Musicians have to sit beside sexual abusers at award ceremonies, MPs have said as they warned that misogyny and discrimination is “endemic” in the industry.
The Women and Equalities Committee has held an inquiry into the sector, where it found sexual harassment and abuse was common.
But it said many women did not report the incidents as they worried about whether they would be believed – or if their careers would be over as a result.
The cross-party group has recommended a number of measures to be put in place, including changing the Equalities Act to offer more protections to freelance workers and increased investment to get more women into the sector.
“People in the industry who attend award shows and parties currently do so sitting alongside sexual abusers who remain protected by the system and by colleagues,” the report said.
It added: “The music industry has always prided itself on being a vehicle for social change; when it comes to discrimination, and the harassment and sexual abuse of women, it has a lot of work to do.”
Committee chair, Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, called for a “shift in the behaviour of men” in the industry to ensure the “transformative change” needed.
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Image: Caroline Nokes is Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. Pic: Sky News
The committee gathered evidence from a range of people within the sector, from industry bodies and festival organisers, through to artists.
They concluded women were underrepresented in key roles across the industry – shown most clearly in the number of female artists signed by record labels or on festival line ups.
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And while the numbers were “improving”, in certain areas progress is “slow and shackled by discrimination, misogyny and sexual abuse in an industry that is still routinely described as a ‘boys’ club'”.
They also said for women trying to get into the industry, they faced “unjustifiable limitations in opportunity, a lack of support, gender discrimination and sexual harassment as well as the ‘persistent issue of equal pay’ in a sector dominated by self-employment” – which was even worse for women from other minorities.
And while the MPs said abuse and discrimination was not unique in music, it was “amplified” by the high number of freelance workers, the informal nature of many workplaces, and “late-night working, often in places where alcohol and drugs are available, can result in women working in environments that are unsafe”.
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Is rock really only for the boys?
The committee has called on the government to change the Equality Act to give the same support against discrimination to freelance workers, and impose a duty on employers to protect workers from sexual harassment by third parties.
The also want non-disclosure agreements to be banned when it comes to cases of sexual abuse, harassment or misconduct.
The MPs called on ministers to increase investment in talent from a range of backgrounds, including through official schemes, and create pathways for women in male-dominated careers, such as sound engineering and production.
And they said record labels should regularly publish statistics about the diversity on their books.
Ms Nokes said: “Women’s creative and career potential should not have limits placed upon it by ‘endemic’ misogyny which has persisted for far too long within the music industry.
“Our report rightly focuses on improving protections and reporting mechanisms, and on necessary structural and legislative reforms.
“However, a shift in the behaviour of men – and it is almost always men – at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms.”
Thirteen unreleased Beatles tracks are set to feature on a new Anthology compilation – almost 30 years since the last.
The announcement comes following a big hint from Sir Paul McCartney and the other official Beatles social media channels, which all shared a carousel of images containing the numbers one to four on Instagram the day before the announcement.
Anthology 4 will feature 13 demos, session recordings and other rare tracks that have never been released before, similar to the first three Anthology compilations, which were released between 1995 and 1996.
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Details of a full track listing are yet to be revealed. There is no indication the release will feature any completely previously unheard songs.
A book and documentary series, The Beatles Anthology, is also being remastered and streamed on Disney+, billed as “The Beatles’ story, in their own words”.
The series will include a new ninth episode featuring previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage of Sir Paul, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, filmed as they made the collections.
Beatles producer George Martin’s son Giles has remastered versions of Anthology 1, 2 and 3, and all four will be released in a new box set in November.
The 191-track set will also feature new mixes of Free As A Bird and Real Love – the singles from Anthology 1 and 2 – using the late John Lennon‘s vocals. These have been mixed by the songs’ original producer, Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne.
The box set will also include the original liner notes for the first three anthologies as well as a new set of notes on Anthology 4 by Beatles author Kevin Howlett, and an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews recorded with The Beatles’ close friend and adviser Derek Taylor.
The Beatles are the best-selling musical act of all time, having achieved 18 number one singles and 15 number one albums in the UK alone since they formed in 1960.
Prosecutors in the Sean “Diddy” Combs case have urged the judge to reject a request by the hip-hop mogul for acquittal or retrial on prostitution-related charges.
He was cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking. The trial would have been “totally different” if these charges had not been included, his defence team argued, saying they lacked credibility.
Image: File pic: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Now, prosecutors have responded to the request for the conviction to be thrown out, or for a retrial, saying in a court document that there was “ample evidence” presented during the trial that supported the jury’s convictions.
“[Combs] masterminded every aspect of freak offs,” the document says. “He transported escorts across state lines to engage in freak offs for pay. He directed the sexual activity of escorts… for his own sexual gratification. And he personally engaged in sexual activity during freak offs.”
