Every so often someone asks where the protest songs are during times of social unrest. Where are the songs commenting on social issues and fears?

It occurred to me that a lot of the songs people are thinking about when they make these comments were chosen by gatekeepers. From Woody Guthrie to Rage Against the Machine, hip-hop and rap, folk songs and rock songs, someone at a radio station or record label decided to play and promote these songs and not play other songs.

I am certainly revealing my generational biases when I mention songs like Nina’s “99 Luftballons,” Genesis’ “Land of Confusion,” Sting’s “Hope the Russians Love Their Children Too,” and Alphaville’s “Forever Young” as expressing fears about nuclear war.

There was a lot of social commentary in the early songs of U2 and Midnight Oil. Rush’s “Subdivisions.”

There are a ton more I can name but you’re not coming here to read an interminable list of my reminiscing.

There were obviously a lot of great artists whose work went unrecognized due to gatekeeping. And a lot of artists that got cheated out of what they earned by those taking advantage of their ignorance.

I certainly realize that even before people shifted away from listening to terrestrial radio stations, the use of algorithms to optimize listenership was already making radio playlists incredibly homogenous and also marginalizing talented artists.

But while streaming platforms like Spotify broadened access to music that suited consumers’ tastes and interests, they also introduced the tyranny of choice creating a tendency for people to gravitate toward what they already know.

The fact one can isolate their musical experience to themselves via headphones is probably also a factor. My musical tastes expanded and changed quite a bit thanks to roommates who introduced me to their favorites and accompanied me to concerts. (Not to mention, dorm mates blasting music into the halls. My first weekend in college, I was force fed the Beastie Boys.)

As I am reading the thoughts of other colleagues in the arts and culture industry on subjects like marketing, audience relations, programming, etc., there is an underlying message about a responsibility to create experiences that align with the expectations and needs audiences hope to fulfill.

To a great degree, professionals at exhibit and live performing arts organizations function as gatekeepers.

So I wonder if part of the reason there aren’t a lot of songs of protest and social criticism in popular music at times when there is social unrest is because there are no gatekeepers who feel obligated to pay attention to evolving tastes and interests of consumers.