Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike on Britney Spears and the pressures placed on young music stars

Music Ally Focus Ep. 94: Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike is a rock ’n’ roll cultural historian and author, who recently wrote the critically acclaimed and best-selling books You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone: The Biography of Nico and Being Britney: Pieces of a Modern Icon. We spoke to her about the pressures placed on music stars, including burnout, overwork, and (social-) media stress – with Britney as a central example, but also leaning on knowledge from Jen’s past work in the music industry history. She worked in senior positions at Interscope and with artists like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Dr. Dre, Gwen Stefani, U2, and Eminem – before she left to start a new life in the UK. Amongst other things she’s co-founder of Moving the Needle, a nonprofit organization that supports women in the UK music industry through their careers. She spoke to Music Ally's Joe Sparrow about how we can create a better space for artists to produce the music we love. There's also an eye-opening anecdote about a clown, and much more Phil Collins than this podcast is usually comfortable with. Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike: jenniferotterbickerdike.com Jen’s podcast: jenniferotterbickerdike.com/podcast Most jalapeno chilli peppers eaten in one minute  Phil Collins - Sussudio youtube.com/watch?v=r0qBaBb1Y-U ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb