America Should Rediscover the Soft Power Potential of Its Music

What made jazz – the quintessential American music – dangerous was not the sound, but the idea behind it: improvisation, spontaneity, individual voice. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied United States’ saxophonist Ravi Coltrane performes on the stage of the Impart jazz club in Wroclaw during his concert with trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard in honor of Miles Davis and John Coltrane as part of the Jazz nad Odra festival on April 26, 2026. (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google On April 30, International Jazz Day celebrated a music of freedom. Washington should see it as power. During the Cold War, the United States used jazz to outmaneuver Soviet propaganda and win hearts and minds without firing a shot. It worked. Today, as global competition sharpens, America is sidelining one of its most effective tools of influence. It is past time for the United States to bring music back into its diplomatic repertoire, stop missing the beat and reclaim its cultural cadence. Both the United Nations and UNESCO formally recognize International Jazz Day on their official calendars. Today, International Jazz Day is celebrated worldwide, including in countries such as China and Russia, where jazz concerts and cultural programming have become part of the observance. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . During the cold war, the US State Department turned to jazz musicians as a frontline tool of cultural diplomacy, countering Soviet propaganda while promoting America’s image as a free nation. As USIA Director Theodore Streibert put it: “Our job is to tell the world who we are, what we stand for and what we believe in.” In 1955, the Voice of America launched a jazz program hosted by Willis Conover, broadcasting American music deep into the Soviet bloc and reaching millions behind the Iron Curtain. In a closed society built on control, even musical freedom carried political meaning. The Kremlin feared jazz’s expression of individualism and rebelliousness. Stalin banned the saxophone and jazz . Khrushchev was no admirer of jazz, either. What made jazz dangerous was not the sound, but the idea behind it: improvisation, spontaneity, individual voice. Other Topics of Interest Make Russia Pay – Or Accept A World Where Power Defines What Is Right Peace without accountability won’t end the war in Ukraine Jazz had an impact. During Russian Jazz’s 100-year anniversary Putin stated “Music is such a language, it is Esperanto, an international language that does not require translation, it unites people.” Russia’s novelist Vasily Aksyonov would gather in dim basements to listen to forbidden American jazz on pirated records. Armenian born pianist David Azarian emphasized how Willis Conover from Voice of America was “America’s best weapon to destroy socialism and Communism.” Even former KGB chief Yuri Andropov, was a fan of jazz. America’s adversaries appear to better understand music’s soft power potential. Most notably, Iran’s Anti-American rap tracks , accompanied with Lego-themed AI-generated music videos, have gained viral reach. The PRC once opened a Music Confucious Institute in Denmark, which was praised by Chinese academics for its “significant achievements” in “cultural dissemination” before shutting down in 2020. Russia has even revived a Soviet-era song contest, InterVision , as an alternative to Eurovision, the extremely popular singing contest. InterVision emphasizes traditional values – a core theme in its propaganda strategy at home and abroad. Even America’s allies understand how to flex soft power through music. Most notably, Korea has poured millions of dollars into the promotion of K-pop. The State Department still appears to send Americans musicians abroad through its America Music Abroad program, according to its website . The US has used hip hop diplomacy as an influential soft power tool. The US State Department established a music diplomacy initiative that sends American musicians abroad to promote cultural exchange and strengthen international ties. Through performances and collaborations, artists engage directly with foreign audiences, projecting an image of the United States rooted in creativity and openness. This is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done. Washington does not appear to be sending America’s A-listers abroad. While Jazz’s cultural prestige has fallen precipitously since the start of the cold war, musicians involved in jazz diplomacy at the time – like Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck – were extremely popular . The US should consider recruiting some of its most high-profile artists to counter anti-American propaganda abroad, which a recently leaked State Department cable called a priority . For example, Russia , China , and Iran have been actively competing with the US and its allies for influence in Africa. Popular artists like Drake, the Weeknd, and Justin Bieber – who are ironically all originally from Canada but reside in America – have appeared at the top of African charts. If any of them might be willing to participate in State Department events, they could likely draw in massive audiences. In addition to recruiting living superstars, the US can also take a more targeted approach by appealing to genres popular in contested regions. Blues music is popular in the Sahel region of Africa, where Russia has successfully launched influence operations to undermine U.S. activity in the region, including its counter-terrorism operations in Niger. While blues artists arguably are no longer superstars in America, America could send its top blues artists to the Sahel – or launch programs focusing on the legacy of its historical blues legends – to counter Russian efforts to turn public sentiment against the US. Country music is also popular in certain African countries, providing another genre through which the US can communicate with local audiences. While American music remains incredibly popular abroad , the United States does not appear to even come close to leveraging its full potential as a tool to project American soft power. America’s goal should not be simply to promote its music abroad, but to connect its music with the messages it seeks to communicate to international audiences. As Russia, China, and Iran escalate the information war against the United States, Washington should take a page from its Cold War playbook and re-engage the battle for hearts and minds. It is time to stop playing catch-up and start calling the tune again. In this new global contest, America should let music do what it has always done best: set the rhythm of freedom and win the world’s ear. The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post. Max Lesser is a senior analyst on emerging threats at FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation. Max previously served as head of U.S. policy analysis and engagement at Darktrace Federal, a cybersecurity company that specializes in AI. Max’s research and insights on foreign malign influence have been referenced by OpenAI and featured in media such as The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , and NBC News.