*N'SYNC, Backstreet Boys, KoRn, 98º, Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears... Who's your favorite? These are just a few of the hot music groups that we love to listen to! Everybody loves music, right? We love to turn up the radio while we are riding in the car or when we're just hanging out with friends. We all love to buy the newest CDs and go to the concerts of our favorite groups. Although we may not realize it, music is a major part of our lives!
But how does politics affect this music scene that millions of Americans participate in daily?
Well, most people don't realize it, or even think about it much, but politics plays a very important role when it comes to music. To see how politics affects music, we must first look at the issue of freedom of the press.
Freedom of the press is the liberty to print information and opinions without restrictions from the government. This freedom gets complicated when looking at electronic media because radio and television airwaves are public property and the broadcasters must operate under supervision.
So what does that have to do with music??
Well, the government is trying to prevent "offensive"
or inappropriate material from being broadcast on private
property such as the radio.
Have you ever:
--heard words bleeped out on the radio during a song?
--seen the "Parental Advisory" label on CDs?
--not been able to buy a certain CD because that store is not
allowed to sell it?
All of these are examples of ways the government has tried to
crack down on "offensive music."
In
order to create laws, the government goes through a long
process of proposing bills that must be approved by all three
branches of the government. Many bills relating to music
censorship
have been proposed that
would affect anyone who enjoys popular music, including YOU!
Here are some examples of bills or legislative measures that
are under consideration to control or censor music:
-The Louisiana State House is proposing to prohibit the sale of "lyrics harmful to minors" to persons under 17. This means record stores wouldn't sell us certain CDs that the government says are offensive.
-The Michigan State Senate passed a resolution where music venues could be asked to not admit persons under 18 and without a parent to performances of groups with a parental advisory sticker. This means if you're 17 and want to go to the Snoop Doggy Dogg or KoRn concert, you would have to take your mom or dad along.
-There are also proposals that would make it illegal for minors to purchase stickered albums nationwide, and there would be severe penalties for those stores who allowed minors to purchase them.
These are just a few of the proposals that would affect the music scene in America today. Many of them do not seem fair, and there are a lot of groups now that want to prevent these injustices. There are ways for you to get involved, too. On the web there are many anti-censorship groups who would love to inform you of even more unfair political actions that could be passed.
Links
Here are some web sites to get you started. Note that these sites may contain some offensive language and/or imagery.
A Brief History of Banned Music in America
Radio Free World Free Speech Guide
The International Revolutionary Truth and Freedom Association (I think these guys primarily associate themselves with Marilyn Manson, although I'm not sure)
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