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Senator GORE. As a result of that resolution, you then contacted the
major record companies asking for a response to your request that they
voluntarily put ratings on albums, is that right?
Mrs. WATERMAN. That is correct.
Senator GORE. How many of the major record companies responded to that
letter from the National PTA?
Mrs. WATERMAN. I think I told you in my testimony, seven. Very few of
them. And the meetings, of course, never came off. Seven companies replied,
sir.
Senator GORE. Seven companies?
Mrs. WATERMAN. Yes.
Senator GORE. Did any of them respond favorably?
Mrs. WATERMAN. No.
Senator GORE. None of them did?
Mrs. WATERMAN. No.
Senator GORE. You asked for a meeting with the record companies,
is that right?
Mrs. WATERMAN. That is right.
Senator GORE. But that meeting has not yet occurred, is that right?
Mrs. WATERMAN. That meeting has never taken place, sir.
Senator GORE. Did you get the feeling that you were being stonewalled by
the industry, or that they were resisting any effort to engage in a dialog
with you?
Mrs. WATERMAN. You would have that feeling. However, 19 companies have
agreed that there would be some kind of labeling, "Parental Guidance:
Explicit Lyrics." So there is a movement of concern certainly if those
19 have agreed.
Senator GORE. Do you share the concern of the PMRC that if these record
companies are going to voluntarily label albums and cassettes, the set
of criteria governing when a label is appropriate and when it is not,
should be industrywide and not just according to the different criteria
of each individual company?
Mrs. WATERMAN. Senator Gore, we feel that a panel of the music industry
should sit down and do the guidelines and standards so that all of them
are the same. Otherwise it would not -- one company would be one way,
one would be the other. It needs to be uniform.
Senator GORE. Now, although there are some differences between the remedies
you have suggested and those suggested by the PMRC, if I am correct, the
two organizations have met and worked out a common approach that meets the
concerns of both groups, is that correct?
Mrs. WATERMAN. The president of the National PTA has had a meeting with the
PMRC, and we agree on three things. I felt that the agreement was on the need
for labeling, the need for lyrics to be placed so that a parent or a buyer
could see what they were, and also the panel needed to be convened of the
music industry, that it be voluntarily done.
Senator GORE. Well, I congratulate you for the leadership offered by the
PTA in this matter. I hope you will keep it up, and will carry this message
to your local chapters throughout the country.
Thank you very much for appearing.
Mrs. WATERMAN. Thank you, Senator Gore.
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