Usually, you talk about a glass ceiling. A roof that is not seen that you will reach and can't break it. In many ways, I felt that ceiling in the music industry in Sweden. Like a silent shout that I shouldn't do thing better and just put my self in the line again.
The people who know me also know that I would never get in that line. I'm raised in the punk scene and just taking my DIY things one step further and still doing it my way.
Right now it has been a lot of glass ceiling. One quite big one was when I worked for the independent record industry since it was just 2% indie music on the radio. I was mainly telling them it's about the approach and how you do it. But they didn't listen to that ear instead they were trying to make radio to take in more independent through pressure.
Well, the pressure might have worked. Still, it was the approach that got the music in. Of course so when they took more music from the independent side I was one of the ones getting my artist played. Actually played most of all independent in the whole of Sweden. You thought that should make them happy, no way. My music was not in their plan. In reality, it was some special companies that should be played, not mine. I was just a miss in the planning.
I had hit the glass ceiling. Even since we performed what they wanted to achieve it was not right. They just kept ignoring what we had done. Then just stay under the glass ceiling was never an option. Of course, I took the whole thing abroad and got us to the major events instead.
It's kind of revealing that one of the most successful indie bands last year, was not nominated, not get invited to play or even got an invitation to go to the independent gala. Instead, they play on the biggest gala for all music in Sweden, got invited to the biggest galas in the world outside Sweden and also celebrated. With that, I knew I just went through the glass ceiling but in a point where they couldn't see me.
So the indie band just became a major band. The major community just embraced the band and took it to their hearts. I was talking to a journalist and he definitely thought the band was on a major label, not an indie "since you had such great success, I didn't think indie bands were allowed to do that!".
That statement made me think. Yes, there it was written on the wall. The indie really put in the glass ceiling there for holding people in line. This community is holding me back to be too successful. I looked into other successful indie companies, they were treated the same. Soon they got somewhere they were taken off and not helped when they need it. Instead, they found a new way and took that road alone.
In disgust, I jumped off all the boards I was working on. I won't be part of a system that only let you in if you are in a certain way. The funny part is that they talk a lot of letting women and people of different background in. Still, they must act and do as they do. The diversity is not there.
So who will be the turncoats later on? It will be turncoats I know it. And how will I react on to it?
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