What the music you listen to says about your politics
While we may (or may not) be able to avoid divisive political issues on Hypebot and clearly oppose stereotyping of any kind. this post risks breaking both rules.
Two recent surveys show how much the music someone loves says about where they stand politically.
A new YouGov poll analyzed by the Washington Post’s Andrew Van Dam and Travis Chase shared some sadly unsurprising conclusions:
- Republicans (30%) are twice as likely as Democrats to rate Classic Rock (15%) as their favorite genre
- Country music skews even more Republican vs Democrat (16% vs 7%)
- The top genres for Democrats vs Republicans [with Hypebot commentary added] are:
- R&B (11% vs 3%) [Is anyone surprised?]
- Hip Hop (8% vs 4%) [Mmm…]
- Pop (8% to 0%) [Come on, Taylor, with your Biden endorsement!]
- Classical (5% vs 0%) [Public radio execs can now exhale]
- Alternative/Indie (5% vs 1%) [Hope for the future]
- Blues (5% vs 0%)
- Jazz (6% vs 2%)
Fred Jabobs of Jacob Media’s wonderful techsurvey 2024 offered a similar snapshot.
What does this mean for November 2024?
Politicians have long been aware that music speaks to voters in powerful ways. Just listen to the music played as they enter a room and the musicians they court for endorsements, benefit concerts, and campaign rallies.
What’s less clear is that a musician’s endorsement is more than a motivator to get out and vote. Would (or even should) knowing who they are voting for actually change a fan’s choice?
With likely razor-thin vote margins this November, we may well find out.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
