Ken M SweeneyJan 2
Took this photo in my local media store today.
No think-piece required — the shelves speak for themselves.
Sexualised imagery. Interchangeable poses. Bodies foregrounded, music secondary.
This is still how female artists are sold. 🧵
#WomenInLeadership #WomensRights #womensequality
Show threadKen M SweeneyJan 2

When people say “old white men no longer run the music business”, I wonder who they think is signing off on this.
Because this isn’t accidental.
It’s conservative, familiar, risk-averse marketing — the kind that comes from entrenched power. 2)

#MusicIndustry
#MediaCriticism
#CulturalPower
#WhoDecides

Show threadKen M SweeneyJan 2
Worth noting: this isn’t about blaming artists.
Early-career musicians don’t hold leverage over cover art, retail placement, or promo strategy.
Those decisions are made upstream — by labels, marketers, and retail buyers. 3)
#Representation
#GenderInMusic
#WomenInMusic
Show threadKen M SweeneyJan 2
What’s striking is how outdated this looks.
We’re told the industry has evolved, yet the visual language hasn’t meaningfully changed since the 1990s — just better lighting and newer fonts.
Progress in rhetoric, stagnation on the shelf. 4)
#Gatekeepers
#PowerStructures
#CapitalismAndCulture
Show threadKen M Sweeney
If power had genuinely shifted, we’d see more variety: • more artist-led imagery
• less default sexualisation
• more emphasis on sound, identity, and longevity
Until then, claims of transformation ring hollow. 5)
#GenderEquality #HumanCondition #WomenInLeadership #WomensRights #womensequality #Respect #Music #MusicIndustry #MaleGaze #OutdatedMarketing
Jan 2 at 3:12pmMastodon for Android
Show threadIDUCtioNJan 2
@TheComfortableSpotPodcast https://youtube.com/watch?v=qGXQKqXVVxU
Spinal Tap- Smell The Glove

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