Chappell Roan calls for health care expansion, livable wage for developing artists in Grammy acceptance speech

“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,” Roan said, “I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage, especially to developing artists.”

Roan personalized the plea, recalling her experiences with getting kicked off of her insurance, a common occurrence in the wealthiest nation in the world that doesn’t provide universal healthcare for some reason. “Because I got signed so young—I got signed as a minor—when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance,” Roan continued. “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanized to not have health care. If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could’ve been provied care by a company I was giving everything to.”

The “Pink Pony Club” singer also called on the recording industry to “treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and protection. Labels: we got you, but do you got us.”