Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

It is often suggested that popular music has the ability to facilitate political change by delivering a message to its listeners in order to ‘shape and influence their thoughts and actions’ (Street). An example is Billie Holidays ‘Strange Fruit’ which originated as poem describing the revulsion of lynching. In 1939 Time Magazine criticised it as a ‘piece of musical propaganda’, 60 years later the same magazine rated it as ‘the song of the century’. In 1985 Red Wedge was formed, its aim was to promote the labour party agenda using popular music, they organised many tours with bands such as the smiths and madness. Although a good idea the project proved unsuccessful with the labour party not being voted into power. Bob Marley gives voice throughout his music to a counter capitalist movement selling millions of albums; this is accepted as profit that is generated feeds straight back into the capitalist system. Whilst it is clear that popular music is successful in raising political awareness I would suggest that political change happens as a result of a combination of many factors not just popular music alone.