Music censorship

Censorship of music refers to the practice of editing of musical works for various reasons, stemming from a wide variety of motivations, including moral, political, or religious reasons. Censorship can range from the complete government-enforced legal prohibition of a musical work, to private, voluntary removal of content when a musical work appears in a certain context.

Motivations

Decency

Songs are commonly edited for broadcast on radio and television in order to remove content that may be objectionable to some listeners or viewers, such as sexual references or profanities, usually to comply with a particular broadcaster's guidelines for content, or to make the song more marketable to a mainstream audience. Songs edited for content in this manner by are often known as a "clean version" or a "radio edit".^[1] Some radio stations may, alternatively, relegate tracks containing objectionable content to time periods deemed appropriate, such as during late-night hours.^[1]

Objectionable content is edited out of clean versions in various ways, including muting, "bleeping", backmasking, or otherwise distorting the words so that they are not understandable, or substituting offending words with new lyrics.^[2] For example, multiple radio edits of CeeLo Green's song "Fuck You" were released, including one which changed the titular lyric to "Forget You", and "FU", which muted "fuck" wtihout replacing it.^[3][4] Since the song's subject matter was deemed too inappropriate for airplay pre-watershed, BBC Radio 1 played a clean version of Rihanna's song "S&M" during the daytime hours under the alternate title "Come On"; after Rihanna objected to the censorship of the song's title, the BBC compromised by titling it "S&M (Come On)".^[5][6] The Black Eyed Peas re-wrote "Let's Get Retarded"—a song from their album Elephunk, as "Let's Get It Started" to serve as a promotional song for television coverage of the 2004 NBA Playoffs. "Let's Get It Started" was subsequently released as a standalone single.^[7][8] When performing his song "Power" on Saturday Night Live, Kanye West similarly replaced a verse containing profanities as well as lyrics directly criticising the program (such as "Fuck SNL and the whole cast") with an entirely new version ^[9]

Songs containing potentially objectionable double entendres or mondegreens have also been subject to censorship. For example, the title and chorus of Britney Spears' single "If U Seek Amy" was intended to be misheard as "F-U-C-K me"; Spears' label issued a radio edit of the song that changed the word "seek" to "see" in order to remove the wordplay.^[10][11] Similar concerns were raised by radio stations over The Black Eyed Peas' "Don't Phunk With My Heart" upon its release, as the word "phunk" could be misinterpreted by listeners as sounding like the word "fuck".^[11]

Censorship of music is not limited to lyrical content; MTV edited the M.I.A. song "Paper Planes" to replace sounds of gunfire in its chorus with alternative sound effects, and remove a reference to cannabis. Similar sound edits occurred when M.I.A. performed the same song on Late Show with David Letterman. M.I.A. subsequently criticized both MTV and Late Show for censoring her song.^[12][13]

Sensitivity

Some songs may be pulled or downplayed by broadcasters if they are considered to be inappropriate to play in the aftermath of specific events. Following the September 11 attacks, U.S. radio conglomerate Clear Channel circulated a list of songs that it recommended its stations to not play in the wake of the attack for sensitivity reasons.^[14][15] Mark Wills' "19 Somethin'" was temporarily pulled by some radio stations following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, as the song itself contains a lyric referencing the Challenger disaster.^[16]

In 2006, after Garry Glitter was convicted of child sexual abuse in Vietnam, the National Football League banned the original recording of his song "Rock and Roll", which was popularly played at U.S. sporting events,^[17] from being played at its games. While the NFL still allowed a cover version of the song to be played, in 2012 the league instructed its teams to "avoid" playing the song entirely, following negative reception from British media over its continued use by the New England Patriots, and the possibility it could be played during Super Bowl XLVI.^[18][19]

Following Chris Brown's alleged physical altercation with his then-girlfriend Rihanna, various radio stations began to voluntarily pull Brown's music from their playlists as a condemnation of his actions.^[20][21] In December 2013, after the band's lead singer Ian Watkins was charged with thirteen sexual offences against children, British record store chain HMV removed the entire catalogue of Lostprophets from its stores.^[22]

Legal issues

Songs and albums may, in some cases, also be subject to censorship due to copyright problems (particularly related to sampling) or other legal issues. The JAMs album 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) was withdrawn from distribution following complaints by ABBA, whose music was sampled on the album without permission.^[23] The Notorious B.I.G.'s album Ready to Die was similarly pulled following a lawsuit by Bridgeport Music over the use of unauthorized samples from songs owned by the company.^[24][25]

