This year's GRAMMY Awards saw Best New Artist winner Chappell Roan use her acceptance speech to make a meaningful statement rather than simply thank the Recording Academy.

"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..." -Chappell Roan

Roan's comments sparked debate throughout the industry. By midweek, music industry executive Jeff Rabhan penned a 1,400-word rebuke in a guest column titled "Chappell Groan: The Misguided Rhetoric of an Instant Industry Insider."

With a condescending tone, Rabhan labels Roan as "too green" and "uninformed" - ironically failing to recognize that fresh perspectives are often exactly what calcified systems need to evolve. He believes that artists should only speak up after "earning their seat at the table,"—which is the kind of insider gatekeeping that has historically prevented meaningful industry reform. This dismissive attitude toward Chappell Roan's Grammy speech demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how change actually occurs—from the bottom up. The piece's repeated insistence that "real change doesn't come from speeches" ignores how public discourse often catalyzes systemic change.

Rabhan labels Roan's concerns as "performative activism" while offering no substantive solutions beyond vague suggestions about "putting money where your mouth is." Yet, since its publication, Roan has challenged the author to match her $25,000 donation to artists' healthcare support. As of February 11, 2025, Rabhan has not risen to the occasion, while multiple other artists have agreed to join in and match her efforts. His experience as a music industry executive could present a unique opportunity to bring value and a different, if not balanced, thinking to a group of artists uniting for change.

Rabhan's position stems from personal experience within the music industry - arguably as the sort of insider he accuses Roan of being. He understands the confounding complexities of the record label system, and he knows it's extremely common for artists to have a limited understanding of how the music business works - which, yes, could make them short-sighted or naive. And, it's fair for him to share why he thinks a record label deal shouldn't include healthcare. However, his response to Roan's comments is blindingly literal, focusing on implementation and completely misses the point.

The music industry was built on lopsided contracts that squeezed artistic genius out of people for profit. As long as the artists kept creating hit tracks, the label did not care about the true well-being of the artists. Artists have long been seen as workhorses created, owned, and operated by record labels. This opinion piece exemplifies that mindset and the music industry's old-guard mentality. Perhaps most revealing is the suggestion that artists should "stay independent" if they don't like label terms, willfully ignoring the massive power imbalance between young artists and major labels. This "take it or leave it" attitude perfectly encapsulates the industry's resistance to meaningful reform.

The reality is that speaking truth to power—especially on platforms as visible as the Grammy stage—is often the first step toward meaningful change. The blowback that the author has experienced has been swift and relatively unified. The artists and creators of this music industry want change, and Rabhan's comments might have given the movement some momentum.