By Keeley Reiford
At the Grammys on Sunday, Feb. 2, Chappell Roan mentioned, during her acceptance of the Award for Best New Artist, that music artists are barely making any money nowadays.
This fight has been going on for years between the artists and their streaming platforms, specifically on Spotify. Artists make about three to five cents per stream, so, the smaller, less-known artists in this industry who do not have much money flowing in from somewhere else, are struggling to afford all their expenses.
So, in the desperate efforts of the struggling musicians, they have to find work elsewhere. Looking for another job is hard, especially if the person is not interested. Musicians are then forced to live from paycheck to paycheck due to their low income and the low amounts of money coming in every day. This injustice has been going on for a while, but how long will it take for people to realize that this is a pressing issue for musicians?
Like many great movements throughout history, someone must take charge and lead this debate. There have been little to no efforts made to eradicate or diminish this issue. However, one must think, when is it time to stop reposting on Instagram about it, and start making real changes moving forward?
It’s important to acknowledge that this is a problem in society. What is the point of having a job if you can’t even pay for the basic needs of every human being?
Musicians are a part of the large entertainment industry that every audience loves and enjoys. From the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to Broadway, and Super Bowl halftime shows, there are so many things that we watch that these performers will perform dozens of times until it’s perfect. Artists like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and other musicians have an adoring fanbase, and they deserve the right to have good wages.
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