90
. . .
suggesting that the panel produce written guidelines that each record
company can follow to evaluate its own products.
The need for such standards was made clear in a response sent to the
National PTA by the Recording Industry president, Stanley Gortikov on
November 16, 1984, which said, "There are wide variations, company to
company, within our industry in respect to artists, contractual
relationships, marketing considerations and product services." With such
different practices among companies, different standards might be applied
to labeling records which would only confuse the consumers and therefore
provide minimal benefits.
In May of 1985 the president of the National PTA invited the presidents
or representatives of 62 record companies and the Recording Industry
to meet with PTA representatives at a luncheon in New York City which was
scheduled for May 30. Only seven companies replied, and all declined to
attend. However, three companies did offer to meet with the PTA privately
to discuss the issues involved. Due to scheduling conflicts, those meetings
have not yet been arranged.
In August of 1985 the Recording Industry announced that it had received
agreement from 19 record companies to label recordings they deemed
appropriate with a warning of some kind. The suggested wording offered
was "Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics."
We view this as a very positive step by the music industry. It demonstrates
that the industry finally recognizes there is a serious problem that
affects millions of music consumers and that the problem must be addressed.
Our concern is that the industry's proposal does not define what explicit
lyrics are. What is explicit to one company may be acceptable to another.
In addition, it does not address the use of dangerous lyrical themes,
such as the promotion of drug and alcohol use or the committing of crimes.
While a "Parental Guidance" warning would provide some relief, it does
not adequately solve the entire problem, which is that music consumers
have no way of knowing exactly what they are getting until they take a
recording home and play it.
Together with the Parents' Music Resource Center, the National PTA is
proposing that the entire music industry agree upon an appropriate
symbol that would be used to designate recordings containing explicit
sexual language, violence, profanity, the occult and glorification of
drugs and alcohol. We are suggesting that the letter "R" be used because
it is familiar to consumers as a warning that material may be inappropriate
for young people or sensitive adults as part of the movie rating system.
"R" would not suggest restriction. It would be used only as an alert to
consumers.
Such a label would need to be either adhered to or printed on the actual
recording cover, not the cellophane wrapper. For this sytem to work as a
means for parents to monitor the music their children are bringing into
their homes, they need to see the warning, which could be removed along
with a cellophane wrapping.
In addition, we recommend that the lyrics on all music recordings labeled
"R" be provided in some way outside the packaging. If the lyrics could not
be printed on the outisde of music packages, then it might be made available
in some other form at record stores for consumer review. Providing lyrics
will let each individual
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