By country

China

China has historically condemned or banned any musical act who publicly supports Tibetan independence or otherwise interacts with the Dalai Lama; in 2008, Björk chanted "Tibet, Tibet" to the audience whilst performing "Declare Independence" during a concert in Shanghai, resulting in the country's Ministry of Culture threatening to "further tighten controls" on Western artists performing in the country. Culture minister Zhou Heping later denied such a crackdown, considering Björk's case to be an isolated incident, and stating that it "[would not] affect our invitation of artists from all over the world to come to China and perform, particularly during the Olympic Games". However, he did note that the song, which was not cleared by Chinese authorities, had caused "dissatisfaction among the broader Chinese audience", ^[26]

Maroon 5 had concerts cancelled in the country after bandmember Jesse Carmichael posted a message celebrating the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday on Twitter, and Oasis concerts in China were cancelled after lead singer Noel Gallagher performed at a Free Tibet concert in New York City. In 2016, the Publicity Department banned Lady Gaga music after she posted a video of her meeting with the Dalai Lama prior to a conference in Indianapolis.^[27][28]

In July 2017, it was reported that Justin Bieber had been banned from performing in the country, citing "a series of bad behaviours, both in his social life and during a previous performance in China, which caused discontent among the public."^[29]

Malaysia

In Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, local law forbids local radio stations from playing songs that are "offensive to public feeling" or "violate good taste and decency". References to LGBT topics were censored from Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" by local radio stations as homosexual acts are illegal in the country (which prompted the singer to urge her fans to oppose the censorship),^[30][31] while "Despacito" was banned from state-owned broadcasters after public concern.^[32][33]

Concerts in Malaysia have also been subject to censorship to comply with the country's moral values; Avril Lavigne was instructed to not wear revealing clothing, jump, shout, or include any "negative elements" in a 2008 concert in Kuala Lumpur,^[34] Muslim citizens were initially banned from attending a Black Eyed Peas concert in 2009 because it was being sponsored by Guinness (alcohol is banned under Sharia law, but the ban was lifted after Guinness agreed to not sell its products at the concert or advertise its involvement on promotional material),^[35] and Adam Lambert agreed to make changes to a 2010 concert due to concerns that he would promote "gay culture".^[36]

United States

The RIAA's Parental Advisory label, which is placed on songs and albums that may contain explicit content.

While music can be classified as a protected form of expression under the First Amendment,^[37] there have still been instances of voluntary censorship within the music industry, particularly in regards to protecting children from being exposed to potentially-offensive songs. In 1985, a group known as the Parents Music Resource Center, which was founded by Tipper Gore, issued a list of songs it deemed the "Filthy Fifteen", which it singled out for their references to sex, violence, or "occult" activities.^[38] The PMRC pushed for the adoption of a ratings system similar to that of films, with letter ratings denoting specific categories of questionable content, and lyrics printed on the back covers of albums so they could be previewed by parents. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) opposed these proposals. During a Senate hearing on the matter in September, musicians such as John Denver and Frank Zappa criticized the proposal, arguing that it would inhibit free expression. Zappa, in particular, argued that the PMRC's proposal for a method to "assist baffled parents in the determination of the 'suitability' of records listened to by 'very young children'" would reduce American music "to the intellectual level of a Saturday morning cartoon show."^[38]

Following the hearings, the record industry introduced its standard Parental Advisory label, which took its current form (reading "Parental Advisory — Explicit Content") in 1994 following subsequent hearings. The label is applied to the cover art of songs or albums which may contain explicit content; the RIAA officially recommends that the label be affixed to albums or singles containing "strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse to such an extent as to merit parental notification." The Parental Advisory label is a voluntary scheme; some retailers—particularly Walmart—adopted policies to enforce the scheme by not stocking albums carrying the label.^[39][38]

The television channel MTV was also known for censoring objectionable content from music videos, and restricting some particularly-controversial videos to late-night airplay—such as The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" due to its violent imagery and misogynistic lyrics, and Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" for its suggestive subject matter.^{[40][41][42][43]} Several Madonna videos had also been banned or censored by the channel, including the sexually-explicit "Justify My Love" and "Erotica", and "What It Feels Like for a Girl"—which was only aired only once in late-night hours on MTV and VH1 due to its violent content (but was subsequently given airplay by Oxygen instead).^[44][45]

On February 1, 2004 during the MTV-produced Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, Janet Jackson's breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake at the conclusion of the show, in an apparent "wardrobe malfunction". Over 200,000 viewers sent complaints to the FCC over the incident,^[46] which had major implications across the U.S. broadcasting industry; in response to the halftime show and recent incidents surrounding "fleeting expletives" in live programming, the FCC launched a major crackdown over indecent content broadcast on terrestrial radio and television stations. Rolling Stone observed that some rock radio stations had begun to remove or censor certain songs so they would not run afoul of the stricter enforcement,^[47] while MTV moved several videos with sexually suggestive imagery to late-night hours following the incident.^[48] Viacom, which owned MTV, CBS, as well as the radio station group Infinity Broadcasting at the time, blacklisted Jackson; MTV and Viacom's radio stations refused to play her music, and CBS did not allow her to attend the Grammy Awards held the following week. Despite his role in the controversy, Timberlake was not banned, and used his acceptance speech for an award to apologize for the incident. The ban had a major impact on the commercial performance of Jackson's album Damita Jo, which was released the following month.^[46]

United Kingdom

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organization representing the United Kingdom's record industry, has adopted the RIAA's Parental Advisory label programme in the region. In July 2011, the BPI published guidance for use of the logo on digital music streaming platforms.^[49] Ofcom has the ability to regulate and reprimand broadcasters for playing songs and music videos that breach its guidelines on harmful or offensive content pre-watershed, such as Rihanna's "S&M" music video due to its sexual imagery.^[50][51]

The BBC was historically known for censoring various songs from being played on its radio and television stations; from the 1930s through 1960s, the BBC had banned songs such as "Hold My Hand" for its religious references, pop arrangements of classical tunes (though barring "Sabre Dance" because it was "not a well-loved classic whose perversion we would be encouraging"), and during World War II, songs that were "slushy in sentiment", such as "I'll Be Home for Christmas", due to concerns that it would affect the morale of soldiers. "Mack the Knife" was also banned from airplay outside of The Threepenny Opera, as the BBC felt it would be offensive outside of the context of the play.^[52] The Kinks' "Lola" was briefly banned due to the BBC's anti-product placement rules, as it references the brand name Coca-Cola. The band recorded an alternate version of the song which changed the offending lyric to "Cherry cola".^[53]

The Sex Pistols' 1977 single "God Save the Queen" was controversial upon its release, as it was critical of the British government and monarchy (among other things, referring to the United Kingdom as a "fascist regime"), and was released during the year of Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee. The song was banned by the BBC and all independent radio stations, but still peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart during the week of the official Jubilee celebration. It was alleged that the chart's rules had been changed that week in a deliberate effort to prevent the controversial song from reaching the top spot, by not counting sales from record shops that sold their own records (in this case, Virgin).^[54][55][56]

The Frankie Goes to Hollywood song "Relax" generated controversy due to its suggestive lyrics; the chorus contained phrases such as "when you want to suck to it" and "when you want to come", which were interpreted as being oblique references to oral sex and ejaculation.^[57] In January 1984, the BBC restricted "Relax" to evening airplay, following an incident on 11 January where Radio 1 DJ Mike Read protested the "obscene" lyrics on-air and personally banned the song from his show. When the band made statements in a Daily Express interview confirming the possibility of sexual connotations in the lyrics, the BBC banned "Relax" entirely. The ban only increased interest in the track, causing it to become the number-one song in Britain only two weeks later.^[58][1][57]

In December 2007, BBC Radio 1 began to play a version of The Pogues' popular Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" that censored the words "faggot" and "slut" from one of its verses, citing concerns over the homophobic slur. However, the BBC reversed the censorship after it was criticized by listeners, the band itself, and the mother of the song's featured vocalist Kirsty MacColl. Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt argued that "While we would never condone prejudice of any kind, we know our audiences are smart enough to distinguish between maliciousness and creative freedom. In the context of this song, I do not feel that there is any negative intent behind the use of the words, hence the reversal of the decision."^[59][60]

After the 2013 death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from the film The Wizard of Oz reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, as the result of a social media campaign celebrating the death of the controversial PM. BBC Radio 1 did not play the full song during The Official Chart programme, and instead played a short snippet accompanied by a Newsbeat report about the campaign. The action led to complaints that the BBC were deliberately censoring the song due to its negativity in this context, noting that "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher" (which also charted, albeit lower, as part of a campaign to counter the aforementioned "Witch" campaign)^[61] was played in full earlier in the show. The BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee upheld its decision not to play the song, stating that "aside from whether or not people had bought the song in order to express anti-Thatcher political sentiments, which listeners may or may not agree with, the song in question was clearly a celebration of death."^[62][63]

References