Music vs The Man

For centuries, a war has raged between singers, musicians, bands--and the authorities. The conflict comes to life in Music vs The Man, which profiles the lead characters in the history of clashes between those who make music and those who aim to enforce the law.

What is it about musicians like John Lennon, Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson, Michael Jackson and Pussy Riot that has put them so frequently in the cross-hairs of the police, immigration officials, city councils, the FBI, and the Kremlin?

Music vs The Man explores the question in chapters featuring artists from Strauss and Shostakovich to Sinatra and the Stones. 

Music wields the type of revolutionary power that politicians and authorities only dream of. Music has the power to open hearts, change minds, and motivate people to stand up for what they believe in. That's why, through the centuries, authorities have been trying to censor it, by throwing musicians in prison, raiding their homes and sometimes even killing them.

In Music vs The Man acclaimed filmmaker and author Peter Rowe tells the wild stories of the efforts of a wide group of musical artists to make their voices heard, and the bold and forceful efforts of the authorities to shut them up.