Riyah Collins
BBC Newsbeat
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Chappell Roan asked “Labels – we got you, but do you got us?” during her acceptance speech for Best New Artist
Chappell Roan has responded to criticism of a speech she gave calling for artists to receive a living wage while accepting her Grammy for Best New Artist.
The Pink Pony Club hitmaker was honoured at the ceremony on Sunday and used the platform to urge music labels to provide more support, including healthcare, to developing musicians.
While she received a standing ovation from the audience, music executive Jeff Rabhan branded Chappell “disingenuous” because she’s profiting from the industry she’s calling out, adding she was “wildly misinformed”.
Responding on Instagram, the US singer says she’s donated $25,000 (£20,000) to support struggling artists and encouraged Jeff to match her donation.
The 26-year-old’s break-out hit Good Luck, Babe! catapulted her to mainstream success last year and she was recognised with a trophy in Los Angeles.
On stage, Chappell said she’d always told herself if she ever won a Grammy and had the chance to address “the most powerful people in music”, she would demand that “labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a liveable wage and healthcare”.
Chappell, who was first signed when she was 17, shared that she struggled to find a job after being dropped by her label in 2020 and could not afford health insurance.
“It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanised,” she said.
She added labels need to treat artists as “valuable employees”, asking them: “We got you, but do you got us?”
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It’s not the first time the singer has called out the music industry
Despite a round of applause from the room, not everyone agreed with Chappell’s speech including Jeff – the former Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
In a column for The Hollywood Reporter, he said the speech was “noble… but wildly misinformed”, calling her “too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be”.
Jeff, who has worked for the Atlantic Records label and with stars including Kelis and Kelly Clarkson, said labels “are businesses, not charities”, getting a share of profits in return for taking a risk on new artists.
While he acknowledged things could improve, he also described Chappell as “disingenuous” for criticising the industry that “elevated” her to mainstream success and then “continuing to profit from that very system”.
He added Chappell was “no longer a struggling artist” and that “she should do something about it – rather than just talk at it”.
In response, Chappell said on Instagram: “Mr Rabhan, I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is’ – genius!
“Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same,” she added, after revealing her donation.
The article has been criticised by stars like Halsey who said it generalised the experiences of artists.
“If you want to profit off of someone’s else’s art, that artist should have the basic living means to feel safe enough to create that art,” the Without Me singer said.
Up and coming artists have often spoken about the challenges they face trying to break into the industry.
A report in 2023 by the Help Musicians charity found a lack of sustainable income was a barrier to the careers of 44% of artists who took part in their survey and 23% said they were unable to support themselves or their families.
It’s not the first time Chappell has called out the music industry either.
She previously told the BBC she’d be “more successful if I wore a muzzle” after a backlash to her comments about “creepy” fan behaviour and taking a break to focus on her wellbeing.
BBC Newsbeat has reached out to Jeff Rabhan but has not had a response. PMC, which publishes The Hollywood Reporter, has also been approached for comment.
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