Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 6, 1994 TAG: 9405070017
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"While a voluntary ratings system may be appropriate for motion pictures, its application to sound recordings would be both inappropriate and impractical," Hilary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, told a House panel.
Rosen said the industry has taken seriously its parental advisory program, under which record companies voluntarily label new recordings with lyrics that contain explicit violence, sex or drug abuse.
"Virtually every recording that has been the target of public controversy ... has a voluntary parental advisory on its cover," she said, adding that the program "balances the rights of free expression with the desires for social responsibility."
There has been increased debate recently about the significance of rap's often vulgar and violent lyrics. Community activists, academics, police officers and recording industry executives speak of youthful alienation and whether music or society in general is responsible.
Rep. Cardiss Collins, D-Ill., told a hearing before her Energy and Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection that the violent, anti-woman theme of many rap recordings "dehumanizes relationships and sensitizes us to further assaults on human dignity."
Like violence on television and in video games, "gangsta" rap is blamed for influencing young people to be violent.
Lawmakers have said they don't want to censor rap, but they question whether the warning label recording companies voluntarily put on albums with explicit lyrics is sufficient. The black-and-white label reads, "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics."
by CNB