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This article is about the warning label used by the music industry. For other uses, see Parental Advisory (disambiguation).

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Parental Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label first introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and later adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of excessive profanities or inappropriate references, with the intention of alerting parents of potentially unsuitable material for younger children. The label was first affixed on physical compact discs and cassette tapes, and it has been included on digital listings offered by online music stores to accommodate the growing popularity of the latter platform.

Recordings with the Parental Advisory label are generally released alongside censored versions that reduce or eliminate the questionable material. Several retailers will distribute all varieties of the product, occasionally with an increased price for censored versions, while some sellers offer the amended pressings as their main options and choose not to distribute the explicit counterparts. However, the label has been questioned for its perceived ineffectiveness in limiting the amount of inappropriate material that young audiences are exposed to.

Background

File:Mary Elizabeth Gore.JPG
Mary "Tipper" Gore, the co-founder of the Parents Music Resource Center commonly credited with beginning movements for the Parental Advisory label.

Shortly after their formation in April 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) assembled a list of fifteen songs with deemed unsuitable content. Particular criticism was placed on "Darling Nikki" by Prince, after the daughter of PMRC co-founder Mary "Tipper" Gore recognized its references to masturbation. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) responded by introducing an early version of their content warning label, although the PMRC was displeased and proposed that a music rating system structured like the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system be enacted. The RIAA alternatively suggested using a warning label reading "Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics", and after continued conflict between the organizations, the matter was discussed on September 19 during a hearing with the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Approximately two months after the hearing, the organizations agreed on a settlement in which audio recordings were to either be affixed with a warning label reading "Explicit Lyrics: Parental Advisory" or have its lyrics attached on the backside of its packaging.[1]

In 1990, a black-and-white warning label reading "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" was introduced as a standard for affected records to follow, and was to be placed on the bottom right-hand section of a given product. By May 1992, approximately 225 records had been marked with the warning.[2] In response to later hearings in the following years, it was reworded as "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" in 1994.[1] The system went unchanged until 2002, when record labels affiliated with Bertelsmann Music Group began including specific areas of concern including "strong language", "violent content", or "sexual content" on compact discs alongside the generic Parental Advisory label.[3] The Parental Advisory label was first used on music streaming services and online music stores in 2011.[4] That year, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) revised its own music censorship policies to incorporate more prominent usage of the warning label.[5]

Application

An earlier version of a warning label, used during the 1980s.

The "Parental Advisory Label Progam" in the United States and the "Parental Advisory Scheme" in the United Kingdom lack agreed-upon standards for using the warning label, although they provide guidelines for its recommended inclusion.[6][5] Although a voluntary practice that is ultimately left to the discretion of record labels,[7] the RIAA suggests that material with "strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse to such an extent as to merit parental notification" be affixed with the Parental Advisory label.[6] The BPI additionally requests that "racist, homophobic, misogynistic or other discriminatory language or behavior" be taken under consideration when determining the appropriateness of a record.[5] When the Parental Advisory label was introduced on online services in 2011, there had been no previous recommendations for warranting parental intervention.[4]

Audio recordings that include Parental Advisory labels in their original formats are generally released in censored versions that reduces or completely eliminates the questionable material,[8] They are recognized as "clean" editions by the RIAA, and are left unlabeled in their revised formats.[6] American retailers including Best Buy and f.y.e. distribute explicit and censored records;[9] Target has sold both varieties of a given record,[10] although has occasionally offered only the explicit version depending on the product.[11] Walmart and their affiliated properties only carry censored versions of records; in one instance, the retailer refused to distribute 21st Century Breakdown (2009) by Green Day because they were not given the clean copies that they requested.[12] Online music stores, including the iTunes Store,[13] generally have the Parental Advisory logo embedded into digital files.[1]

Impact

Since its introduction, the effectiveness of the Parental Advisory label has frequently been called into question. Jon Wiederhorn from MTV News suggested that artists benefited from the label and stated that younger customers would be given an "incentive" to purchase questionable content as a status symbol.[3] On behalf of Westword, Andy Thomas implied that the label was purposeless on the grounds that a young customer "would get a copy of the album sooner or later from a friend or another lethargic record store clerk" like the cashier that sold him a labeled pressing of La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992) by White Zombie in his childhood. He noted that its intended reaction in parents was varied; his lax mother was indifferent towards the warning, while the mother of his stricter companion did not allow her child to listen to the record.[14]

Danny Goldberg from Gold Village Entertainment opined that the Parental Advisory label offered minimal value other than "being a way for certain retailers like Wal-Mart to brand themselves as 'family friendly'"; he felt that children were successful in getting content they desired "even before the Internet", and believed that the label had little impact on sales figures.[1] In contrast, the RIAA maintains that "it's not a PAL Notice that kids look for, it's the music". They claimed that research they had gathered revealed that "kids put limited weight on lyrics in deciding which music they like, caring more about rhythm and melody" and implied that the label is not a deciding factor for a given purchase.[6] Tom Cole from NPR commented that the Parental Advisory label has become "a fact of music-buying life", which made it difficult for current consumers to understand the widespread controversy that came about from its introduction.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Cole, Tom (October 29, 2010). "You Ask, We Answer: 'Parental Advisory' Labels — The Criteria And The History". NPR. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  2. ^ Browne, David (May 22, 1992). "As Prudish as They Wanna Be". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Wiederhorn, Jon (July 3, 2002). "Sex, Violence, Cursing: Explicit Lyrics Stickers Get Explicit". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Sweney, Mark (June 2, 2011). "Parental warnings to be introduced for online music". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "BPI Parental Advisory Scheme Guidelines" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. September 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d "Parental Advisory Label ("PAL") Program". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  7. ^ Truitt, Warren. "Parental Advisory Labels - What Do Those Black-and-White Stickers Mean?". About.com. IAC. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  8. ^ "Music Content Policy". Walmart. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Trigga by Trey Songz (2014):
  10. ^ "Drake Take Care at Target". Target Corporation. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  11. ^ "Trey Songz Trigga at Target". Target Corporation. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  12. ^ Mumbi Moody, Nekesa. "Green Day: No-go to Wal-Mart policy on edited CDs". ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  13. ^ "iTunes: About iTunes Store Parental Advisories". Apple Inc. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  14. ^ Thomas, Andy (March 10, 2010). "Is Parental Advisory sticker still being affixed to albums these days? If so, how effective is it? Actually, was it ever effective?". Westword. Voice Media Group. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
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