“Random dudes are allowed to criticise my Grammy speech, but they best put their money where their mouth is, otherwise MOVE out of the way”: Chappell Roan stands her ground on need to support developing artists
And Halsey backs her up
![Chappell Roan at the 67th Grammys Awards](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mEG4nRXhgwk576ykkjn2Gj-1200-80.jpg)
It’s been more than a week now, but the fallout over Chappell Roan’s ‘controversial’ Grammy acceptance speech continues to rumble on.
You may recall that the singer – who won Best New Artist at last week’s awards – used her platform to call out the music industry for not doing enough to support up-and-coming artists, saying if she ever won a Grammy she would “demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a liveable wage and health care, especially developing artists... Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees... We got you, but do you got us?”
Not unduly controversial, you might think. But it seemed to irk Jeffrey Rabhan, a music executive and ex-Chair of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. In an op-ed for the Hollywood Reporter, he called Roan’s intervention “misguided” and “ill-informed” and said she should “do something about” wealth disparity “rather than talk about it.”
She since has, pledging $25,000 to Backline Care, an organisation that aids struggling musicians, a figure that has been matched by other artists including Charli XCX and Noah Kahan. Now Roan has responded to Rabhan’s comments.
In an Instagram story, she wrote: “Sharing my personal experience on the Grammy stage wasn’t meant to be a crowdfunded bandaid but a call to action to the leaders of the industry to step up, help us make real change and protect their investments in a sustainable way.”
“My mind will not be changed about artists deserving more than what’s standard in the industry. Random dudes are allowed to criticise my Grammy speech, but they best put their money where their mouth is, otherwise MOVE out of the way.”
In two follow-up posts, she reiterated that this was a call from industry action: “Fans, y’all don’t have to donate a damn penny. This is one of many opportunities for the industry powers to show up for artists. There is much more work to be done.” She also posted a pic of the receipt for her $25,000 donation to Backline.
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Roan has been backed up by fellow artist Halsey, who criticised Rabhan’s article, describing it as a: “ranting, seething tantrum (that) is loaded with assumptions and accusations that generalise the experience of every artist to that of the most successful. Our industry is comprised of thousands of voices, the elite at the very top of the class are not the example of a monolithic experience of all artists.”
Indeed. A 2023 survey by the Help Musicians charity reported that sustainable income was a barrier to 44% of artists, with 23% saying that they were unable to support themselves or their families. For every Roan that makes it to the banqueting table, there is a vast army of musicians, all dependent on the crumbs.
Will Simpson is a freelance music expert whose work has appeared in Classic Rock, Classic Pop, Guitarist and Total Guitar magazine. He is the author of 'Freedom Through Football: Inside Britain's Most Intrepid Sports Club' and his second book 'An American Cricket Odyssey' is due out in 2025
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