RIAA
Issues New Standards For Parental Advisory Label
Effective
October 1, 2000, new changes apply to the use of the Parental Advisory
Label.
The following
establishes general guidelines for executives of recording companies and
their artists to use in making the determination as to whether a sound
recording warrants a Parental Advisory Label.
"The
Parental Advisory is a notice to parents that recordings identified by
this logo may contain strong language or depictions of violence, sex or
substance abuse. Parental discretion is advised."
The above
sentence represents the notice to consumers posted in record retail
stores across America. It is intended to inform the public about the
Label that they will see on a particular recording. First and foremost,
the application of a Label by the record company and artist must be
consistent with this information.
The use of
the Parental Advisory Label is not a determination as to whether a
recording is appropriate for particular listeners. Rather, the
non-removable sticker is a ”heads up“ to parents (and consumers,
retailers and wholesalers) that parental discretion is advised when
purchasing the particular recording for children or when listening to
the recording in the home.
It is
obviously not possible to define each individual situation in which a
recording company should apply the Parental Advisory Label; however, the
following issues should be considered in making a determination
regarding application of the Label.
1. Whether,
in light of contemporary cultural morals and standards and the choices
and views of individual parents, the recording might be one that parents
may not want their child to listen to.
2. Context is
obviously important: some words, phrases, sounds, or descriptions might
be offensive to parents if spotlighted or emphasized, but might not
offend if merely part of the background or not a meaningful part of the
lyrics.
3. The
context of the artist performing the material, as well as the
expectations of the artist‘s audience, is also important.
4. Lyrics are
often susceptible to varying interpretations. Words can have different
meanings. Also, words cannot be viewed in isolation from the music that
accompanies them. Lyrics when accompanied by loud and raucous music can
be perceived differently than the same lyrics when accompanied by soft
and soothing music.
5. Labeling
is not a science; it requires sensitivity and common sense. Context,
frequency, and emphasis are obviously important; isolated or
unintelligible references to certain material might be insufficient to
warrant application of the Label.
6. A Label
may still be warranted on a recording after profanity is removed. Please
keep in mind that ”depictions of violence, sex or substance abuse“
must also be considered when making a determination regarding the
application of the Parental Advisory Label.
7. These
guidelines apply to the case of a single track commercially released as
well as to full albums.
Once the
determination is made that a recording warrants a Parental Advisory
Label, the sticker is to be plainly displayed in a nonremovable form on
the CD cover. In general, the sticker is placed on the bottom left
corner of the CD cover itself (not the cellophane wrapper). The precise
positioning decision, however, is made on a case-by-case basis,
depending in large part on the particular design and color of the
artwork presented on the CD’s cover, so that the Parental Advisory
Label will be visible.
Logo
Use In Advertising
RIAA has
developed voluntary marketing and advertising standards that aim to
ensure better communication with retailers and the public that a
recording contains explicit content. It is the goal of these standards
to ensure that consumers are (1) able to expect uniformity regarding the
application of the Parental Advisory Label when making purchasing
decisions and (2) informed when a recording being advertised contains
explicit content.
1.
Application of the Logo in Ads
In cases
where the decision has been made to sticker a recording with the
Parental Advisory Label, all consumer print advertising for any
stickered recording shall communicate the presence of explicit content.
This may be
achieved through the actual depiction of the Parental Advisory Label in
the ad or by prominently displaying the exact wording of the Label. (If
an advertisement includes the use of an album ”mini,“ it is
suggested that a ”band“ be inserted around the perimeter of the
”mini“ with the exact language of the Label indicating that the
recording contains explicit content. Otherwise, the small size of the
album ”mini“ may result in the logo appearing as an illegible black
dot.)
If an
”edited“ version of a recording is also available for sale,
advertising may also contain language indicating such a version of the
recording is available. This should be accomplished with the wording
”edited version available“ placed near the location of the Label
logo. Examples of Label designs meant to accomplish this are available
from the RIAA Web site.
2.
Appropriate Advertising Vehicles
In
continuation of standard industry practice, advertising for recordings
that contain the Parental Advisory Label shall not appear in
publications, online sites or any other commercial outlet whose primary
market demographic (i.e., more than 50% of the target demographic) is 16
years of age or younger.
Logo
Use For Internet-based Sales And Promotions
This policy
is intended to provide guidance for online retailers and sellers of
music as well as provide uniformity for consumers.
It is
understood that in most cases, the online sellers of music are not
affiliated with the record company and therefore will make their own
decisions with regard to this policy. But, record retailers have been
important and conscientious partners in informing parents about the
Parental Advisory Label and it is important to continue to work
together. This voluntary guideline is applicable to all online music
retail sites.
1. Promotion
or Display: RIAA recommends that all online retail sites prominently
display the Parental Advisory Label when a shopper is searching or
reviewing recordings which are ”stickered.”
This may be
done in one of three ways: through the use of the logo in a sufficiently
legible size; through prominently displayed wording in the product
description; or through the inclusion of Advisory language in a
”band“ surrounding the perimeter of an album ”mini.“
2. Through
the Entire Transaction: An indication that a recording is stickered
should appear in all stages of the shopping transaction — from search
results to the shopping cart.
3.
Information Link: RIAA also recommends to members of the online retail
community that individual sites contain a ”link“ to the
entertainment industry’s Web page www.parentalguide.org
explaining the recording industry’s Parental Advisory Labeling program
as well as the labeling programs for other entertainment products.
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