How Musicians by genre voted

[mileslunn]

We did one on listeners so how about musicians.

Pop
Jazz
R&B
Hip Hop
Classical
Classic Rock
Rock
Oldies
Country

I am guessing Trump won country musicians.  Also might have won oldies too as a lot are in 70s or 80s now so more conservative.  For example I know at least in 2012 (don't know about last two), all the Beach Boys voted for Romney.  But with Oldies still possible Biden won as obviously most Black artists would have supported him and there are some high profile ones that are Democrats publicly like Neil Diamond, Carole King, James Taylor etc, so that is probably one unsure of.  Pretty sure Biden won all the other categories.

[Skill and Chance]

Given that Dems generally supported and the GOP generally opposed concert venue closures throughout 2020, it's likely that the musician vote was closer this year than at any time in recent history.  Country is an obvious Trump landslide.  I can see Trump winning Oldies and Classic Rock (think Elvis endorsing Nixon), and the majority-minority genres were surely the closest since 2004, maybe since 1988. 

It's also likely that famous musicians were a Biden landslide (even some of the Country stars endorsed Biden), while the much larger group of non-famous musicians (who largely lost their livelihoods this year) were much closer or even a narrow Trump win. 

[Asta]

Pop - Biden by a landslide
Jazz - Biden
R&B - Biden by a landslide
Hip Hop - Biden by a landslide
Classical - Biden by a landslide
Classic Rock - Trump
Rock - Trump
Oldies - Biden?
Country - Trump by a landslide

I would like to add a couple more.

Metal - Trump
Soul/Blues - Biden

[Alben Barkley]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

[Asta]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

I don't follow country at all, but the only potential Biden voters I can think of are Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson and maybe even Taylor Swift if she even counts as country right now. Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood don't seem to me as Trump supporters. Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks probably supported Trump.

My faith is that the loudest rock members are democratic but the ones who vote quietly are Republican. Bon Jovi and Springsteen are two of the biggest names to support Biden but I think it's very possible other less known rock members secretly vote for Trump.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

I think that most country musicians definitely voted for Trump. Some of them may not like Trump's personality but they definitely voted for him because of "lower taxes", "less regulations", "pro-life", "anti-gun control", "Christian values", etc.

[Alben Barkley]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

I don't follow country at all, but the only potential Biden voters I can think of are Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson and maybe even Taylor Swift if she even counts as country right now. Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood don't seem to me as Trump supporters. Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks probably supported Trump.

My faith is that the loudest rock members are democratic but the ones who vote quietly are Republican. Bon Jovi and Springsteen are two of the biggest names to support Biden but I think it's very possible other less known rock members secretly vote for Trump.

I am absolutely certain Willie voted for Biden as he endorsed him and there was even a shirt with his endorsement sold on Biden’s website! Taylor Swift also endorsed him, Kacey Musgraves is openly progressive so she almost certainly voted for him as well, and I frankly am not convinced any of those other people you mentioned would have voted for Trump. Brooks and Shelton possibly, but even then I wouldn’t be surprised if they were Libertarian or non-voters. I mean hell, Shelton is engaged to Gwen Stefani and has been immersed in Hollywood liberal culture for years. Surely that culture would rub off on him somewhat! And again, even Nashville leans Democratic.

As for classic rock, I really don’t know who the silent Trump voters would be. Every single one I can think of I am certain would be either a Biden voter or too far left to vote for either. Not just the two New Jersey guys you named, also the folk singer/songwriters I named, most of the British guys like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, etc. if they could have voted. Others from Stevie Nicks to even Axl Rose expressed support for Biden and opposition to Trump. Remember most of these people were hippies back in the day, and most have never really abandoned those ideals even as many other boomers might have.

[Alben Barkley]

On also, did we forget how basically every musician whose songs Trump played at his rallies asked him to stop? Including Elton John, but Trump just couldn’t let that one go. He seems to have a weird infatuation with Elton John going back decades. I guess it kind of makes sense in that Elton John’s flamboyant, over-the-top, bombastic style suits Trump well. I just find it kinda funny that between that, Queen, and the Village People, Trump’s favorite performers all seem to be super gay.

[Intell]

Country singers really seem like a Trump/Biden group.

[Samof94]

Indie rock is very heavily Biden.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Emo and Hardcore were basically 100% Biden.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Probably all of them, even country muscians probably voted Biden. Arts people are always liberals and despite the country fan base being conservative musicians all work in deep blue areas.

[H. Ross Peron]

How did members of military style marching bands vote?

[Hnv1]

Noise - write-ins
Industrial - Trump
Techno - Biden

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

I don't follow country at all, but the only potential Biden voters I can think of are Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson and maybe even Taylor Swift if she even counts as country right now. Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood don't seem to me as Trump supporters. Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks probably supported Trump.

My faith is that the loudest rock members are democratic but the ones who vote quietly are Republican. Bon Jovi and Springsteen are two of the biggest names to support Biden but I think it's very possible other less known rock members secretly vote for Trump.

If I remember correctly, Carrie Underwood is quite religious, and her husband (Mike Fisher, the former captain of the Nashville Predators) has vocally supported Republicans running for office in Tennessee, so I wouldn't be so certain that she voted for Biden.  Trace Adkins and John Rich are also both vocal conservatives.

I think Trump probably did win country singers, especially when considering the many less famous singers.  Anecdotally, I know a couple singers who sometimes perform on Broadway but wouldn't be famous to the average person, and they're all Republicans.  Now, the fact that I know them from church groups might play a role, but it's still an anecdote.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

Bob Dylan has always been pretty conservative, other than that I agree.

[Asta]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

I don't follow country at all, but the only potential Biden voters I can think of are Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson and maybe even Taylor Swift if she even counts as country right now. Kacey Musgraves and Carrie Underwood don't seem to me as Trump supporters. Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks probably supported Trump.

My faith is that the loudest rock members are democratic but the ones who vote quietly are Republican. Bon Jovi and Springsteen are two of the biggest names to support Biden but I think it's very possible other less known rock members secretly vote for Trump.

If I remember correctly, Carrie Underwood is quite religious, and her husband (Mike Fisher, the former captain of the Nashville Predators) has vocally supported Republicans running for office in Tennessee, so I wouldn't be so certain that she voted for Biden.  Trace Adkins and John Rich are also both vocal conservatives.

I think Trump probably did win country singers, especially when considering the many less famous singers.  Anecdotally, I know a couple singers who sometimes perform on Broadway but wouldn't be famous to the average person, and they're all Republicans.  Now, the fact that I know them from church groups might play a role, but it's still an anecdote.

I don't think Underwood voted for Biden. I would be surprised if she did, but she doesn't come across as Trump supporter either. She is one of the LGBT friendliest country musicians. Heck, she is arguably top 5 biggest names among vegetarians and animal rights. I searched her up and she even gave out a speech mocking Trump at Country Music Awards. I don't think someone like her would agree to such scripts if she strongly supported him. My guess is that she probably is closer to a libertarian.

Her husband probably went for Trump but I'm likely to think she probably voted for Jorgensen or write-in. I personally think she would be more open minded to a Cruz or Santorum type Republican.

And agreed with you that Trump did probably win country stars, but I think Alben Barkley has a point that country musicians may be less conservative than we imagine.

[Hnv1]

Pop - Biden by a landslide
Jazz - Biden
R&B - Biden by a landslide
Hip Hop - Biden by a landslide
Classical - Biden by a landslide
Classic Rock - Trump
Rock - Trump
Oldies - Biden?
Country - Trump by a landslide

I would like to add a couple more.

Metal - Trump
Soul/Blues - Biden

Metal overall Biden by small margin. Black metal - Trump. Death metal - split. Thrash - Biden. Sludge - Biden (the Georgia scene was to the left). Power metal - Trump. Doom - Biden.

Biden won punks. Well those who vote. Street and crusts probably don’t vote. Post hardcore heavy D. Most hardcore D. NY hardcore is strong Trump with Rick Ta Life and the other idiots. Math core went Biden. Post punk Biden. Screamo Biden. Power violence don’t vote but might be trump.

[Gracile]

A more interesting question would be how did musicians by genre vote in the primary? Indie rockers are a solidly Sanders demographic, for one.

[Big Abraham]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

Bob Dylan has always been pretty conservative, other than that I agree.

Hardly. Listen to "Masters of War," "With God on Our Side" or "It's Alright, Ma." Other than some of the stuff he was writing while under the influence of born-again evangelicalism, he's always been a stalwart reformist (though, certainly not to the degree Tom Paxton, or the leftist Phil Ochs were).

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Metalheads would not vote for Trump lmfao. There's a conservative minority but on the whole they tend to be a very Atheistic subculture and that alone cuts against it.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

I’m actually not convinced Trump won country musicians by a landslide. Country fans, yes. But Trump lost Davidson County/Nashville worse than any candidate of either party since 1944. And there are a lot of country musicians who are known to have much more liberal views than you might expect based on their fanbases/style/lyrics. Nashville remains a pretty staunchly Democratic city, and the music industry there is no exception. It’s not LA or anything, but it’s not anywhere near as Republican as you might think.

Frankly I think Biden pretty soundly won musicians as a whole, regardless of genre. There’s a reason it’s rare to find a truly conservative musician/actor/artist of any kind. It is not a field that attracts a conservative mindset as a general rule. And classic rock is a particularly bizarre one to say would be Trump voters. Almost every classic rock musician I can think of, from Neil Young to Bob Dylan, was left-wing back in the day and remains that way now. Hell, Young became a US citizen just to vote against Trump.

Bob Dylan has always been pretty conservative, other than that I agree.

Hardly. Listen to "Masters of War," "With God on Our Side" or "It's Alright, Ma." Other than some of the stuff he was writing while under the influence of born-again evangelicalism, he's always been a stalwart reformist (though, certainly not to the degree Tom Paxton, or the leftist Phil Ochs were).

He was a Goldwater supporter in the early 60s and explicitly repudiated the anti-war counterculture movement that tried to adopt him as an idol.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

Noise - write-ins
Industrial - Trump
Techno - Biden

Which Industrial bands would you think voted Trump? Having been a fan of the genre, I'm hard-pressed to think of one.  Definitely not Ministry, KMFDM, and anyone from the old Wax Trax days (if any of KMFDM still vote in US elections).

[Hnv1]

Noise - write-ins
Industrial - Trump
Techno - Biden

Which Industrial bands would you think voted Trump? Having been a fan of the genre, I'm hard-pressed to think of one.  Definitely not Ministry, KMFDM, and anyone from the old Wax Trax days (if any of KMFDM still vote in US elections).

Nurse with Wound, Whitehouse, throbbing gristle and the early ones always had an Ur-fascist vibe. Later acts like death in june and current 93 also had very right wing symbolism. I don’t really consider Ministry with the industrial crowd. More metallisch

Hell you had an entire sub genre of militaristic Martial Industrial

[mileslunn]

Don't believe they can vote in US, but Van Morrison and Eric Clapton have both done songs this year protesting lockdowns so guessing those two were rooting for Trump (even though in UK Trump pretty hated).  Some bands even split, for example Everly Brothers were with Phil always voting Republican and Don Democrat but stayed quiet until after Phil died and then Don endorsed Clinton in 2016 and admitted he didn't before as his brother was a Republican. 

Still overall I would say country and maybe classic rock only ones where majority voted for Biden.  Perhaps Swing also, but not sure how many of those artists still around, but guessing the few left from the Sinatra generation probably voted for Trump (at least amongst white artists, many popular then be it Blues or Jazz were African-American so off course Biden).