The two transportation for prostitution charges Combs was convicted of fall under America’s Mann Act, which prohibits interstate commerce related to prostitution.
The rapper’s lawyers have argued that, to their knowledge, he is “the only person” ever convicted of these charges for the conduct he was accused of in court.
Image: Combs’s reaction after hearing the verdicts following his trial. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
“The men chose to travel and engage in the activity voluntarily,” the defence team said in their submission to the judge for acquittal. “The verdict confirms the women were not vulnerable or exploited or trafficked or sexually assaulted during the freak offs or hotel nights.”
In their response, prosecutors said “evidence of the defendant’s guilt on the Mann Act counts was overwhelming”.
Combs, one of the most influential hip-hop producers of all time, is due to be sentenced in October. Each charge carries a potential jail sentence of 10 years.
He would have been facing a mandatory 15 years – and up to life – in prison had he been convicted of the charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, of which he was exonerated.
Combs fell to his knees when the verdicts were read out, and his team later hailed it a “victory”.
The rapper has already served nearly a year at a federal jail in Brooklyn, where he has been since his arrest in September 2024.
He has been in contact with Donald Trump about a pardon, a source close to the rapper’s legal team told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News earlier this month, but the president has cast doubt on this actually happening.
Judge Arun Subramanian, who heard the trial, said Combs has not met the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence a “lack of danger to any person or the community”.
The police watchdog has closed its investigations into the circumstances leading up to the decision to charge TV presenter Caroline Flack with assaulting her boyfriend.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially recommended a caution after the alleged assault in December 2019 – but London’s Metropolitan Police appealed and the Love Island host was charged with assault by beating.
Various reviews into the way the case was handled have been carried out by the CPS, the Met, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) since Flack’s death. In April 2024, the star’s mother told Sky News she believes her daughter’s celebrity status likely contributed towards the decision to charge her.
It has now emerged that the IOPC closed its latest investigation, relating to the actions of officers in appealing to the CPS, in January 2025 – finding the outcome was “reasonable and proportionate”.
An IOPC spokesperson said it received a complaint referral from the Met, which contained “a number of allegations about the force’s investigation” into the alleged assault, in March 2024.
Image: Flack presented The Xtra Factor and one series of The X Factor with Olly Murs. Pic: AP
The majority of the allegations had already been investigated by the force and reviewed by the IOPC, the watchdog said, so it found no further action was required. However, the Met was directed to investigate one aspect of the complaint “on the basis there may be new witness evidence available”.
This related to the actions of officers in appealing the initial CPS decision, and five allegations were returned to the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) to “resolve in a proportionate manner”, the IOPC spokesperson told Sky News.
In June 2024, the Met found there was “no new evidence that would alter any previous outcomes”, the spokesperson added, and the complainant asked the IOPC to review once again.
“Following that review, in January 2025 we found that outcome to be reasonable and proportionate.”
A Met Police spokesperson said DPS officers made further enquiries and examined the evidence last year. “It did not change the original outcome that the service provided by officers was acceptable,” the spokesperson said.
“The family were advised of the outcome in June [2024] and then appealed that outcome to the IOPC. The IOPC carried out a review and, in January 2025, found no new evidence that would alter any of the previous outcomes.”
Both the Met and the IOPC have closed their investigations. The IOPC said another review could be considered in light of any new evidence.
At the end of Flack’s inquest, coroner Mary Hassell said the alleged assault had “played out in the national press” following her arrest and had a serious impact on her mental health.
In April 2024, her mother Christine Flack told Sky News: “This wasn’t domestic violence. This was an accident. But she was portrayed in the court and in the newspapers as a domestic abuser, and that’s what hurts. That’s what I want got rid of – because she wasn’t.”
She said she believed her daughter was treated differently due to her celebrity status. “And that’s not on. She shouldn’t be treated better, but she shouldn’t be treated worse.”
Image: Caroline Flack at the launch of Strictly Come Dancing, which she went on to win, in 2014. Pic: Dominic Lipinski/PA
This was not the first investigation into the handling of Flack’s case, with the Met initially referring itself to the watchdog just a few days after her death.
The DPS found there was no misconduct, prompting another complaint from Flack’s family to the IOPC.
In 2023, the IOPC ordered the force to apologise for not recording its reason for appealing against the caution, but said it had not identified any misconduct.
Flack’s boyfriend, Lewis Burton, had said he did not support the prosecution, and following her death her management released a statement criticising the decision.
At the time, a CPS spokesperson said it was normal practice for prosecutors to hold a debriefing after complex or sensitive cases have ended.
“This has taken place and found that the case was handled appropriately and in line with our published legal guidance,” they said.
Flack, 40, presented shows including spin-offs I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! NOW! and The Xtra Factor, as well as one season of the main X Factor show with former contestant Olly Murs, before becoming best known as the host of Love Island. She also won Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.
Sky News has contacted Flack’s family for comment.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK