Are Record Labels Doing Enough To Support Emerging Artists? SAG-AFTRA Weighs In After Chappell Roan’s Grammy Speech

deadline.com:

Chappell Roan has ignited a firestorm after she called out record labels for not doing enough to support their artists, especially burgeoning ones, during her speech at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards.

While accepting the gramophone for Best New Artist, Roan spoke about her own experience having to move back home and start from scratch after five years as a recording artist when she was dropped by Atlantic Records in 2020. “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy, and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry, profiting millions of dollars off of artists, would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said.

Since then, think pieces have popped up across the internet about the validity of Roan’s call to action. Music executives are pushing back on the corporate greed narrative, insisting it’s just business.

Other artists, like Halsey, are backing Roan. Amid the online chatter, many questions have arisen about a potential solution: What responsibility do record labels have to providing health insurance to artists?