Young women in music industry need support

Like everyone else, we at CoverGirl were both saddened and shocked to learn this week of the tragically premature death of Amy Winehouse.

Although she had a sound and a style that harked back to the glory years of Motown, Winehouse, with her dark beehive, rockabilly tattoos and diminutive frame, which belied her deep and capacious sound, was truly inimitable.

Already the consensus is that, despite being just 27-years-old and only two studio albums into her career, Winehouse’s place in the pantheon of great British vocalists is truly assured.

In a sense, there is a feeling that the singer, like other members of the “27-club”, such as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, didn’t live any less of a life than many of us who go on to live well into dignified old age – It could be said that all of these artists lived a kind of distilled existence, where in their short lives they produced truly remarkable music that will still be resounding loudly and profoundly in the world long after most of us are forgotten.

But this does not in anyway lessen the tragedy or the thoughts of what might have been had they gone on to live longer lives.

The death also reminds us of the unique pressures endured by young people and, increasingly, young women, in the music business.

For whatever reasons, drug addiction and alcoholism are rife in an industry where younger people surely need more protection.

This, no doubt, is a truism, yet we should be wary of stereotyping. There are plenty of responsible and sober young women in the music business who are frequently and unfairly tarred with the brush of prejudice, a fact which can cause especial problems when they are trying to obtain insurance policies, whether for life insurance, workplace insurance or car insurance, and come against insure algorithms that bracket them as “high risk”.

Labels: 27 Club, Amy Winehouse, car insurance, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, young women