Pushing the wrong buttons

That sexism sadly remains alive and well in the music industry is hardly a revelation - but it's alarming that it even extends to the gear manufacturers and surrounding community. Not only did TC Electronic release a guitar effects preset called the "Pussy Melter" in collaboration with Satchell of hair-metal oafs Steel Panther, but those who simply signed and shared an online petition against it in protest, such as Braids' Raphaelle Standell-Preston, were subjected to a barrage of abuse.

As Braids' remarkable track 'Miniskirt' underlines, Standell-Preston is not one to sit back and accept sexist abuse in silence. Sure enough, she's responded by recounting the experience for Pitchfork and offering a robust defence of her position, quite rightly dismissing accusations of being a feminist killjoy getting worked up over something that is merely harmless, parodic fun and insisting that the industry should not denigrate women - and indeed cannot afford to ignore half of its target demographic.