St. Josephs Prepratory School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Government Regulation in the Music Industry
Michael Dougherty
Grade 12

       

 It is said that 17out of 20 people listen to Rock and Roll music, 15 out of 20 believe that it enlarged

the generation gap. With statistics like this it's easy to see why the government would want to regulate

the industry.  Since 1980 many parents and religious fundamentalist groups have waged a campaign

to limit the cultural messages that the American youth would have access to by attacking the content

of some of the music industries products. This campaign included a movement to label recordings

whose themes or imagery related to sexuality, violence, drug use, or the occult  Regulation in this

industry is rampant and uncalled for. Musicians have the same freedom of speech rights as all

Americans.

Music has long been the subject of controversy and regulation. In 1951 Dottie O'Brien's "Four or Five Times" and Dean Martin's "Wham Bam, Thank You Ma'am" are banned for fear that they are suggestive. In 1952 The Weavers are blacklisted due to their leftist political beliefs. Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass" is banned from radio in 1954 because it is thought to condone heavy drinking. Congress considered that legislation requires song lyrics to be reviewed and altered by a committee before being broadcast or offered for sale.

 In 1992 the state of Washington passed a law that required storeowners to place "adults only" labels on recordings a judge had found to be erotic; the law also criminalized the sale of any labeled CD or tape to a person under age 18. This law was never enforced because shortly after its passage a state court declared it unconstitutional. A label on an album is no proof that the music within is in any way harmful or illegal. Yet many stores (local and national chains) refuse to sell labeled albums to minors, and in some cases refuse to carry them at all.

Regulation also varies to adapt to the times. Rap group The Coups had the cover of their album party music posted on their web site since June 2001. The cover portrayed Boots Riley, a member of the group, standing in front of an exploding Twin Towers with a detonator in his hand. This cover was meant to convey the anti-establishment beliefs that the group had had since day 1. After the September 11th attacks, within hours after the attacks, the record company was flooded with angry emails and threatened with boycotts. They immediately took the picture down and eliminated it. This sudden outrage came after the same picture had been posted for 3 months.

Regulation is needed in some aspects of the industry. On the issue of music on the internet legislation is inevitable. The internet has changed the face of the music industry and threatened the livelihood of many songwriters. Voluntary agreement is not necessary to make songs available online. If people are downloading the music for free, eventually the music industry will collapse on itself. If Congress isn't going to regulate labels than it shouldn’t regulate the least powerful group, the songwriters. Government could fund organizations to help stimulate production, like the SRDP (Sound Recording Development Program) in Canada.

The state of Texas is a great example of music being regulated by the government, be it state or national. The 

routine for obtaining a permit to hold an outdoor concert is very strenuous. An outdoor concert is defined as a 

performance occurring on two or more consecutive days or two days within a three-day period. In order to obtain a 

permit the promoter must submit the names, telephone numbers, and addresses to the city council. The permit, once 

issued may be revoked up to five days before the event. In order to be considered a legitimate promoter until they have 

registered with the county clerk of the county in which the event is to take place. Failure to do this results in a thirty-day 

conviction or fine up to $1000. In Texas a noise is deemed unreasonable if it fails to fall below 85 decibels after the 

noisemaker receives a notice.  A law was also passed, effective September 1, 1998, that state funds would not be 

given to any business that record or produce any music that glorifies acts of criminal violence, assault on a police 

officer, necrophilia, bestiality, pedophilia, illegal use of controlled substances, or criminal street gang activity.

Congressman Chris Cannon was involved in and strongly behind the Music Online Competition Act.  This Act 

was meant to create a legitimate online marketplace for music.  This marketplace would be equally beneficial to the 

public, the creators of the music, and Americas technology industry.  This is a great example of government justifiably 

regulating the music industry.  The MOCA would allow broadcasters and web casters to have multiple ephemeral (or 

“in-house”) copies of songs to accommodate the different speeds of Internet connection.  It would also have royalties be 

paid directly to the artist rather than filtering it through the record company. 

The MOCA also limits the amount of Internet airtime these songs would have.  It limits them to playing more than 

3 songs from a particular CD or more than 4 songs in a 3-hour window.  It does this In accordance with our tradition of 

respect for intellectual property, which dates back to the founding of the republic.  Cannon says that at this point in time, 

artists should be putting their works directly online and getting paid directly.  It is impossible at this time for a small 

online company to get the proper licensing to play these songs. He says that the recording industry may have chosen to 

not license music for purposes of stifling competition. 

Ultimately any regulation in this industry should be left to those that it effects, the songwriters. Artists should be able to 

sing about anything their hearts desire. Some people feel that only certain moral issues should be heard in music. The 

American Civil Liberties Union is trying to stop these people and show them that musicians have First Amendment 

rights as well and can produce any music that they believe in.

  1 E-Journal of Student Research, www.youth.net/nsrc/social/soc011.html

2 Popular Music Under Siege, American Civil Liberties Union, http://www.eff.org/Censorship/music_censorship_aclu.article

3 Censorship in Music, Megan Gilchrist, http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/english/people/hogsette.1/g1music.htm

4 A Brief History of Banned Music in the United States, http://ericnuzum.com/banned/fifties.html

5 Popular Music Under Siege

6 Planned Album Cover Raises Ruckus, Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune Rock Critic, September 15, 2001, Page 25

7 Web Music Regulation Debated, Consumer Electronics, 5-21-01

8 Our Story in Music, http://www.pch.gc.ca/mindep/misc/culture/htm/4.htm

9 Texas Music Office- Office of the Governor, http://www.governor.state.tx.us/music/history_d.htm

10 Music Online Competition Act, Congressman Chris Cannon, www.house.gov/cannon/bills2001/moca_summary.html

11 Gilchrist

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