Oztix Founder Shares Apology After 'Insensitive' Remarks At AWMAs Industry Panel

Brian “Smash” Chladil, the founder of Oztix, has apologised for making “insensitive” remarks at this week's Australian Women In Music Awards conference.

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Artist Jamie Lee Dimes brought to light comments made by Chladil. She penned an article on her Substack and shared parts of the essay on Instagram on Wednesday (2 October), which widely circulated amongst music industry figures in Australia.

Chladil participated in the Brothers for the Sisterhood session at the Australian Women In Music Awards on Tuesday (the event is separated in two days, with the first about conferences and the second spotlighting the award ceremony) and made comments that were “triggering” for numerous people listening to the panel, including Dimes.

In her Substack and accompanying Instagram post, Dimes accused Chladil of making “deeply troubling remarks that perpetuated harmful stereotypes about women in the workplace.”

Dimes wrote that Chladil said that “pent-up men on-site” were unable to control themselves if they were away from their wives for a fortnight, claimed that he described a woman’s clothing as a “distraction” and recalled sending a woman working at a music festival site home to get changed based on what she was wearing.

In addition to those comments, Dimes claimed that Chladil said women in the music industry require “thick skins” to deal with commentary and rhetoric delivered by men, and they should “give it back.”

Dimes also described the Brothers for the Sisterhood panel as a “downward train wreck” and called it a “sobering example, post-Me Too, of where we are at, what hasn’t changed, how bad it is, and how there are no safety measures when it comes to confronting toxic masculinity and misogyny head-on.”

The Music was not in attendance at the panel.

Responding to Dimes directly, Chladil apologised by commenting on her Substack, stating that the 48 hours since making comments during the panel were “humbling.”

“I've reflected on my words and how my insensitive attempt at telling old stories – which was intended to express how far I thought we'd come – did not at all mirror my values or respect those in the room,” Chladil wrote.

“I truly apologise to you, I apologise to the AWMAs and everyone involved, and I apologise to the Oztix team for not representing where we want to be as an industry. I commit to doing better.

“Sincerely, Brian (Smash).”

In a written statement, the AWMAs responded:

The board of Australian Women in Music, the not for profit company which produces the
Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA), wants to acknowledge that some of the comments made by Brian Chladil in our Brothers for the Sisterhood forum session that formed part of the AWMA Conference Program were triggering for a number of people in the room, and otherwise offensive to many others who were present. At the outset, we want to applaud the dignity and grace of those who spoke up both in the session and after, raising their concerns and comments respectfully.

We also want to sincerely apologise for any harm or distress caused to anyone in the room (including those on the panel).

The concept of the Brothers for the Sisterhood session was to explore the role of men, their
gender education, actions needed to achieve gender equality and their messages to other men.

To that end, the panel included a range of men with diverse backgrounds. One of the key
priorities for Australian Women in Music in all aspects of our Program and, especially through
the Conference Program, is to provide a safe space for difficult and sometimes challenging
discussions. We regret the session falling short of our goal.

Australian Women in Music is a small organisation with a hefty mission. We will continue to
place gender equality front and centre and to recognise all those who have been fighting the
same fight as us – for safety, for opportunity, for creative excellence and freedom to express the
deepest truths of ourselves. Australian Women in Music does not condone misogyny, sexism,
homophobia or racism in any way. We hope to use the lessons learned from this session to
continue our cause to progress the conversation in a positive direction.

We urge anyone who has been impacted to seek support through the following organisations
listed below. We also encourage further conversations, including reaching out to us with your
thoughts and suggestions.

Chladil is the co-founder of Oztix, which is the most successful independent ticketing agent in Australia. 2024 marks the company’s 20th anniversary.