Hit Different - #AgeingIn and the ageism problem within Australian music
"Older people have something to offer" - Cloher

Music journalists Mikey Cahill and Sosefina Fuamoli break down the ageism problem facing Aussie music with performer Jen Cloher.
Is too much emphasis being thrown on the younger generation in the music industry?
The crew at Hit Different, featuring co-hosts Mikey Cahill and Sose Fuamoli, as well as guest Jen Cloher, all believe the current ageism discussions within Australian music are pertinent.
It particularly hit home for Cloher, who has experienced it directly as a middle-aged female artist releasing albums later than most other performers in the music industry. Having started in the entertainment industry before switching to music, Cloher can see similarities between both areas.
“I do remember right from the start there was this narrative that we all knew that wasn’t really spoken about, that you need to make it within the first 10 years of your career, and if you don’t, you’ll never make it,” Cloher said.
“When I moved into music, I discovered that it was exactly the same. We can all think of some silver foxes that retain their appeal right through their 50s, 60s and 70s, whereas for women it’s less forgiving.”
Similar sentiments were echoed from Fuamoli. The music journalist entered the industry when she was 22, but still felt pressure placed on her immediately.
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We covered it on Hit Different, a weekly podcast that puts music culture in context.
“I remember in my first year, people asking me what I wanted to be doing when I was 25, if I was planning on having kids,” Fuamoli remembered.
“At the time it really did get into my head, not only am I coming in as a person of colour in a very white dominated industry, I’m coming in as a young female.”
It made both Fuamoli and Cloher feel like they were entering the industry “on borrowed time”, which has recently been expressed by many on the Instagram page Beneath the Glass Ceiling. Already known for their voice surrounding the #MeToo movement in the Australian music industry, the page has now begun a #AgeingIn campaign that tells the tales of many Aussie performers and their fight against institutions ruling them out because of age.
It led Cloher to argue that performers in the industry are being made famous too young, arguing that older people are more prepared for the spotlight.
“I think it’s really unhealthy for people who haven’t fully formed to be thrown into such intense scrutiny, it’s a really weird thing where we worship youth in white dominant culture,” she said.
“Not only is there no age at which humans are performing at peak at all cognitive tasks, there may not be an age at which humans are at peak on most cognitive tasks,” Cahill explained.
“So whatever wisdom we’ve accrued and however good we are at something, that’s how we should be judged, and that’s an issue we should be rolling.”
Hear the full story on Hit Different, a free weekly podcast that puts music culture in context.