Violence and Music:

what the recording industry may be doing to children

"We can't edit out the art that makes us uncomfortable."
National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences President
Michael Greene

   The above quote was spoken in response to the Grammy award controversy with Eminem that took place in February of this year. Violence in television and movies has always been a big issue, but only recently has concern over violence in music seemed to come to the forefront. With artists like Eminem and Marilyn Manson pushing the envelope, and parental associations and special interest groups consequently reacting through protests and court cases, violence and music has been on everyone's mind lately.

    In 1990 the Recording Industry Association of America voluntarily adopted the black and white warning label seen at the top of this page. This was done in response to many mandatory labeling bills that were at the time proceeding through various state legislatures. These stickers restricted the sales of labeled music to minors - one now had to be at least eighteen to purchase that brand new Dr. Dre album.

    Despite the uproar from teen and pre-teen listeners, the Recording Industry did have data to back up its position. Various studies have shown support for the notion that violent and aggressive lyrics correlate with higher degrees of violence in listeners. In addition, research has also shown that individuals who listen to music that portrays violence towards women become more accepting of that idea in their everyday life (for more information, visit our research page).

-Click on Eminem to see his "Stan" video-

    "Stan" is a song about a deranged fan that kills his girlfriend, puts her body in the trunk of his car, and drives off a bridge after not receiving a response to his fan mail from rapper Eminem.