What is censorship?
Censorship is a very delicate subject. One person may say that something should be censored, while another may say it shouldn't.
Either way, according to Webster's Dictionary, censorship is "to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable."
So if that's censorship, then what's music censorship?
Music censorship is any act that supports or allows the suppression, control, or banning of music or music-related works against the desire of its creator or intended audience.
If a particular group forces the artist to edit his/her song, yet the artist does not want to, then according to the definition, he/she is being censored musically. The group is not allowing the artist to fully express his/her thoughts and opinions through music.
What is the importance of the FCC?
According to the chairman of the FCC Michael Powell, "The FCC was created to protect our young ones from some of the questionable content on the radio. Not only will our children live in a much healthier, safer place, but also adults."
It basically filters out indecent programming from ever being broadcast.
How are artists responding to the strict FCC guidelines?
Not too well. Stations have been fined for airing questionable songs such as Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" and Sarah Jones' "Your Revolution."
Jones was so upset about it, she actually sued the FCC for suing other stations. She says that the FCC is ruining her First Amendment rights. Not just artists are feeling the wrath of the FCC.
Radio D.J. Howard Stern has been fined several times for airing indecent and obscene material. He expressed his anger on a web-site which he calls the FCC a "piece of shit."
How did some people react to the Beatles when Lennon said, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue that: I'm right and I will be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus now."?
To put it bluntly, not so well. Several protests occurred, resulting in numerous burnings of Beatles' albums and memorabilia.
The Christian Crusade, led by Reverend David A. Noebel, accused the Beatles of numerous things from communists to "wizards who transform teenagers into homosexuals."
Many people also believed that these songs contained satanic messages, and the Beatles feared that they could be assassinated.
How exactly did the PMRC become a household name?
After Tipper Gore was outraged after listening to Prince's "Darlin' Nikki" on the Purple Rain soundtrack, she organized a group of Washingtonians and protested this kind of music to the RIAA. The RIAA was a little slow to respond, so Gore sped up talks by talking to several news organizations about the PMRC and their goals for a healthier society.
When the PMRC released the Filthy Fifteen, a list of music which represented the type of songs they wanted to see banned, it made headlines.
Due the media, the PMRC became a household name.
How was MTV a censor?
By deciding which videos were going to be shown and when, MTV became a censor. Originally, MTV did not censor hardly any videos, until the PMRC pressured them to do so.
While MTV's popularity was on the rise, their censoring of music was as well. In 1984, MTV demaned edits from one out of every ten videos. By 1987, one out of five. Today, one out of three!
MTV had to censor so it could stay on the air.
What happened to the PMRC?
After Gore left the PMRC in 1992 to improve her husband's chances of becoming Vice President, the once powerful center lost interest from the public.
In a statement, they said that "due to limited funding and staff, it can no longer afford to publish its Newsletter. It has accordingly altered its goals, claiming today to serve as a resource center to educate and promote public awareness of the positive long term effects of music on health, analytical, and creative thinking and self-esteem."
What did we get from the PMRC?
Universal black and white Parental Advisory stickers.
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