Parental Advisory

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For the book of the same name, see Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America.

For the hip-hop trio, see P.A..

The Parental Advisory sticker is found on some records.

Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to audio and video recordings in the United States containing offensive language. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985 after pressure from the Parents Music Resource Center. In 1990, the PMRC worked with the RIAA to standardize the label, creating the now-familiar black and white design. To some, it has become known as the "Tipper sticker" because of Tipper Gore's visible role in the PMRC.

Some politicians have tried to criminalize the sale of sexually explicit or lyrically violent records to minors, and others have gone so far as to try to ban such records. Certain record stores refuse to sell albums containing the label (most notably Wal-Mart), and others limit the sale of such albums to adults only. However, the power of the PMRC has greatly declined in recent years, especially with the growing popularity of rap and heavy metal (popular targets of the PMRC). Still, the RIAA encourages the labeling of any album containing explicit lyrics.

There have been some cases of unusual use of the label. After Frank Zappa campaigned against music censorship in 1985, a "parental advisory" sticker was attached to his next album Jazz from Hell. The label was attached due to the title of one track, "G-Spot Tornado," and not due to its content—the album is entirely instrumental and contains no lyrics. The designation of instrumentals as taboo, however, is nothing new; in the 1960s, the "Rumble" instrumental by Link Wray was banned from some radio stations because it could supposedly incite juvenile violence.

Several countries use the Parental Advisory sticker on albums. Seen here is a Canadian version.

Although many retailers use the sticker as a criterion for censorship, there are no real rules as to when the sticker has to appear on a CD. For example, many albums with one instance of profanity have a "parental advisory" sticker (such as My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, Jack's Mannequin's Everything In Transit or Bloc Party's Silent Alarm), although albums like Green Day's Insomniac, Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Black Eyed Peas' Elephunk, Bow Wow's Wanted, Lyfe Jennings' Lyfe 268-192 and The Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute, Incubus' A Crow Left Of The Murder..., or Panic! at the Disco's A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, which feature multiple uses of explicit language, do not.

Some albums (but not all) have additional content descriptors explaining some of the elements of the album that make the disc qualify for the sticker. On System of a Down's Mezmerize, for instance, under the label it reads "Strong Language, Sexual + Violent Content". The Radiohead Album Hail to the Thief has a warning of the strong offensive language on the CD Booklet on the inside next to the listed lyrics.

Many albums with the label have clean versions available, especially on online music stores such as iTunes or Napster.

Interestingly, there are a few albums that have a note saying that the lyrics are of an adult nature, but without the sticker. Though rare, they are existent. Some examples would be Back to Bedlam by James Blunt and also Wreckage by Overseer, which have mild swearing on several tracks.

There has been the observation that the stickers appear to have had the reverse effect to what was intended. Albums with this sticker displayed have considerably more desirability due to their content, and the sticker has been likened in some circles to the musical equivalent of an alcohol content label. An album with a advisory warning has a definite allure to a technically underage audience, for the presence of mature content, in the same way that alcoholic beverages do.

The label is also seen in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Australia on albums of American origin.