Roan spoke out against unfair labor practices within the music industry during her acceptance speech, saying:

“I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists. 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. It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized. If my label had prioritized it, I could have been provided care for a company I was giving everything to. Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection.”

    • grrgyle@slrpnk.netEnglish
      2·
      7 hours ago

      One of the things about capitalism is it obscures labour relationships. So an individual person can be a total peach, but because of how our present economic system works, they benefit and perpetuate exploitation of people like wage-labourers, who don’t own capital themselves.

      This is kind of the sentiment behind the phrase “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism,” but of course it applies even moreso to the very very wealthy. They make bigger ripples.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        4 hours ago

        You should put down that phone and anything else that you need for survival then. As the mining labor to make most of the shit you use, is done from the poor. To someone in Africa, you’re an extremely wealthy person. To some in china, same thing.

        Wealth doesn’t magically make someone a shitty person.

        • grrgyle@slrpnk.netEnglish
          2·
          4 hours ago

          Yes that’s exactly what I’m saying.

          I don’t intend to be shitty, and if I met these workers I would be very kind and polite to them.

          But because of our system, and my relative wealth, my actions are causing them strife. I’m getting further ahead because I benefit from their exploitation.

          I didn’t plan that, nor do I want it. I may not be shitty but I’m part of a shitty system.

          Do that make sense? I only ask because you brought up poor workers like it might be a rebuttal, no offense. Maybe I’m misreading.