Phil Labonte tells Libby Emmons how politics and platforms hollowed out rock music - The Pod Millennial

On the latest episode of The Pod Millennial, host Libby Emmons spoke with Phil Labonte, lead singer of the metal band All That Remains and co-host of Timcast IRL, about political conformity in the music industry, cancel culture, and the changing state of rock music.

“I’m here with Phil Labonte, lead singer of All That Remains and co-host of Timcast IRL. Phil, thanks so much for being with us,” Emmons said.

“Thank you for having me. I appreciate that you would let me be a guest on your brand new podcast. And congratulations, by the way,” Labonte replied.

Emmons said Labonte occupies a rare position at the intersection of conservative media and mainstream music. “You really thread the needle between conservative media, which is its own wild world, and music and making art,” she said, noting that left-wing ideology dominates much of the music industry.

Labonte agreed, describing the politics of musicians as largely unexamined. “There’s a lot of entrenched leftism,” he said. “I think a lot of it is knee-jerk. People don’t put a lot of thought into their politics… it sounds nice to say deporting people is bad. Nice does not equate to good.”

He added that many artists avoid political discussions altogether. “There are some people that are conservative in the music world. They tend to keep their heads down and keep their politics a little closer to their chest,” Labonte said.

Labonte said he has never taken that approach. “Before there was Twitter, I was very active on chat boards on music websites,” he said. “I’d argue politics… and it was largely in the minority there too.”

When Emmons raised the issue of cancel culture, Labonte rejected the idea that he had escaped it. “I refuse to accept cancellation,” he said, explaining that he has never apologized for controversial statements. “You can never apologize because if you apologize, they think you think they’re right.”

The conversation then turned to the structural pressures artists face today. Labonte said industry success now depends heavily on digital platforms. “What matters is are you going to be on the right playlists on Spotify? Are you gonna get the right tours?” he said.

He added that political views can affect promotion behind the scenes. “There was a person at Apple Music that was very very unhappy with All That Remains for a little while,” Labonte said. “Not even about the music, just about the political ideas.”

Despite that, Labonte said bands can still function with internal politics. “Just because we have different opinions doesn’t mean we can’t be in the same band,” he said.

Emmons also asked about the decline of rock as a cultural force. Labonte said industry incentives have softened the genre and discouraged risk-taking. “It’s tough to be a vocal counterculture and still be looked at as a viable artist,” he said.

Listen to the full episode: