"Ended all the greedy record labels": Fans react as Chappell Roan wins hearts with plea for healthcare, liveable wage during Grammys acceptance speech

Fans are praising singer Chappell Roan for her acceptance speech as she accepted the Best New Artist trophy at the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 2. During the speech, The Pink Pony Club hitmaker urged the record labels to treat artists better by "paying them healthcare and a liveable wage."

She then alleged that she felt "dehumanized" after her first label treated her wrongly. She further requested that the labels provide their artists with better "protection" by paying them a fair income.

Talking about the same, Chappell Roan then said:

"I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand 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.”

Now once her speech went viral, people took to @PopBase’s X post to react to the same.

“SHE ATE THIS AND ENDED ALL THE GREEDY RECORD LABELS,” wrote one netizen.

One X user said that the labels should listen to the artists now and not take advantage of them.

“Chappell Roan said what needed to be said—labels, it’s time to do better....," another one commented.

“She wins her first grammy and the first thing she does is try to make things better for others! SHE'S AMAZING,” wrote another X user.

“She right they do these labels make so much money off artists and take advantage of them behind closed doors,” another X user supported her.

Additionally, other netizens also preached to the choir as one said that it was going to have an impact on the labels while another one alleged that these labels are corrupted.

“Oh this is gonna have a big impact on music,” an X user predicted.

“Record labels are so corrupt. They only care about getting money.. This is why modern music is so terrible compared to music back then,” wrote another netizen.

“As an artist, I agree,” another one echoed.

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Chappell Roan drew from her own alleged bad experience with the record labels

Roan rose voice against the labels (Image via Getty Images)

During her speech, which she read from a notebook during the Grammys, Chappell Roan further claimed that the system allegedly fails small musicians. As she took the stage, she first thanked her family, friends, and management team before talking about the difficulties she had as her first record label allegedly dropped her when she was a teenager.

She went on to stress that she reportedly felt "so dehumanized" and "so betrayed" after losing her first label deal.

During the Grammys, she further said:

“As 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 … quite a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and [could not] afford insurance…”

This was about the fact that Chappell Roan was a teenager when she joined Atlantic Records in 2015. However, in 2020, the label dropped her. She then continued:

"If my label would have prioritized artists' health, I could've been provided care by the company I was giving everything to. So record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protections…”

Drawing from her own experience, the singer further added that:

“It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanised. If my label had prioritized it, I could have been provided care for a company I was giving everything to.”

Chappell Roan then went on to claim that record labels should treat their musicians like valuable workers by poviding them with protection and health insurance.

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On a different note, this was Chappell Roan’s first time winning a Grammy.