Ellie Goulding has revealed she felt ‘vulnerable’ and ‘intimated’ working in nearly all-male-run studios when she launched her singing career.
The Love Me Like You Do singer said she would even wear baggy clothes with no make-up to avoid creating any distractions for her or anyone else.
Goulding said male producers would ask her to go out for a drink and that it would sometimes become ‘a romantic thing when it shouldn’t’ have. The star, now 36, said such advances were ‘kind of a currency’ in the music industry.
Speaking to Radio 4’s Today Programme, Goulding said there are much better protections in place for young musicians today than when her career began in 2010, with her own record label now providing chaperons and councillors for new talent.
She said: ‘It was very obvious to me that I was a woman with mostly men around me. And it was a bit intimidating and there were times where I felt a bit vulnerable and then when I went into the studios years down the line I still felt that vulnerability.
Ellie Goulding has revealed she felt ‘vulnerable’ and ‘intimated’ working in nearly all-male-run studios when she launched her singing career. Pictured: Goulding speaking about her experiences on Radio 4
The Love Me Like You Do singer rose to fame in 2010. Pictured: Goulding performing in London in October
‘I’d often go by myself, I spend a lot of time by myself, so I just stumbled into studios alone and it would often be with male producers, so that was always in the back of my mind.
‘I would go to the studio purposefully in baggy clothes, things like that, not because I thought anything was going to happen, just because I wanted to be there to work and to not have any distractions for myself or anyone else.’
Visiting her old college in Hereford as part of a segment on appearance as a guest editor on Today, the artist spoke to students about working in the music industry prior to the MeToo movement.
MeToo began in 2017 after allegations of sexual abuse were made against Harvey Weinstein, which he was later convicted and jailed for.
It saw a number of high-profile stars come forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault against high-profile male figures.
It sparked a global movement, affecting other industries outside the entertainment world.
Goulding said MeToo was ‘really, really important’ as it led to more people opening up about ‘their personal studio experiences’.
‘I had experiences which, in my head, I sort of normalised and thought, oh, ‘maybe this is just a thing,’ she told the BBC.
Goulding previously said she felt ‘too scared’ to speak out during the #MeToo movement over fears of being judged
‘You know, when you go into a studio and afterwards the producer asks if you want to go for a drink. And I’m quite a polite person, I don’t like letting people down. I don’t like disappointing people.’
‘It was like a sort of unspoken thing where if you’re working with male producers, that was almost like an expectation, which sounds mad for me to say out loud, and it definitely wouldn’t happen now,’ she added.
‘I mean, very rarely, because things have just really changed.’
The singer, who grew up in Herefordshire, previously opened up about feeling guilty over not initially speaking out when the #MeToo movement began.
She said she was ‘too scared’ of being ‘judged’ about her own experiences.
Goulding previously admitted a producer had made a ‘suggestion of something’ when she first started out, offering to let her stay with him or make a remark while they were in the studio together that left her feeling ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘vulnerable’.