Um… Where are All the Musicians?
a primer for artists entering the political sphere
America has been asleep the past few decades, and desperately needs its artists to advocate for the civil rights, freedoms and sociopolitical awareness of the people.
Humble Origins
The purpose of music has always been a humanistic one, striving for centuries to reach the unknown emotional “bridges” that link people to the common humanitarian values which ultimately spawn sociocultural movements. From the wrote representation of sacred texts, to the sharing of inspirational stories and life lessons through bards’ tales, the protesting of kingships or instilling hope in enslaved populations through spirituals, music is a crucial creative resource that is coined as a unique factor separating humans from animals.
Music evolved from what archeological researchers believe were primitive socio-cognitive beginnings, into becoming a strictly religious function, to one of philosophical and sociocultural expression, and more recently to a hyper-capitalized version of cultural supremacy.
Throughout this evolution, however, the ethical implications of music have far exceeded its aesthetic.
Babylon System
A relatively underground history of protest against state violence has been seen from artists of the 20th century, especially from musicians of color. The present-day wave of police brutality and murder cases have, to some degree, sparked backlash from artists, though again relegated mostly to artists of color. Revolutionary Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti described his experience against authoritarian imperial governments in an oppressive environment which does not allow time for songs of love — only songs of protest.
Will white musicians sacrifice their potential loss of gigs, money, comfortable connections and followers in order to stand with their fellow artists in the name of justice and equality? Considering the stories of imbalanced power relationships like the latest with Lady Antebellum or from within the classical music scene, maybe not.
Pigs in a Rose-Colored Blanket
Given the circumstances surrounding instances like jazz trumpeter Miles Davis’ 1959 arrest and abuse, any sane person would think there would have been civil policy action taken against these fascist police forces decades ago amid the civil rights movement. If the long-known white supremacist infiltration of police departments is any indication of future trends, we are in for only more cruelty and sorrow. As if it weren’t enough, this has been coupled with a decades-long infiltration of explicit white supremacist ideology into the music industry.
Unfortunately, the continued rhetoric around hate music and police culture is wrapped in thematic proverbs of justification like “a few bad apples,” while ignoring the often-absent remainder of that adage: “A few bad apples… spoil the whole barrel.”
The unofficial yet official purpose of 1969’s infamous Woodstock music festival, positioned at the crossroads of the height of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, was to “escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace.” Such well-meaning but broadly ill-defined goals (culminating later into the vague advocation of intangible sociopolitical ideals) left many from the era in a haze of sex, drugs and rock & roll — a mindset that is noticeably apparent in their generations’ current lack of systemically restructured policy proposals, focus on immaterial symbolic gestures and insistence on empty cultural “civility.”
The shortcomings of this self-described festival of peace and unity indicate the need for a more politically demanding Woodstock 2.0 (“Woodstonks”?). Not just anti-war, but anti-military industrial complex. Not just anti-bigotry, but anti-systemically bigoted policy. Not just anti-fake-news, but anti-propaganda no matter the source or target.
Not just words, but action — unapologetic action that is pro-peace, pro-human rights, and pro-socioeconomic equity.
A Trojan War
Republican policies have attacked artists’ and human rights for decades. Curiously, the self-described Republican policy and outright hawkish nature of “Democratic” President Barack Obama’s administration is met with complicit silence at best and fawning praise at worst. Joe Biden played a key role in appealing to the white moderately-conservative class and advanced racist, classist views in rhetoric and policy, but is now the presumptive 2020 nominee with little to no attention paid to this history.
The Obama-Biden administration went practically unnoticed when it rather further expanded the charter school systems through the work of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, intensified the government’s mass surveillance system, extended George W. Bush’s two wars to seven (whose abysmal record is now being whitewashed by neoliberals for political expediency), fanned the flames of the looming police state during Occupy Wall Street & Standing Rock, deported more people than an other president in US history, or quietly and efficiently prosecuted more journalists than all previous presidents combined.
These are the types of issues that have been steadily pushing the Overton Window to the right, and those which require a “cultural revolution” to rectify — a task that American artists are uniquely suited to take on. This is the danger of perpetuating a lesser-evil mentality, of which Trump is a symptom and not the cause. Since independent artists have no ties to partisan lines (many choose not to engage with politics at all, until recently when it became safe and potentially profitable to bash Trump as if these problems didn’t exist before January 20, 2017), we can draw attention to the more taboo subjects that elites in both parties have counted on as being untouchable from the media’s perspective.
Bright Lights & Dim Futures
With the explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement, a select few artists (mostly people of color) have explicitly come out in favor of civil rights and socioeconomic justice, while others seem to be biding their time and focus-group-testing to make sure they don’t lose capital — whether social (i.e. losing “followers”), cultural (i.e. losing clout), and/or monetary — by choosing a side. A relatively small group of musicians openly supported Bernie Sanders’ progressive 2016 and 2020 campaigns, but many are conveniently absent in the face of a potentially career-threatening pandemic and divisive social justice movement (unless it is deemed as safe to their support base’s branding, or if their identities and those of their fans and loved ones are directly impacted).
One can only wonder whether the majority of these artists donated their talents for the cause or the clout.
Some (mostly amateur and/or independent) groups are playing publicly in solidarity based on moral integrity, despite the fascism displayed by a police backlash in response to perhaps the most pacifist form of peaceful protest imaginable: orchestral music performance. Why are we leaving primary artistic responsibilities to young students, while professional and highly resourced acts are still silent about the current movements in fear of potentially losing capital?
Why are we allowing wealthy, imperialist, unpaid, and/or unqualified performers to proudly take from the ever-dwindling pool of culturally institutional work that professional artists have struggled to obtain and defend over decades of oppression and marketization?
We would not allow artists to casually establish amateur medical, law or policing organizations under the guise of “hobbies” — why do we permit such hegemonic novices to do so?
Chewing the Fat
Questions to consider for future cultural & policy advocacy:
- Is the music industry being dominated by middle- and upper-class artists and/or the shift of Hollywood elite institutions toward the sales potential of online influencers?
- How would an artist Universal Credit (similar to that of the UK), an all-inclusive Universal Basic Income, or a federal jobs guarantee affect the lives of artists?
- In what ways have current arts policy and musicians’ unions helped — or hurt — the younger generations of working artists (Gen. X, Y, Z)?
- How has the neoliberal marketization of music industry unions failed younger generations and non-elite musicians seeking retirement?
- What does the future of culture & industry look like for artists, and how can we direct that future toward more equitable & liberating solutions?
Musicians are one of the most influential social groups who consistently have direct contact with powerful figures. There is a responsibility that comes along with that privilege, and it’s time we live up to it.
Anthony Casamassima is a professional musician, educator and community advocate in Richmond, Virginia. Learn more about his work here, and follow RealMusicInProgress on Twitter or YouTube.
