I’m gonna go ahead and say that Chappell Roan’s acceptance speech for Best New Artist at the 2025 Grammys is going to go down in awards show history. Because Roan took the opportunity to challenge a room full of, “the most powerful people in music,” to treat the young artists signed to their labels better.
After first acknowledging the other artists nominated in her category, Roan continued, “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy…I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists.”
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Roan explained that when she was first signed to a label she was still a minor, and when they later dropped her, she was left with no work experience and struggled to get a job during the pandemic, and couldn’t afford health insurance. “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system.”
It is time, Roan said, for record labels to treat their artists as valued employees by paying them a living wage and offering healthcare. She concluded with a banger: “Labels, we got you but do you got us?”
Obviously, this is not the first time Chappell Roan has used her platform to speak up about something important to her, no matter how controversial. It wasn’t even the first time she spoke up that night. On the red carpet, Roan spoke up about trans rights. “It’s brutal right now, but trans people have always existed, and they will forever exist, and they will never no matter what happens take trans joy away, and that has to be protected more than anything,” she said.
Read Chappell Roan’s acceptance speech in full:
Thank you to my fellow nominees, who got me through this year, Brat was the best night of my life this year. My hat’s gonna fall and it’s gonna be ok. Thank you all who listened to get me here today, and Dan and Island Records, Amusement Records, my friends and my family. And above all, my papa Chappell, who I named myself after. 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 healthcare, especially to developing artists.
