Why Are the Biggest Artists in the World Rich Capitalist Assholes?
Welcome to ‘I’ve Been Thinking’, my weekly column about an issue weighing on my mind.
Let me paint the picture for you.
There’s an ongoing genocide in Israel. Over 30,000 have been slaughtered. It wouldn’t be possible without U.S. help. The United States provides around $4 billion a year to Israel. And guess what? Just a month ago Joe Biden was pushing for a bill that would send $14 billion more and $60 billion to Ukraine. This is all while an unprecedented 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. More than half can’t afford a sudden $1,000 emergency.
In the middle of this, the music industry looks up to people like Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift. Supposed “self-made” billionaires, that the industry considers to be amazing examples of entrepreneurship in America. They also seem to be the music celebrities Democrats use to make sure the masses fall in line and vote for the blue candidate.
Is this really the best we’ve got? Neoliberal billionaires who are so out of touch from real life, that they endorsed a candidate who’s turned out to be a genocide enabler? Where are the radicals? Where are the artists who understand the actual stakes of our political situation? The artists who understand that Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same ass?
Beyonce for example, premiered her new film in Israel, while a literal genocide was happening next door. Her decision shows an ambivalence to a crime against humanity that I cannot fathom. There’s also been recent reports of her exploitive practices, taking publishing percentages on songs she didn’t write or produce.
Taylor Swift, who was estimated to make billions from her ‘Eras’ tour last year, has been in the news for her private jet use. And like the rest of the billionaires, thinks she makes up for it by buying offsets. She endorsed Joe Biden in 2020. She may end up doing it again, since she’s been silent on the Palestinian ethnic cleansing.
Jay-Z scoffed at being called a capitalist in 2022, brushing it off as a smear rather than valid criticism. But he’s the wealthiest music artist in the world with a net worth of $2.5 billion. Jay-Z has also received criticism for his private jet use. Him and Beyonce famously endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, then endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016.
These are arguably the biggest artists from the U.S., and all of their politics are trash. How can these be our role models? They’ve built their businesses as capitalists, exploiting people that collaborate with them and work for them. They endorse politicians and a political party who hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage, didn’t codify abortion rights, legalize marijuana, or give us universal healthcare in the middle of a pandemic.
It’s time to wake up. It’s time to use our art and our voice in the spirit of revolutionaries like Malcom X and Fred Hampton. Artists like Lauren Jauregui who’s interview with Marianne Williamson went viral for standing up for Palestinians. Or take Anees who’s Palestinian himself, talking non-stop about the issue on X and his other social medias. Or a new favorite of mine, Jesse Jett who wrote a beautiful song about authoritarianism.
I know some will say that music is escapism. That we should divorce the art, from the artist. They might say that artists should “stick to the music.” That their self-interested support of queer people is enough. That because their skin contains melatonin, that they’re “success stories” for people with their same skin color. That at least they didn’t endorse Trump.
But we deserve better. It’s time to get informed. It’s time to read books about revolutionaries. We deserve artists who denounce genocide. Artists that denounce war. Artists who are building community and a living away from capitalism. Artists who are champions of the working class. Artists who are truly great.