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There certainly are many causes for these ills in our society, but
it is our contention that the pervasive messages aimed at children
which promote and glorify suicide, rape, sadomasochism, and so on,
have to be numbered among the contributing factors.
Some rock artists actually seem to encourage teen suicide. Ozzie [sic]
Osbourne sings "Suicide Solution." Blue Oyster Cult sings "Don't
Fear the Reaper." AC/DC sings "Shoot to Thrill." Just last week in
Centerpoint, a small Texas town, a young man took his life while
listening to the music of AC/DC. He was not the first.
Now that more and more elementary school children are becoming
consumers of rock music, we think it is imperative to discuss
this question. What can be done to help parents who want to
protect their children from these messages if they want to?
Today parents have no way of knowing the content of music
products that their children are buying. While some album covers
are sexually explicit or depict violence, many others give no clue as
to the content. One of the top 10 today is Morris Day and the Time,
"Jungle Love." If you go to buy the album "Ice Cream Castles" to
get "Jungle Love," you also get, "If the Kid Can't Make You Come,
Nobody Can," a sexually explicit song.
The pleasant cover picture of the members of the band gives no
hint that it contains material that is not appropriate for young
consumers.
Our children are faced with so many choices today. What is
available to them through the media is historically unique. The
Robert Johnson study on teen environment states that young
people themselves often feel that they have: One, too many choices
to make: two, too few structured means for arriving at decisions:
and three, too little help to get there.
We believe something can be done, and Tipper Gore will discuss
the possible solution. Thank you.
Mrs. GORE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We are asking the recording industry to voluntarily assist
parents who are concerned by placing a warning label on music
products inappropriate for younger children due to explicit sexual or
violent lyrics.
The Parents Music Resource Center originally proposed a
categorical rating system for explicit material. After many discussions
with the record industry, we recognize some of the logistical and
economic problems, and have adjusted our original suggestions
accordingly. We now propose one generic warning label to inform
consumers in the marketplace about lyric content. The labels
would apply to all music.
We have asked the record companies to voluntarily label their
own products and assume responsibility for making those
judgments. We ask the record industry to appoint a one-time panel to
recommend a uniform set of criteria which could serve as a policy
guide for the individual companies. Those individual recording
companies would then in good faith agree to adhere to this standard,
and make decisions internally about which records should be
labeled according to the industry criteria.
We have also asked that lyrics for labeled music products be
available to the consumer before purchase in the marketplace.
Now, it is important to clearly state what our proposal is not.
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