“The ‘industry’ strings you along with these empty accolades but labels paying you on time can keep your life from falling apart”: Beyoncé session guitarist Justus West says awards don’t pay the bills – and labels need to take more accountabili

Accolades, social media followers and industry prestige are all well and good, but in-demand guitarist Justus West has taken to social media to issue a timely warning that awards don’t pay the rent.

West is in a good position to comment. His session work includes credits on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, which recently won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In his post, he acknowledges there is a “currency” in such awards, but makes the point that sometimes musicians simply cannot afford to wait for the pay-off, even from high profile nods.

“It’s funny because the ‘industry’ strings you along with these empty accolades,” he writes on Threads. “Grammy wins CAN change your life over the course of time. Don’t get me wrong they are a FORM of currency. Sadly landlords don’t take ‘clout.’ Labels paying you on time can keep your life from falling apart though.”

West had previously lifted the veil on what it’s like to be a working session musician on a high-profile project such as Beyoncé’s.

“For those of us who worked on the album…..it’s career suicide to get online and spill the beans,” he shared on Threads.

“Not only would you be disbarred from the Beyoncé camp, no other artist would trust you could keep confidence. You’d essentially be out of the circle of trust for big/major projects that require a level of silence.”

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The guitarist also agreed with a commentator who wrote, “It’s not even difficult to not say anything,” asserting that the real struggle is getting “my checks to clear.”

West is not alone in his take, either. It comes at a time when musicians, even those at the top, are becoming increasingly vocal about how the industry supports or, in many cases, fails to support, artists who fuel the whole ecosystem.

At this year’s Grammys, Chappell Roan made waves by calling out record labels and demanding that they “offer [artists] a livable wage and health care, especially developing artists.”