Lawmakers blast music industry for not using detailed advisory labels
By The Associated Press
10.02.02
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers criticized the record industry yesterday for failing to use more descriptive parental advisory labels that specify whether the music contains sex, violence or strong language.
The industry says the current labels give parents enough information without violating the right to free expression.
"This is the balance that the industry tried to achieve between responsibility to the community and to parents and extremely strong feelings in the creative community about this issue," Hilary Rosen, president and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America, said yesterday at a hearing of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee.
The industry agreed in 1985, under pressure from Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center, to put labels on records that contain explicit sex or violence. At the time, artists said the labels were government-sponsored censorship.
The music industry's labels — unlike rating programs for movies and video games — don't designate an age for which music may be inappropriate, but simply say the music contains "explicit content."
Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., applauded music publisher BMG for its decision in June to begin classifying whether its music is labeled because it has strong language, violent content or sexual content. He held up a copy of the "Lord Willin" compact disc by rap duo Clipse, which was labeled for all three, and called on other record labels to do the same "for all of America's parents and their kids."
"I believe that the First Amendment makes it inappropriate to legislate in these matters," he said. "However, just because you have a right to do something, it does not make it right to do."
Upton sent a letter to Rosen to ask whether the group's four other major members — Warner, Universal, EMI and Sony — will adopt BMG's policy. But Rosen said some people in the music industry are concerned that more specific labels will misinterpret an artist's lyrics.
Russell Simmons, chairman of the New York-based Hip Hop Summit Action Network, said Congress should not get involved in censoring artistic expression.
"We have gone to great lengths to let people know there is some content that you may find offensive," he said. "To go further ... how do we then find what is offensive? That is a subjective issue."
Lawmakers repeatedly said they are not calling for censorship, but consumer education.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., said the music industry should improve its labeling to prove its sincerity as it asks Congress for help to fight music swapping over the Internet that hurts record sales.
"Your representatives come into my office on a regular basis asking for assistance in fighting Internet piracy and other matters important to your industry's bottom line," Shimkus said. "And don't get me wrong, I agree with your argument — stealing is wrong. It is immoral, but so is marketing explicit content to our youth."
Not everyone on the subcommittee called for more explicit labels. Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., said "the debate is skewed largely by those that are uncomfortable by the way African-Americans express their culture."