RAYE has spoken out against “evil” practices in the music industry, claiming “songwriters are being manipulated”.
The musician made the comment backstage at Coachella, where he spoke with A rolling stone. “We’re all here at Coachella mainly to see the songs we love, to hear the lyrics and melodies we love,” she began. “And there are some incredibly, stupidly, ridiculously talented people who can’t pay their rent who write the songs. And that’s wrong, and that’s wrong. It’s just bad, if I’m going to be transparent.
She went on to urge “big platform artists and big songwriters” to “help take a stand,” adding: “Songwriters are being manipulated.”
One common practice in the industry, she claims, is for record companies to force songwriters to agree to a 10 percent split and no royalty points. They did this by threatening to withhold their songs: “If you don’t sign this agreement right now — the songs won’t come out. We won’t use it. All your hard work will go to waste.”
RAYE argues that the lack of fair pay has resulted in working-class songwriters being disadvantaged in the industry: “Are we now saying that if you’re rich and you come from wealth and from money, you can be a songwriter because can you stay afloat? Can you do it out of passion for love?” she asked.
“But I say some of the best songwriters we have come from real life, real working class. And that’s where some of the best stories are. We Listen to Music is a commentary on the human experience. There are the songs. And you will treat these people as expendable parts? Evil, manipulative, nasty things happen.
RAYE finally concluded by saying: “There is a really bad problem – but songwriters need to be properly paid and respected. Period.”
The singer-songwriter has spoken out about low pay for songwriters before. In March, for example, she criticized music industry executives who underpaid writers while making huge profits themselves.
“You have these CEOs and major label executives living in their fat huge mansions in Chelsea, living the beautiful life, meanwhile the songwriters you’re making money off of are broke, can’t afford rent and are struggling for scraps of publications sitting in bank accounts for two years before they get a penny because the publishers have kept it there so they can collect interest and make a whole separate business,” she said.
She also slammed the current distribution of master credit points to songwriters, saying: “The label will take, say, 80 points. The artist, in a good deal, will take maybe 20, 15 or maybe 12 and then the producers get four points, but that has to come out of the artist’s points.
“And the songwriter doesn’t even get one point. It’s disgusting, the whole industry is disgusting. This is one small example of what happens behind closed doors where there is no accountability.
The multi-British winner also spoke to NME in 2022 about her struggles with the label, saying, “When you sign with a record label, they’re technically working for you: you’re signing with a label to work for your career and take you to that next level.
“But as a woman, I just don’t feel that way. You feel like you work for them. And you know, some of the things I had to put my body through to even be able to do that… it’s really, really sad.
After calling out her former label Polydor for preventing her from releasing her debut album in 2021, RAYE parted ways with the label weeks later. She released her debut album My 21st Century Blues independently in 2023, with NME calling it “bold, brilliant and unmistakably his own”.
