TW: Racial Microaggressions
Emma Rouine
Rina Sawayama all but in name dedicated her song STFU! to 1975 frontman Matty Healy during her Glastonbury set this year. In doing so, she stood up for artists that have been subjected to hateful, racist rhetoric.
Taking to the stage at Glastonbury, Sawayama introduced STFU! by saying, “I wrote this next song because I was sick and tired of microaggressions. So, tonight, this song goes out to a white man who watches Ghetto Gaggers and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters. I’ve had enough.”
It was clear who she was talking about, despite not explicitly naming him. In taking such a stance, Sawayama made a cutting comment about Healy and the music industry as a whole. She was brave, bold and fierce, but it was disappointing that it needed to be said in the first place.
The Podcast Appearance
To understand the significance of Rina Sawayama’s comments, we can turn back to the podcast she referred to. The Adam Friedland Show hosted Healy as a guest last February. In the episode, Healy joked about having watched content from the pornography website Ghetto Gaggers, a page home to misogynistic and racially degrading content. The site regularly features BIPOC women being subservient to white men, fetishising the brutalisation of women of colour.
“Just because Healy didn’t make his own racist jokes does not mean he should be held less accountable than hosts Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen.”
The podcast also made racist jokes about the rapper Ice Spice as they speculated about her heritage. The podcast’s hosts mocked her by imitating a series of Chinese and Hawaiian accents. Healy can be heard in the background laughing at these imitations. Just because Healy didn’t make his own racist jokes does not mean he should be held less accountable than hosts Adam Friedland and Nick Mullen. By laughing at these imitations, he showed support for these problematic behaviours. It has become normalised in society to make fun of marginalised communities, when, in reality, jokes like these are tired and boring.
The episode has since been removed from streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple. However, it is still available to watch on Youtube.
Ownership and Original Recordings
“Healy recently ended a five-year stint as the creative director of Dirty Hit Limited”
A song’s master is its original recording. Sawayama did not expand on the extent to which Healy owned her masters. However, it is important to note that both The 1975 and Sawayama are signed to Dirty Hit, an independent record label founded by Jamie Oborne in 2009. Healy recently ended a five-year stint as the creative director of Dirty Hit Limited, following his termination on 4th April 2023.
If Healy does own Rina Sawayama’s masters, it means he holds the copyright to the original sound recordings, gaining the right to license the artist’s recordings for use in adverts, TV and film. Through his ownership, Healy also receives royalties any time the song is played.
Racist jokes, power, and public statements
Although there have not been any further developments in relation to the ownership of Rina Sawayama’s masters since Glastonbury, something more significant has come to light.
The blatant truth here is that Healy, a privileged white man, has publically engaged in racist rhetoric towards women of colour breaking into the music industry. He made these comments while still a director on the label that not only represents Rina Sawayama, but also other women of colour such as Beabadoobee and Wallice. The fact he behaved in this manner and faced so few consequences, whilst acting as a representative for these women is a shocking indictment of the music industry.
Rina Sawayama and Taylor Swift
Reactions have varied across social media, with some believing that Sawayama’s claims discredit Taylor Swift and the struggle she underwent to reclaim her masters from Scooter Braun and Big Machine Records. But, just because Swift was denied the opportunity to buy back her masters does not make it acceptable to dismiss Sawayama’s experience. We cannot speculate about what takes place in meeting rooms and behind closed doors.
What we do know is that Healy has made chauvinistic comments towards women of colour. He made these comments during a time when he held an executive position at a label that Sawayama belongs to. Many of her songs reflect on personal experiences where she has endured racism from men just like Healy.
“Their music is in the hands of someone it should not be.”
The key takeaway from this online discourse is that when it comes to an artist’s music, they should never have to feel invalidated just because their experiences are different to those of another artist. Who has the right to say that a response is not valid because the artist does not have the same platform? Their music is in the hands of someone it should not be. Someone who does not respect it. This is the essence of the whole debate, there is no respect.
Sawayama defended herself, and other artists subjugated to their labels supporting racist rhetoric. They think that due to their entitlement and privileges in society, those who they oppress will sit in silence. The chorus of STFU! is a true anthem for Sawayama, and for anyone who has been the target of micro-aggressions.
Sometimes there’s no better way to get your point across than telling someone to “Shut the f*** up.”
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Photo courtesy of James Genchi on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
Emma Rouine
Emma is a Dublin-based English literature student, with a primary focus on lifestyle and music journalism. When she isn't writing, she can be found at a concert or obsessing over her latest music discovery.