Despite a round of applause from the room, not everyone agreed with Chappell’s speech including Jeff – the former Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
In a column for The Hollywood Reporter, external, he said the speech was “noble… but wildly misinformed”, calling her “too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be”.
Jeff, who has worked for the Atlantic Records label and with stars including Kelis and Kelly Clarkson, said labels “are businesses, not charities”, getting a share of profits in return for taking a risk on new artists.
While he acknowledged things could improve, he also described Chappell as “disingenuous” for criticising the industry that “elevated” her to mainstream success and then “continuing to profit from that very system”.
He added Chappell was “no longer a struggling artist” and that “she should do something about it – rather than just talk at it”.
In response, Chappell said on Instagram: “Mr Rabhan, I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is’ – genius!
“Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same,” she added, after revealing her donation.
