Based on the unscientific sample of artists I have grouped in a list, it strikes me that the bigger artists - especially those signed to major labels - are much less likely to have said anything about political events lately than the smaller/independent musicians, who you’d expect to be in the more precarious position. Makes me wonder whether there’s a contractual element to how they conduct their social media presence, though it could just be that they’re more likely to have someone else managing their accounts in a ‘safe’ manner.
Regardless of the reason, it’s conspicuous that those with larger platforms are less likely to be engaging with anything that could prove controversial.
Acts I have seen take clear political positions in the last few weeks: Björk, Julia Holter, Fatima Al Qadiri, Gazelle Twin, Bored Lord, Joshua Idehen (Benin City).
In the past being outspoken was a way to catch attention and carried less short and long term repercussions than now.
Now, with social media’s impact, an artist runs the risk of a hornet swarm on their art / career / income that they cannot control, and could see them cancelled. Also with social media, you dont get to say something provocative and disappear until the next time the NME interview you - you have to, in real time, be ready to engage to defend and argue your position (and why you put your head above the parapet). Also, I dont think the potential slow play out of arguing fits the characteristics of artists / musical creatives so much.
The other element going on here is the hyper-complexity of the world we live in as liberal democracy flounders and developed countries’ societies fracture: almost any point of view one takes now will inflame someone and provoke a reaction.
It surprises me how quiet many artists are around things like Spotify funding Rogan or changes to streaming. Maybe it all feels too complex to speak up or you don’t think their fans will care?
One of my theories is that in the past, if you had topics you cared about, music was a vehicle to say something in song and in the media. Now, if you’re an activist you can do this without needing to create music or art to spread your message.
I dunno this feels a bit generalised. I can think of plenty of musicians who take stances on things. Similarly I can think of plenty of sporting figures who coulldn’t give a toss about anything past their income.
Also wonder if there’s a cultural divide here because a lot of the musicians who spring to mind are Irish.
I guess also the arts in general are much more dominated by privileged people than they used to be, and sport is essentially meritocratic (insert caveats) which means much more people from working class and marginalised backgrounds, or people from or with personal links to the global South, get a platform through sport.
I’m a bit more cynical about the idea that sports personalities are leading the way on this stuff. In football there’s been an eagerness to be aligned with progressive causes and so players and managers have been encouraged to speak out on certain issues. But whenever something is at stake these gestures have proved to be completely hollow (see the England team changing their minds about wearing the rainbow armbands at the World Cup or champion of LGBTQ rights Jordan Henderson moving to the Saudi league cos they drove a truck load of money up to his house)
This is something I think about a lot. Especially as talent in sport is nurtured by resources and there’s little like that in music. Now, to even get a record deal or manager, you need to have developed your talent to a certain point. And as a working class kid who ran a magazine, promoted gigs, managed artists, released records… there’s very little support or resource for career development or to help me fund artists (there’s lots of booster grants that go directly to musicians but you can’t as a manager take any commission on these, despite the time required to do the applications, so end up spending Arts Council, PRS and BPI money to third parties whilst continuing to work unpaid in the hope of something to take commission on in future…)
I wasn’t saying leading the way, but some of the biggest stars have spoken up about things from mental health to human rights.
Meanwhile, I don’t think I’ve seen male footballers for instance comment on misogyny at women’s World Cup or build a counter narrative around Tate’s toxicity.
Feel like the “people don’t make political music anymore” debate has been going on at least since I was a teenager, so at least 20 years or so.
I think music as a medium changed somewhat with the dawn of the internet. Pop/rock/rap music was once the way of getting a message across to young people. People would tune into hear something revolutionary that they wouldn’t hear in the media and connect with a world otherwise beyond their reach. I think people are somewhat less interested in hearing those messages in their music as escapism, and the world is evolving so quickly that by the time you leave the studio the political message on your album will be outdated anyway. Ultimately there’s always all kinds of music out there. It’s the public that make something cool/popular, but people aren’t choosing to latch onto that kind of thing all that much. That’s not to say no one is doing it (Kendrick Lamar and RTJ strike me as big artists who’ve made social commentary very prominent in their music and success in recent years) just that it’s not particularly en vogue.
Obviously that doesn’t/shouldn’t stop people speaking out publicly in favour of what they believe in regardless of how political their actual music is though.
Actors and comedians do tho. And not sure why you wouldn’t buy something from someone supporting humanitarian aid or food banks or defending the homeless or speaking up for refugees or highlighting issues with climate change? Or even campaigning for fairer royalties or to save grassroots venues that you once played
The discourse from fans on social media if you share an opinion on such matters is huge either way - if I were a musician I’d be a lot less outspoken than I am for fear of alienating a % of my tiny income. And if someone doesn’t know enough about the subject to give an opinion they probably shouldn’t nor should they be pressured into doing so
There is an unrealistic expectation for all musicians to be political
I actually think there is a huge problem of piling expectations on people because they have platform and it’s not healthy - I remember when Klopp was asked a question about Covid and he said ‘why are you asking me - its not my job and I don’t know enough about the subject to give you an opinion worth anything’ and found it refreshing that someone didn’t give an answer about something they’re not knowledgeable about rather than throwing an uneducated take into the ocean - but others started calling him out as if he was some sort of covid denier - he shouldn’t have been asked the question he’s a football manager not a politician/scientist/doctor. The internet has fostered an unhealthy mindset that everyone needs an opinion that has to be shared on everything - this needs to stop.
Think the constant probing for peoples opinions on social political issues is a HUGE part we’re where we are at right now in terms of divide and why people are getting sick of political issues appearing in the mainstream.
And to be frank I GET IT - I am sick of everything becoming a political issue that I cannot choose to ignore so I’m just ducking the conversation as much as possible these days.
Even in the past, you look at musicians who were trying to do something positive, like Band Aid and Live Aid, and wonder, despite the good intentions, if those involved didn’t do more harm than good due to their general ignorance and perpetuating harmful stereotypes. It’s OK to say you are not an expert on, for example, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and don’t want to make things worse by wading into an extremely complicated political issue as a public figure with zero education on it, who’ll be grilled by the right wing press on any stance they do take.
You don’t have to be an expert to know that the indiscriminate bombing in Gaza is wrong. I think that’s all anyone would ask of a musician, to point to it and say this is wrong.
I think it’s a massive over simplification that every musician should come out with some sort of superficial statement in support of Palestine, while saying ‘that’s that, no more questions please’.
We’re also very happy with outspoken musicians who say what we want them to say, but there’s a perfectly good chance that what they’d come out with would be the very opposite.
