Opinion | Sean Combs Is a Chance to Remake the Music Industry

Twenty-seven years ago, I was on a family vacation in the Caribbean and my brother and I finagled our way into a New Year’s Eve party on a yacht docked at St.Barts.

I was a recent college graduate and it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the slew of boldface names onboard.But the sheen of the situation wore off quickly.

I thought I was being shown to the disco room when I was directed into a bedroom by a man who seemed to be an associate of the party’s host, Sean “Puffy” Combs.To this day, I can’t remember how I managed to talk my way out of that terrifying situation.Perhaps my nervous babbling — “My brother’s on this boat, and he’s probably looking for me!” — convinced him to unlock the bedroom door and let me go.When news broke recently that Mr.

Combs, a.k.a.P.

Diddy, had been indicted on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, my mind flashed back to that night on a yacht named, ironically, Dreamseeker.At the time, I assumed my experience was an anomaly, just one guy behaving badly at a drunken party.I still don’t know who he was or if he had any connection to Mr.

Combs, as it seemed.(Mr.

Combs has denied the allegations in the indictment against him and pleaded not guilty to the charges.) But I do now know, after 20 years as a music industry executive, that what happened that night was no aberration — it was an indicator of a pervasive culture in the music industry that actively fostered sexual misconduct and exploited the lives and bodies of those hoping to make it in the business.This toxic situation has been allowed to fester because power has been concentrated in the hands of kingmakers: wealthy, entitled, nearly always male gatekeepers who control nearly every door that leads to success and who can, without consequence, use their power to abuse young women and young men.Too often, women have not been safe in recording studios, on tour buses, in green rooms or in offices.It’s not a bug of the music business; it’s a m...