Under the bright lights of this year's Grammys, Chappell Roan stepped up to accept the Best New Artist award and delivered a message that cut through the usual gloss: “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a liveable wage and health insurance.” She spoke candidly about being dropped by her label during the pandemic and losing her health coverage. The crowd of music-industry heavyweights applauded. Roan ended with a pointed question: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” In that instant, she highlighted the gap between the showbiz sheen surrounding breakout stars and the harsh reality that many musicians struggle to access even the most basic forms of security.

Her call for labels to offer healthcare and a decent wage may have taken some of the suits by surprise. Traditionally, labels don’t see themselves as employers. They sign artists under contracts that treat them as independent contractors, not staff on a payroll. That keeps labels from being on the hook for pensions, insurance or paid leave, but it also means an artist who loses a contract can be left without a safety net. Roan knows this scenario all too well, recounting how she was “devastated” after her label deal fell through, costing her not just a platform but also her health cover. She’s not alone: a prominent survey by the Future of Music Coalition once found that around 43% of American musicians lacked insurance, more than double the national uninsured rate at the time. Healthcare premiums can be steep in the United States, and performing artists often juggle inconsistent income from gigs and side jobs, making it hard to keep up with monthly costs. In the UK, where the NHS covers doctor’s appointments and hospital stays, the conversation focuses more on mental health care, which can involve waiting lists so long that many are forced to either pay for private therapy out of pocket, or cope without much needed professional support.

Ariana Grande, who rose to prominence as a teenager on Nickelodeon before becoming a global pop star, has echoed Roan’s concerns in a different way. Appearing on a recent episode of ‘WTF With Marc Maron’, she argued that therapy should be a “non-negotiable” part of the contracts young performers sign. Having experienced sudden fame at 19, Grande said she was thrust under intense scrutiny almost overnight and believes record labels and production companies have a responsibility to provide ongoing mental health support. “To be an artist, you are a vulnerable person with your heart on your sleeve,” she observed, adding that the same person who pours everything into their craft is the one least equipped to handle relentless public pressure without help.

Yet the notion of labels treating artists as employees is more complicated than it first appears. In the United States, making an artist a genuine staff member might automatically render their music a ‘work made for hire’, meaning the label could own it outright from inception. Although many record deals do transfer a portion of rights to the label, the idea of labels being the default “authors” of all an artist’s work has a tense history in the industry. Many artists would feel uneasy about ceding even more control over their masters. Then there’s the matter of how labels structure risk. They invest in many new acts, expecting most to flop and a few to become profitable. Paying healthcare premiums or salaries for every hopeful newcomer might be seen as an untenable gamble, especially at independent labels that already operate on tight margins - meaning what's signed and supported is only the very safest bets. Some caution that any move to treat artists as staff might entangle them in stricter obligations. They may be more likely to be forced to fulfill a set number of projects, or operate on a more formal, rigid schedule, all of which doesn’t sit well with the creative process.

Regardless of these challenges, Roan’s speech has struck a chord. She was criticised in a shockingly adversarial op-ed in the Hollywood Reporter by Jeff Rabhan, a veteran music executive turned educator who dismissed her take as naïve. Roan responded immediately, pledging $25,000 of her own money to Backline, a non-profit providing mental health resources for people in the music world. Artists like Noah Kahan and Charli xcx followed suit, matching her donation to launch Backline’s new ‘We Got You!’ campaign. The gesture proved that Roan’s words were more than an attention-seeking stunt, and it placed a spotlight on whether labels and other music institutions will step forward to help. Halsey also rallied to Roan’s defence, noting that labels routinely earn more than half of a record’s revenue. Surely they can share a fraction of that to safeguard artists’ basic wellbeing, she questioned.

In practical terms, some frameworks already exist, albeit patchily. Major labels in the US pay into a union health plan run by SAG-AFTRA, which can provide cover for some signed artists who reach certain income or session thresholds. But many emerging acts don’t qualify, don’t know they’re eligible or record for smaller labels outside the scheme. In the UK, unions like the Musicians’ Union help members navigate support if they become sick or need mental health services, but it’s a far cry from having a guaranteed healthcare policy or a living wage from a record company. The conversation usually ends with the same roadblock: labels argue that the nature of a recording contract doesn’t involve taking on the liabilities of a traditional employer, while artists who can’t afford to see a doctor remain stuck in a precarious position.

Roan’s Grammy night plea has at least nudged the issue into the spotlight. Whether anything changes for younger acts remains to be seen. Labels have stayed mostly quiet, perhaps wary of making promises that might later cause legal headaches over authorship and employment status. For the moment, support comes from charitable organisations and industry peers donating to emergency relief funds. That approach, while commendable, is hardly a long-term fix. Some advocates say the real solution lies in better union coverage or government-led healthcare reforms—two routes that don’t rely on corporate goodwill or short-lived attention. Others wonder if new digital platforms might eventually let artists bypass traditional deals entirely, though it’s unclear whether that offers any more security in terms of health coverage.

For now, it’s Roan’s pointed question that lingers. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” stands as a challenge to an industry that has thrived on the dreams of bright-eyed newcomers. The people creating the music deserve a safety net. If record companies want a fresh wave of talent to fuel their future, it seems inevitable they’ll need to address the wellbeing of those they sign. Until then, Roan’s words will continue to resonate with anyone who thinks a career in music shouldn’t mean risking your health or sanity for lack of support.