Issue #85: Chappell Roan’s Speech Isn’t Just About Health. It’s about Equity.
Same as it ever was.
By Marissa
It’s the Tuesday after the Grammy awards, and we’re still talking about music’s biggest night: Beyoncé of course (more on that eventually, don’t you worry, I just need some time), Sierra Ferrell’s huge wins (hell yes – but why wasn’t she in the main categories and up for best new artist? Make it make sense!), and whether or not Kacey Musgraves made a face when she lost her award (there are so many things wrong with this, including how we do not do this stupid game for men and how we’ve done this to Kacey in the past when she lost an award to Miranda Lambert. Seriously people, it’s embarrassing. What would your face look like if you lost an award, anyway? Aren’t we all human? Anyway, I digress)…
But, aside from the aforementioned conversation around Beyoncé and country music, the thing I can’t get out of my head is Chappell Roan’s speech about healthcare and a living wage as she accepted her award for Best New Artist. Outlets like NBC News generally referred to this as “calling out record labels” which is undoubtably true, but oversimplifying: she was calling for something that is so fundamental to art and humanity, which is health. And when we’re talking about health, we’re talking about equity.
“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,” Roan said, explaining that after she got dropped from her label during the pandemic, she couldn’t afford insurance herself. Artists are independent contractors, not employees, so they are expected to pay, more often than not, out of pocket for private insurance. “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and so dehumanized to not have help,” she continued.
In so many ways, this one particular issue speaks to so many others that are constantly skirted around when we are talking about equity in the music industry: it speaks to race and class, of course. It speaks to gender. It speaks to trans rights and to mental health. It’s all wrapped up here. Why don’t we talk about this more? To solve it would help us solve so many of these other problems – so perhaps that’s the answer right there. It would tilt the power scale.
After Roan’s speech, I immediately thought about Sierra Ferrell. Not just because she already won four awards, and not just because I really, really wished she was also nominated for Best New Artist alongside Roan. But because when I profiled her last year, one of the first things she told me was that she only recently got health insurance. I was shocked, though unsurprised: health insurance for artists is essentially a perk only awarded when you get to the level you’re able to afford it. Ferrell had been open about her struggles with mental health and wellness, and I am thankful that she felt willing speak about it all – it’s very helpful to others. But all of these things are related. I don’t need to tell anyone the body and the mind are connected. Many therapists are not covered by insurance, but (covered) doctors are often the first step to mental health care – to access to medication (which, again, if you don’t have insurance, can be thousands of dollars a month). The industry cannot claim to prioritize the mental health of artists when it doesn’t support health insurance for all artists, regardless of success level. Full stop.
And then there’s the equity issue, as there always is when we’re talking about healthcare. Want to see a more racially diverse music industry at the granular level? I’m not talking about the superstars, I’m talking about the up-and-coming artists. Part of that answer is healthcare. White supremacy and generational wealth – and not just even massive wealth, but middle class comfort – means better and easier access to healthcare. Sometimes that can be the difference between weathering a hard year on the road and having to throw in the towel completely.
And want to see more women, mothers and parents in music or on tour? Address the issue of representation of women in country music? Healthcare’s a huge part of that, too. My bill when I had a baby, before insurance, was somewhere in the six figures. I have access to insurance through my husband (like artists, freelancers aren’t provided insurance either, but that’s a story for another day). But if you don’t, motherhood is all but impossible. And hey, maybe that’s the point? If we start providing insurance to artists and musicians, mothers might be more visible and powerful and normalized. And who wants that (sarcastic voice)?
This is an issue of trans rights, too, something that Roan and Lady Gaga both brought up on stage, which I applaud them for. But you guessed it – healthcare is part of this, too. Provide healthcare to up and coming trans artists, take care of their minds and bodies in the way we do powerful cishet popstars, and we might actually see them on these Grammy stages – not just talk about them.
It's not just the labels at fault here. It’s also the successful artists, who often don’t provide their touring band and musicians with healthcare despite treating them like employees while on the road. Rachel Beauregard, who tours with Maren Morris, posted on Instagram yesterday about how Maren is one of the rare artists who does provide insurance to her band – also noting that she’d heard Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift and Metallica all do the same (I haven’t independently confirmed). In country music, we’re supposed to be all about the family, right? So shouldn’t healthcare be a given so we can start and support and raise those families? Right?
Even politicians agree that this issue is dire enough that it should be addressed in congress. While it wouldn’t provide insurance directly, the The Living Wage for Musicians Act bill, introduced by Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman, is “built to pay artists a minimum penny per stream, an amount calculated specifically to provide a working class artist a living wage from streaming.” The organization A2IM also provides discounted healthcare to artists. None of this is enough.
It’s also important to remember that when we treat artists as independent contractors, their rights as a whole - not just healthcare - are limited. This was something I talked about repeatedly when I reported on sexual harassment in country radio - artists are contractors, so there are numerous challenges when it comes to protecting yourself when you are the target of verbal harassment. After my piece ran, legislation was filed by Rep. Brenda Gilmore and Sen. Jeff Yarbro - naturally, because this is Tennessee, it never made it off the floor.
So the Grammy awards can talk about steps toward equity, and I applaud those they have taken to this point. But healthcare and a living wage has to be on the table to truly make measurable progress not just for superstars, but for everyone. As Roan said, “record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection. Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”
"I don’t need to tell anyone the body and the mind are connected. Many therapists are not covered by insurance, but (covered) doctors are often the first step to mental health care – to access to medication (which, again, if you don’t have insurance, can be thousands of dollars a month). The industry cannot claim to prioritize the mental health of artists when it doesn’t support health insurance for all artists, regardless of success level. Full stop."
yup. The part about generational wealth, too.