optimism? 43:06 Has your fanbase increased? 45:19 The problem with Spotify
This conversation was recorded before Louise was arrested in December 2023.