Week 7 – Can Popular Music be a genuine force for political change?

It can be argued that Popular Music is a genuine force for political change. For example, Elton John recently used his music to raise money for and promote Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the US elections. Although the Labour Party did not win, people still believed that the music could have an effect. Another example is the idea of ‘conscience rock’ such as Band Aid: music was used to raise awareness and motivate people. Similarly, songs sung at football matches by many together can be as a uniting force. Also there are some songs that have a political stance to them. However it can be argued that Popular Music cannot be a force for political change. A song with a political message may highlight the issue but many argue that this will not make people go out and act on it, since people may only appreciate it as music rather than for its political message. Overall, Popular Music can attempt to be a force for political change and may help in raising awareness but overall will not be the underlying reason why political change occurs.