Why have so few music stars endorsed Biden for President so far?

Featuring performances by Lizzo, Queen Latifah, Ben Platt and Cynthia Erivo, plus appearances by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clintonfundraiser for Joe Biden at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday (March 28) in New York City could kick off the so-far minimal public endorsement of the incumbent by music stars with a Democratic leaning for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

“You're going to see more of that in the next couple of months,” he predicts Hilary Rosenformer head of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and longtime Democratic-leaning political analyst, referring to artist support for the Biden campaign.

It's still early in the presidential campaign, but at this point, Biden's endorsements from top music stars are a shadow of those he received in 2020, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Madonna, Ariana Grande, Cher and Melissa Etheridge. James Taylor and Lenny Kravitz appeared at late 2023 fundraisers for the current president, but beyond that, the artists have been mostly silent.

This is partly due to design. Campaign officials say the most important time for celebrity endorsements is late summer and fall, when more voters are paying attention to the election. This timing was exemplified by Bruce Springsteen's narration of an ad for Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pa., released on Halloween 2020. “When it comes to celebrities, the closer you get to the election, the more [of them] get engaged,” he says Chris Korge, national finance chairman for the Biden Victory Fund. “Some help us fundraise, others help us with grassroots events and campaigns.”

But several Democratic supporters in the music industry say they are concerned about the lack of star turnout in the election so far. Part of that has to do with a smooth primary season, with little rivalry within the candidates' parties — President Obama had the early support of artists and celebrities when he ran Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2008, but not so much in 2012, when he was virtually unopposed as the incumbent. “I wouldn't be surprised [by] a very high level of engagement as time goes on,” he says Cliff Chenfeld, who founded Razor & Tie Records and created Kidz Bop and hosts events for Democratic candidates. “But I've seen two or three shows a week this year and I've yet to hear an artist say a word about anything political or topical. I've heard someone say, 'Wow, we could be in for a rough year,' but I haven't heard anything beyond that.”

In 2020, as with Obama in 2008, Biden was the candidate of “change” — an alternative to a Republican president after years of policies unpopular with young voters, on issues ranging from climate change to rights LGBTQ. Due to a primary battle that year with a more progressive opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden had to wait a few months for artists to endorse his candidacy. By August of that year, John Legend, Andra Day and Dave Matthews were among his few prominent music star endorsers.

Ultimately, artists lined up to support Biden in 2020, but the president faces stronger headwinds among progressive artists and young voters in 2024, in part because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “I understand the frustration. He is older, he has not acquired more inspiration and the idea that [he’ll be] a transitional candidate to bridge the gap from one generation to the next, that's obviously not true,” he says Jordan Kurland, manager of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service who has organized top artists on behalf of Democratic candidates. “But I'm voting for him because he's our candidate, and obviously I'll choose democracy over what's next under Trump. And I think [Biden] he has done a good job.”

Some Democrats in the music industry say both Biden campaigns, unlike Obama's in 2008 and 2012, have not spent much time reaching out to music stars and their representatives. However, they encourage the campaign to develop artists with solid fan bases in swing states from Pennsylvania to Arizona as soon as possible. A music-business source who worked with Biden's 2020 campaign to plan events and build artist support left disappointed: Biden campaign representatives, he says, “were not enthusiastic four years ago, I can tell you that much . I have no reason to believe they will be more enthusiastic now.” The source adds that he wishes this year's Biden campaign had been “more upfront” about working with politically engaged artists.

Biden's campaign plans to use a celebrity “surrogate” program to oversee artist outreach, as it did in 2020 when Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan served as director. Although this program has yet to be launched, many in the music industry are confident that the campaign will not need to take elaborate steps to rally artists' support. “You always hear about malaise and unenthusiasm,” he says Peter Shapiro, a New York concert promoter and 20-year board member of Headcount, a nonpartisan group that has registered 1 million voters since 2004. “We always see it growing. People will realize that the choices before them are important.”

Several Biden supporters in the music industry say that even if Democratic artists are reluctant to wholeheartedly endorse the president, they can speak out in favor of down-and-out candidates or issues like abortion or climate change. Or they can criticize former President Donald Trump, who has his own artist supporters, including conservative musicians Kid Rock and Jason Aldean.

Will it matter at all? In 2016, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Springsteen, Katy Perry and other music stars appeared at Hillary Clinton rallies just days before the election and she lost. “Will Taylor Swift Save Joe Biden? Will that be the magic bullet that saves him from being six points behind Donald Trump?'' Rosen asks honestly.

“Let's be realistic — most artists aren't going to change a single person's vote,” adds Rosen. “What they're doing is crowdfunding voter registration and raising money. That's what all campaigns want them to do.”