Equality
The Finnish Musicians’ Union is committed to advancing equality, tackling harassment and other inappropriate behaviour in the Finnish music industry, as well as creating safer spaces for professionals. The Union is involved in discussions and projects related to equality and safety in the sector. On this page you will find contact information, guidelines, and projects and discussions on the subject.
Contact information
Members of the Union can contact the union officials in cases of harassment and inappropriate treatment:
Juho Viljanen
Shop Steward for Freelancers (he/him)
juho.viljanen@muusikkojenliitto.fi
+358 (0) 40 5272 470
Jaakko Kämäräinen
Freelance Coordinator (he/him)
jaakko.kamarainen@muusikkojenliitto.fi
+358 (0) 50 368 4469
Sanni Kahilainen
Head of Communications (she/her)
sanni.kahilainen@muusikkojenliitto.fi
+358 (0) 44 544 0208
Safe at Every Stage
’Safe at Every Stage’ guidance offers clear advice to members on how to tackle harassment and inappropriate behaviour. The guidance applies to all work settings within the music industry and to all individuals and organisations participating in them.
The page contains guidance, good practice and useful links and ideas on how to act if you see or experience harassment, discrimination or inappropriate treatment in our sector. The guidelines also help you to reflect on your own actions – if you have experienced harassment, discrimination or mistreatment yourself, the guidelines offer support for resolving issues and relearning. It encourages all music professionals to appoint a contact person to deal with any incidents of harassment.
G Livelab venues’ safer space principles
G Livelab venues follow the safer space principles. Harassment of any kind is prohibited on G Livelab premises and events.
The Finnish Musicians’ Union owns the G Livelab venues.
Survey: Experiences of inappropriate behaviour are common in the Finnish music industry
Experiences of and encounters with inappropriate behavior are common in the Finnish music industry. According to the recent survey commissioned by organizations from the music industry, three out of four people in the music industry have experienced inappropriate behavior in the past five years.
Inappropriate behavior takes many forms, including inappropriate comments and belittling, and discrimination or harassment based on gender, sexual orientation, or ethnic background. Those working in the industry hope that music industry organizations will do more to improve the situation. Grievances have already been addressed and many actors are developing policies to prevent inappropriate behavior.
The survey on equality in the music industry was commissioned by Finnish Musicians’ Union, Finnish Music Creators, Music Finland, IFPI Finland, The Collective Management Organisation for Recorded Music in Finland, Jazz Finland, The Finnish Music Publishers Association, Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras, The Society of Finnish Composers, Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society Teosto. The survey was conducted by an outside party, Inklusiiv.
General Assembly calls for equality in its declaration
In its declaration of 30 May 2022, the General Assembly of the Finnish Musicians’ Union called on the entire music sector and trade union movement to join in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in working life. The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the Finnish Musicians’ Union.
The equality survey of the music sector (2022) shows that those working in the sector face a high level of inappropriate behaviour. In particular, freelancers, young people, women, gender and sexual minorities, non-Finnish speakers and other minority music professionals often face discrimination, harassment, racism and inequality.
The sector needs to take action to improve the situation. Problems in structures, power relations and practices must be identified and actions taken, to ensure equality from grassroots to decision-making level.
Full declaration (In Finnish) >
Discussions
In Finnish
Responsible music industry: towards equality
Responsible Music Industry: towards equality event in autumn 2021 discussed ways to promote a fair and safe culture in the music industry.
The discussion was part of a joint project between the Musicians’ Union, Finnish Music Creators and Autiosaari Oy to outline, build and strengthen common responsibility practices within the industry.
Speakers at the event included artist Jesse Markin, saxophonist and music maker Linda Fredriksson, Yle X Music Director Tapio Hakanen and journalist Maryan Abdulkarim. The event was moderated by Helmi Saksala, Project Manager of the Responsible Music Industry project.