As I compiled a Rage Against the Machine compilation today, i did some research into them. They're contribution certainly isn't limited to their music. The were involved with many grassroots movements, protests, and such. Aside from the fact that they were on a sub-label of Sony (Epic), they didn't compromise and stood up to those who tried to censor them.. At Lollapalooza (1993 I think), they appeared on stage for 15 minutes completely naked, mouths duct-taped, guitars blasting feedback, in protest of censorship movements (those folks that succeeded in having those warning stickers put on CDs). There are numerous other notable events as well. Regarding the following picture of Thich Quang Duc, which was the cover photo for RATM's self-titled debut, check out THIS LINK:

Tom Morello, the incredibly creative guitarist, had this to say about RATM being on Epic:
A lot of labels contacted us, and lots of them just didn't seem to understand what we wanted to do. They kept talking about the message of the music as a gimmick. They were interested in us just because there was a buzz... They saw us as the latest local rock band to be hyped. But Epic agreed to everything we asked--and they've followed through... we never saw a conflict as long as we maintained creative control. When you live in a capitalist society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomskyobject to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that's where people buy their books. We're not interested in preaching to just the converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart.