Music in Society: Politics and Business
By Leo Collings
Politics
Historical Factors
Music and art is often considered a reflection of the times it was composed in. For example Marvin Gaye’s song “What’s going on”, released in 1971 was influenced by the frequent anti-war protests of the time. Vietnam, being a particularly unpopular war for the American public. In the song, he makes reference to the war itself here…
“Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today – Ya”
“Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh”
In the first part he is referencing the mothers of the soldiers who had died, lamenting the senseless violence. In the second part, he is commenting on the generational divide. The long hair referring to protesting hippies.
“Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on”
Here, he is referencing the frequent protests of the time. The protests often turned violent as he mentions with the “brutality”. Unquestionably though, as terrible as the political climate was at this time, it did influence artists such as Gaye and ultimately has enriched society by bringing controversial socio-political issues to the forefront of popular culture. Although not considered a protest song be Gaye, had people like him not brought these issues to people’s attention, it’s possible that less protests would have taken place and the war may have lasted longer.
Controversial music like this undoubtedly, has however opened the door for others to raise their issues with society and/or politics. Many of the early hip hop rappers in the 80’s and 90’s commonly wrote about controversial themes such as police brutality, systemized racial discrimination and inner-city decay/poverty. Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power” for example was intended as a call to arms of sorts for young, downtrodden, African Americans to take politics more seriously in the hope that they could instigate a change in their communities as shown below.
“Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be”
“Now that you've realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough from the heart
It's a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin's strange”
Although released in 1989, it could be argued that music like this went someway to contributing to the 1992 L.A. riots. The riots being a backlash of sorts after a video tape was released showing an African American known as Rodney King, being brutally beaten by 4 police officers following a high speed chase. Following two of the police officers acquittals, the riots started, tragically leaving 63 dead and over 2000 injured. Clearly people were angry and it could be argued that it’s provocative music such as this that at least partly inspired the riots. Interestingly, the song was commissioned by Spike Lee for his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing”. The films focus being that of simmering racial tensions in a decaying inner city neighbourhood, which eventually culminates in a riot after a young African American is choked to death by a police officer. Somewhat prophetic undoubtedly, but in context to the 1992 L.A. riots, this clearly demonstrates to us the power of music/media and how it can influence society.
Censorship and Legislation
Another controversial aspect of the song was the explicit language. In the song, the band, besides using the aforementioned explicit language, also slandered Elvis Presley, accusing him of being a racist. This as you can imagine, caused widespread controversy and a “Parental Advisory” warning was placed on the album (in effect a form of censorship). The warnings themselves were the brainchild of the PMRC (Parental Music Resources Committee), an American government committee intended to safeguard children from explicit themes and/or language and were enforced by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). Ironically though, these warnings actually had the effect of increasing album/singles sales as people flocked to buy the controversial albums and singles. Couple this with the generally blasé attitude music shops often had regarding the sale of these albums/singles to minors and its little wonder that the PMRCs objective to safeguard children via legislation (the process of enacting laws) failed so miserably.
Indeed, it could be argued that the PMRC has done more to harm minors than anything else. Few would disagree that music has become progressively more explicit and vulgar as time has progressed. The worst offender in contemporary culture no doubt being “Trap” music. Glorifying drug use, misogynistic behavior and violence, messages from this genre have gradually made their way into the mainstream and unlike the often politically charged lyrics present in past rap/hip hop songs, songs from this genre are void of any deeper meaning, celebrating all that is base and self-indulgent in nature. Ironically though (considering the misogyny), is that this entering of “Trap” music mentality into mainstream culture, has largely been spearheaded by female artists. Performers such as Miley Cyrus have consistently proven to be controversial figures, with their heavily sexualized, self-objectifying musical performances, controversial songs and frequent references to recreational drug use. This is nothing new in the industry per se, but the fact that Miley Cyrus’s primary fan base is comprised of young teenagers, coupled with how much more explicit mainstream songs have become, proves how miserably the PMRC ultimately failed at protecting children from said themes and language.
Support
The Specials song “Ghost Town”, released in 1981 provides us another interesting example of social commentary. The song being about urban decay in 80’s Britain. Unemployment was rising to despairingly high levels and many industries, shops and clubs were closing as Jerry Dammers explained in an interview with The Guardian below…
"It wasn't just that, the country was falling apart. You travelled from town to town and what was happening was terrible. In Liverpool, all the shops were shuttered up, everything was closing down. Margaret Thatcher had apparently gone mad, she was closing down all the industries, throwing millions of people on the dole. We could actually see it by touring around. You could see that frustration and anger in the audience. In Glasgow, there were these little old ladies on the streets selling all their household goods, their cups and saucers. It was unbelievable. It was clear that something was very, very wrong." (Dammers, 2002)
Significant cuts were also being made to Britain’s Arts Council (a government funded organization that promotes and funds music, the performing arts and art in general). In many ways, Britain was dying culturally, as then prime minister Margaret Thatcher seemed to care for little else other than profit, whilst appealing almost exclusively to “Yuppies” (Young upwardly mobile professionals). Many felt left behind and became disenfranchised and bitter as a result.
Despite this, the 80’s is generally seen as one of the more politically charged era’s in music for Britain as songs such as “Ghost Town” perfectly illustrate. Others such as Morrissey, formally of The Smiths, attacked Thatcher more directly with his 1988 song “Margaret on the Guillotine”…
“The kind people
Have a wonderful dream
Margaret on the guillotine
Cause people like you
Make me feel so tired
When will you die?”
Ultimately, although an unfortunate time historically, clearly the problems of the time gave rise to meaningful art. It could be argued that although funding is important in promoting musical proficiency, perhaps what’s more important in creating culturally significant art is inspiration. Music and the arts may not have received the funding they sorely needed, but through all the suffering of the time, artists had a wealth of inspiration to draw from and it’s for this reason that the above mentioned songs are and likely will continue to be culturally significant beyond simply being commercial successful.
Currently the Arts Council budget is set at £622m for 2018-2022. This money will be used to fund individuals or organizations that wish to contribute to Britain culturally. For example, in November the Arts Council funded 4 UK based musical artists (Shakka, Saskilla, Terri Walker and Diztortion) with £200,000. The money being used to send them overseas to their cultural homelands so they could study the roots of their music. Once they returned, they worked with local youth organizations to educate and promote young people’s cultural roots in a bid to progress local music scenes. In a sense this could be considered an abstract form of investment as artistic development, whilst frequently overlooked, is essential to the creation of new genres. This is important because ultimately cultural richness typically increases tourism (international or domestic) and by extension determines the degree to which a country, city or town will benefit financially speaking. As an example, London is widely regarded as the most culturally rich and diverse area in the UK. Little wonder then that it dwarfs the rest of the UK in terms of tourism and economy.
Another organization known as MEGS (Music Export Growth Scheme) funds independent music companies so as to assist them with marketing campaigns when attempting to export British music overseas. For example, in 2014 the organization awarded a total of £250,000 split amongst 14 bands and musicians to aid in promotional tours globally. A lot of money yes, but undoubtedly this goes some way to explaining why the UK is, as of 2016 and according to the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the third largest exporter of music globally, with cumulative sales of $1251.1m in that year. Whilst it would be foolish to assume this is entirely due to government funding, clearly an emphasis on promoting culture, art and music is an important factor in determining economic success in these areas for a country.
The government also funds music education via the Music Manifesto. The manifesto essentially being an agreed upon strategy for musical development between educational systems across the UK with music as a focus. For example, in 2008 £40m was used to fund the Sing Up programme. The money was sent to schools across the UK in order to educate, develop and promote young, aspiring singers. A study conducted by the Institute of Education in 2013, concluded that singers engaged in the programme were 18 months to 2 years ahead of young people not engaged in the programme in terms of musical competency. Whilst it’s still early days, the UK as mentioned before, the UK has one of the largest music industries in the world and with campaigns such as this, it’s logical to assume it will continue to grow in years to come given the size of the UK music industry (currently worth £4.4b) and the 76 percent increase in musical tourism to the UK since 2013.
