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Taylor Swift - Swift made headlines when she wrote a letter to Apple Music in 2014. She said it was "shocking" and "disappointing" to not pay royalties during their three-month trial, which was eventually changed.

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Prince - It's reported that Prince described the music industry as "a matrix that is counter to what is natural and right."

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Shakira - "Dealing with boys at work and being the only girl can be challenging," Shakira told Glamour. "There are jokes made almost every second of the day. I had to develop a tough hide."

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Michael Jackson - MJ had a big battle with Sony in the late '90s and early 2000s. "The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists [...] they steal, they cheat, they do everything they can, [especially] against the black artists," he said at a public appearance.

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Ariana Grande - "I would just love to see a chart with as many women on top as men," Grande told Billboard. "It's so easy for them. There are so many unbelievable female artists out there that try so much harder."

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Seal - "The music industry is really funny," Seal has said. "When you have a hit record, everyone knows who you are [...] then if you have a miss, people suffer from amnesia."

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Anna Kendrick - Not just an actor, Kendrick scored a top 10 hit in America with 'Cups.' "I have this sense that the music industry is just shady as hell. I don't want to be a part of it," she told Indiewire.

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Jussie Smollett - "I know about homophobia in the music industry," Smollett told Cosmopolitan. "Obviously, we're dealing with homophobia in hip-hop; we're dealing with homophobia in the black community."

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Kate Bush -

Kate Bush told the BBC that "the music industry is in such poor shape; it's in a really bad way," adding that "a lot of people in the industry are very depressed."

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Dolores O'Riordan - The late singer told the National Post about her industry frustrations. "We took time off [in 1997] when Oasis broke and Princess Diana died and I was home with my baby hating the music industry."

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Nina Simone - In perhaps her most humorous interview, Nina Simone discussed almost shooting a recording executive for stealing from her. "Oh yes, sorry I didn't get him," she told the BBC.

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George Harrison - Before the Beatles broke up, Harrison told CBC about how, after their manager died, the band discovered they were involved in business they had no idea about.

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Kelly Rowland - Kelly Rowland has often talked about the mayhem of the music industry. One of her singles, 'Dirty Laundry,' is a candid song that details her struggles.

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Alanis Morissette - Alanis Morissette has won many awards throughout her career, but had enough at one point. "I believe very much that the music industry as a whole is mainly concerned with material success."

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Kurt Cobain - "I wish there had been a music business 101 course I could have taken," the Nirvana frontman once said.

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Billy Corgan - The Smashing Pumpkins frontman told Billboard: "this business has no plan for a future, and we are getting jobbed, to use a wrestling term, by the tech industry [...] that's building off of our content."

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Rufus Wainwright - Talking with The Guardian, Wainwright said, "there's prejudice everywhere [in the music industry]," adding that "I have taken a few hits over the years for my sexuality, and for being honest about my life."

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Frank Zappa -

The eccentric artist said "the whole music business in the United States is based on numbers," adding that "it's not based on beauty, it's based on hype and it's based on cocaine."

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Trent Reznor - The Nine Inch Nails frontman told the LA Times: "I'll be honest, watching the music industry collapse has been demoralizing."

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Rebecca Ferguson - The UK 'X Factor' alum said, "this industry can be tough on everyone," adding "the first few years in the music industry can be a steep learning curve."

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Chuck D - Speaking with MacWorld, the Public Enemy frontman said, "I think too much of the music industry is for the lawyer and accountant mentality."

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Kelis - Kelis has a complicated relationship with the business. "The music industry is a world of smoke and mirrors," she told The Guardian. "I tend to stay away from that."

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India Arie - "For the first 10 years of my career, I felt suffocated," the R&B singer told Oprah.com. "I hit rock bottom. I couldn't find myself because I was looking to be defined by the music industry or by being number one on the Billboard charts."

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Skylar Grey - Speaking with Octopus Media, Skylar said she "didn't have any knowledge of the music industry" when she started. This led to "a spiral of depression and being broke."

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Jonathan Davis - The Korn frontman famously said: "the music industry can make you feel like a prostitute."

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Chubby Checker - The iconic rock'n'roller said: "it takes a real soldier to stay in the music industry."

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Kelela - Kelela has made it her mission statement to combat the faulty side of the music biz. "I'm pushing back against the white, misogynistic, heterosexual establishment in the music industry," she told Time.

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The-Dream - The-Dream is an accomplished solo act, and has written huge hits for just about everyone. He told Billboard that "artists are treated like slaves."

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Donovan -

Donovan told the Express that "millions" of his money "came and went, stolen by the robbers in the music industry."

See more: Music to fight for: political singers around the world.

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