Gatekeepers killing creativity

Gatekeepers are killing creativity because they are extinguishing artists' sparks before they can even step through the gate

Gatekeepers are the people standing between you and your dreams. They are the people in charge, they are the ‘powers that be’. Women in the music industry face adversity daily. They’re told that they have to do certain things to succeed because even in the digital 21st century, they're abusing their power. This is a problem that transcends gender, race or religion.

The textbook definition of ‘Gatekeeper’ is “an attendant employed to control who goes through a gate”. They are the labels, the managers, the producers and in some situations, they are the Artists. Gatekeepers are people in power, who can elevate your career. They used to be needed and positive figures, but over time the abuse of power has been apparent.

Jessie Reyez talked about her experiences with gatekeepers in her 2017 hit single ‘Gatekeepers’. This song is about her saying no to a music proposal by a gatekeeper. “You know we’re holding the dreams that you're chasing”, a line from the song that stuck with me. In an interview with Pigeons and Planes, Reyez explains that she wanted to unify people who have had the same experiences.

JoJo, Kesha, Taylor Swift, and Jessie Reyez, to name a few, are some of the musicians that have faced the abuse of gatekeepers, from sexual assault to the withholding of masters. The power dynamic is not equal, with outstanding issues such as the patronising attitudes of promoters and sound engineers to labels expecting artists to use sex to sell, whether that be in a conventional or rebellious way. If gatekeepers can do this to well-known musicians, imagine what they are doing to Artists trying to break into the industry.

“The powers… is in the fans”, G-Eazy said in a 2015 interview on the subject of gatekeepers with Amarudontv. People are discovering music in new ways and new artists are going around the gatekeepers and self-releasing music. The gatekeepers are losing their power, which has enabled musicians, like Taylor Swift to be more creative than ever.

New artists are being told what to wear, how to style their hair, what’s wrong with their faces and how it can be fixed with just a little surgery, how if they just do a simple favour and meet the gatekeeper in their hotel room for a ‘meeting’, they’ll make all their dreams come true.

You shouldn't have to rely on anyone to make your dreams come true. So instead of waiting for the right gatekeeper to notice you and give you the opportunity that you’ve been waiting for, with pages of contracts that basically explain that you’re selling your soul to them, realise that you are your own gatekeeper, the only person that is not opening that door for you, is you.