Finally it’s worth mentioning Brexit (a political plan of action for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union). Whilst it will take many years for Britain to exit the EU, there are concerns it will effect the degree to which musicians can freely move around Europe. Recently for example the European Union Youth Orchestra announced it intends to relocate from London to Italy. British youth are expected to no longer be able to join the orchestra. There is a distinct possibility though that this move could have been politically influenced though. The orchestra receiving it’s funding from EU member states. In a sense, it could be a form of protest by proxy directed at Britain’s intention to leave. Regardless, ease of travel across Europe for musicians has become an important issue and it’s little wonder that the Music Manifesto has made it one its priorities. It’s too early to speculate currently, but no doubt their negotiations with politicians will play a major role in determining the UK’s success musically in years to come. If they fail, music tourism to the UK and European performances from the UK may drop drastically as it will become more difficult to travel to and from the UK for music makers and consumers alike.
Business
Commodification and Market Forces
Commodification in context to music refers to the way in which it is treated as a product to be sold for profit. Whilst an essential part of the industry, without which artists wouldn’t get paid, it has become a contentious issue for many. Few would argue that music has progressively become seen as more and more disposable, reflective of the capitalist world we live in. The record producing trio “SAW” (Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman) achieved monumental success in the 80’s and 90’s, releasing countless chart toppers. Unfortunately, the mechanical proficiency with which they churned out hits, left many of the songs sounding incredibly similar as shown here 
Contrasting this, jazz musicians such as Miles Davis have unquestionably progressed the art form immeasurably and despite not achieving success in quite the same vein as Pop performers, he did sell many millions of albums and was wildly influential musically speaking. The problem however, is marketing. How do you market something that is inherently experimental? What type of audience is best suited to it? These are tough questions and its little wonder that Avant-garde genres such as jazz and fusion often have more niche appeal demographically speaking. Pop music by contrast, is far easier to market. The songs though typically formulaic and their messages often shallow and unoriginal, are clear cut and easily understandable. Thus, are easier to market to prospective audiences as “SAW” showed time and time again during the 80’s and 90’s. It should be noted though, that commercial success does not diminish the extent to which a song may be considered profound as emphasized by many of the songs listed in the preceding article.
Economic Power of an Individual
This refers to the way in which individuals may use their status to influence politics or to raise public awareness of certain issues. For instance, the 1985 charity event Live Aid, spearheaded by artist Bob Geldof, was used as a means to raise awareness of poverty and famine in Ethiopia. Geldof alongside many other famous musicians, performed to raise money for this charity. In combination, they raised around 40-50 million pounds.
Unfortunately, as admirable as their efforts may have been, there has been much controversy concerning the management of the funds generated. Geldof and many others, ignorantly defied warnings from other aid organisations by giving the money to Mengistu Haile Mariam (the former despotic ruler of Ethiopia). Mengitsu used this money to buy arms from Soviet Russia in order to carry out his Stalinist inspired collectivization reforms (essentially the forced appropriation of privately owned farms and/or industries by a communist government). It’s estimated that between 300,000 to 1 million people died under his rule, caused by a combination of famine and brutal armed conflict with his people during the reforms. Ultimately, the Soviet Union ended their support for Mengitsu in 1990 and shortly after, Mengitsu fled to Zimbabwe, where he was granted asylum by Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s President). Mengitsu was later sentenced to death in absentia (meaning in his absence) by his country on the count of genocide against his people. Mengitsu has yet to be extradited by Zimbabwe…
The lesson here is clear, you may have good intentions, but good intentions coupled with arrogant ignorance, can be just as dangerous as bad intentions. Luckily though, following this catastrophic failure, charity events and the funds generated are now handled with more care. The proof simply being that a scandal such as this, thankfully, hasn’t been repeated on such a monumental scale and despite all this, we do have Geldof alongside the other musicians he worked with to thank for the overall increase in charity music events and organisations following Live Aid. Their actions being misguided and naïve, albeit influential.
Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship is extremely common in the music industry and is an important source of revenue for artists. In context to music, corporate sponsorship occurs when a company supports an artist or perhaps an event. Product placement for example is extremely common in music videos. Essentially, product placement occurs when an artist features a company’s product/service in their video. In return the artist receives a contractually agreed upon amount of money. Lady Gaga for example featured many products in the music video for the song “Telephone”. In the video and perhaps most notably, she used empty Diet Coke cans to curl her hair into a perm. Some would argue that this devalues the art form and in context to some music it may. In Punk music, overt product placement such as this would likely work against the artist, as Punk music is typically anti-capitalistic, it would likely mar any message they had in the songs and be viewed by fans as a sign of selling out. However, Lady Gaga is more of a fashion icon and whilst it’s unlikely wearing coke cans in your hair will become a trend, she is recognized for her outlandish fashion choices. Fashion, in most cases, being associated with more pronounced capitalistic tendencies.
There are other issues with product placement though…If for example a band objected to the idea of endorsing a product on ideological grounds, they would of course be at a disadvantage in financial terms. This may in turn effect the bands ability to sustain themselves financially and would affect the listener, in that they wouldn’t be able to listen to their music. This also has the effect of ensuring that the bands or artists which receive the most airplay (plays of their videos on radio stations and TV channels) are likely to be the ones which are most heavily endorsed. Lady Gaga being a perfect example of this. The song “Telephone” featuring no less than 9 product placements (2 of which were repeated) from varying companies in the video.
Ultimately, whilst an important part of the industry, it’s questionable how much being encouraged to buy unrelated products really benefits the consumer and like it or not, it does contribute to the over-commodification of popular music by encouraging listeners and music makers alike, to view music as similar to the products being advertised…As disposable commodities.
Companies
In the music industry there are essential two types of record labels (a company that markets and possibly distributes an artist’s music). Majors and Independent labels. Majors, as their name might imply, have more clout financially and can market and distribute music on a larger scale then Indie labels. Indie labels, are typically smaller in size and tend to market music to more niche crowds as opposed to majors. Indie labels also typically offer better deals with their artists to offset the decreased revenue they are capable of generating compared to majors.
Historically, indie labels have generally promoted more progressive music. Majors by contrast, tend to take less chances. Recently there has been reported to be a shrinking amount of indie labels due to buyouts by majors. For example, Sony recently bought out Essential Music & Marketing, part of the Cooking Vinyl group (a large European independent label). Takeovers like this may represent a problem for artists in that they inevitably have less options when considering who to sign with. This may also present a problem in times to come, as if the bought out indie labels start to change their policies to more consistently fall in line with the majors that bought them, they would in effect be providing less diverse music to consumers. This is of course speculative, but entirely possible.
Another problem is that if a bought out indie label is unable to generate enough revenue, it may simply be shut down by the major. For example, in 1998 the legendary independent label, A&M records was merged into UMG (Universal Music Group), following the buyout of Polygram by Seagram. Polygram having previously bought out A&M in 1989 and Seagram owning UMG. Just a year after the 1998 merger, A&M records was shut down. Again this presents a problem for artists in that they have less options when considering who to sign with and for consumers, it may consequently result in a less diverse range of music available to them. Certainly though, a merger with a major label could also represent a good thing too. With the major’s larger financial clout, they have the capacity to market and distribute music on a grander scale, which could of course benefit music makers and consumers alike. Ultimately though, whether this results in more progressive music being marketed/distributed is entirely down to whether or not the major demands a change in policies and business practices from the bought out independent label.
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