The Apolitics of Modern Music
Is contemporary pop a unifier or pacifier?
Luminate recently dropped its market share numbers for 2023, and the results are startling, if not shocking. Universal Music Group remains the largest major, with the industry giant increasing its share from 34.48% to 35.84%. This was largely driven by the success of Republic Records, whose success was largely driven by its deal with Nashville’s Big Loud Records, which can count two megastars in its stable — Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen.
This is no surprise for anyone who watches the charts. Swift and Wallen combined to hold seven of the top 10 albums in U.S. consumption units in 2023. And even if you don’t follow the Top 10, Swift’s presence last year was undeniable. Wallen was also omnipresent, though more limited to one media bubble (does that make him partisan-present?) This leads us to think about politics.
At the Cadence, we try to avoid such unsafe dinner conversations. But as the country dives headfirst into the pool of seething and angst that will be the 2024 election cycle, there’s a lesson in the dominance of Swift and Wallen that merits addressing without wading too deep into dark waters.
It’s been well noted that popular music hasn’t made a significant impact on electoral politics in over a decade — the final time probably being the music-adjacent street art phenomenon of Obama’s HOPE poster. But the vague notion that music should be a liberal project still stands, if for no other reason than the fact that the demographic of musicians — young, coastal, BIPOC (or allies) —still stands. Maybe.
Contrary to the notion we just suggested, Wallen and Swift come from the cultural milieu of flyover America, each with a distinctly un-urbane aesthetic that makes it easy for them to be embraced by conservative-identifying citizens. But despite these subtexts, neither has much in the way of an overtly political position.
Swift is so famously apolitical that her rare statements supporting gay rights or dissing Donald Trump make news headlines because of their rarity. Wallen’s fame beyond country music circles comes largely from the 2021 racial slur controversy that many assumed at the time would derail his career. Far from it. Wallen ended 2021 as Billboard’s #5 artist and held the ranking in 2022. His has proven to be the cancellation that never was. And whatever harm Wallen did suffer from his drunken slurs caught on camera has been more than made up for by the redemption headlines he received last month when he started giving interviews for the first time since the unfortunate incident.
Wallen and Swift aren’t the only apolitical entries in the Billboard Top 10. The third spot belongs to SZA, a black Muslim woman whose surprise star turn in 2023 kept true to her 2020 Tweet that “I’m not into politics, I’m running my mouth for fun.” Zach Bryan (#6) said something similar in 2023, posting, “No concern for politics, come on home I’ll check for ticks,” which abstains from discourse while still staking claim to his red state roots. Luke Combs (#5) called U.S. politics “frustrating.”
Then there’s Drake, who gets a pass (along with The Weeknd) for being Canadian. The same goes for British-born 21 Savage (#8). Post Malone (#10) was once called the “Donald Trump of hip-hop,” but remains staunchly apolitical in his quest to keep the party going. And #9, Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus, has irked both sides of the cultural divide enough times that no one really pays attention anymore.
So if Swift is the plutonic ideal of a centrist superstar and Wallen wins the prize for the not-really-so-bad right winger, the obvious thing missing from the left-right-center triangle is — someone from the left.
So where are the liberal artists, if not in the Top 10? Rod Wave, Billboard’s 18th most popular artist, has staked a claim as Gen Z’s answer to Kendrick Lamar (#29) in addressing issues within the black community. But both artists tend to focus on their community’s interior struggles instead of broader societal woes.
Perhaps the lack of strong conviction on either side of the musical aisle coincides with the decline of music as a singular cultural force. For artists today, why pen a song about politics when you can blast out a Tweet and then get back to recording something that is universally meaningful? There is enough conflict in every other corner of the media ecosystem.
For boomers, music was pretty much the only way to forcefully convey anti-mainstream sentiment to balance out the suffocating conformity of middle America and the injustice of Vietnam.
Gen X split the difference between apathy and outrage depending on whether one was drawn more to Eddie Vedder or Biggie Smalls. But the 90s were a largely prosperous time, which meant that playing politics was relatively small stakes.
Post-9/11 has not been a peaceful time. And since 2016, politics has become the roaring center of everything. Mere musicians can’t be expected to compete with the incessant howl of cable news and it’s social media enablers, even with their amps turned up to 11.
Instead, it seems as though music has become one of the few instances of calm in our stormy world. If Swift, Wallen, and the rest all give a milquetoast response to the endless array of challenges in our world, it could be that they’re doing us a favor. Leave the outrage outside.
TAKEAWAYS
Salient statements from this week’s music news.
1. Google Trained Its AI on Copyrighted Music
The tech giant is asking the major labels for forgiveness rather than permission.
Takeaway: AI firms should not be “excused from complying with copyright law” simply because they claim they’ll “facilitate immense value to society.”
2. Superfans: Billion Dollar Opportunity or Superfantasy?
New research shows the major label push towards fan-driven revenue might not have the potential that the CEO’s predict.
Takeaway: The numbers are mildly depressing and suggest modest potential for monetizing superfans. They imply that fans will continue to stream favorite artists and follow them on socials, but not necessarily open their wallets.
3. TikTok’s Move Into Nashville Sparks Political Blowback
The controversial Chinese company is receiving resistance from Rep. Marsha Blackburn as it tries to set up shop in Tennessee.
Takeaway: TikTok’s influence on both popular culture and artist careers remains fierce, and a toehold in Nashville means greater connectivity with budding songwriters and country artists. Additionally, TikTok now has a licensing framework to compensate music rights owners.
