Violence Essay Research Paper Title Industry Slow — страница 2

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another, some people are going to argue that that’s an unfair trade practice in violation of the law. So they’re going to have to accept the consequences, and the consequences are going to be contrary to artists’ interests and their own long-term interests.” Jeff McIntyre, federal affairs officer for the American Psychological Assn., says, “Basically, it’s cowardly if you’re not going to stand behind your word and not believe in your artists’ product enough to make sales without having to back down behind Congress’s back and then target this stuff at preadolescents.” Dr. Michael Rich, spokesman for the American Pediatric Assn.’s committee on education, says he’s not surprised by the FTC’s findings. “I didn’t get a sense from [RIAA president Hilary

Rosen's] testimony at the original hearing in the fall, or from what has happened since, that there’s much effort in any genuine sense to do anything about it.” Rich also continues to be alarmed by the unavailability in stores of so-called sanitized versions of songs that children hear on radio. “I’ve gone into Tower and HMV [in Boston], and you can’t get airplay versions. In fact, it’s considered reprehensible in some stores to even carry sanitized versions.” RIAA PLAN WITHDRAWN The FTC criticized the RIAA for withdrawing a plan to withhold ads from media with an under-17 audience of more than 50%. The trade group explained it did so because of the suggestion by some federal lawmakers last fall that companies could be prosecuted for enforcement failings. Pam

Horvitz, president of the National Assn. of Record Merchandisers (NARM), says the lawsuit “serves as a perfect example of what could happen to [label and retailers] – exposing us to liability for failing to enforce voluntary guidelines.” The RIAA had announced its guidelines Sept. 1, shortly before the original Senate hearing (Billboard, Sept. 13). They included three major updates: that advertising for labeled records should not appear in publications or Internet sites where 50% of the audience is under 17, that all consumer print ads of explicit-content albums display the advisory sticker, and that E-tailers clearly display notice of stickered material through all phases of the transaction. At the time the RIAA announced the guidelines last September, Rosen’s response

to the following day’s FTC report included her statement, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Responding on April 25 to FTC criticism that, some six months later, the RIAA had not yet implemented its own promised guidelines, Rosen stated, “Any legislation that references a voluntary program creates a disincentive to comply. It winds up proving that no good deed goes unpunished.” Confronted with the appearance the RIAA was trying to have things both ways, Mary K. Engle of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and director of the study told Billboard the commission’s slam came because the RIAA either withdrew or didn’t follow through on all its own recommendations. “They gave us three, and we were looking at all three,” Engle says. “Then they only withdrew one

of them – not placing ads in media with a 50% under-17 audience. But they didn’t withdraw the other two – and they didn’t act on those two.” VIOLENT SONG ADS ON TV The FTC shows that U.S. record companies continue to advertise violent songs on TV through such outlets as BET, MTV, and the WWF Smackdown wrestling show. The ads appeared during the after-school and early-evening hours when children were most likely to be watching. The FTC also found that the five major labels placed ads for albums with explicit content in such teen oriented magazines as Vibe and Right On, which focus on rap and R&B, and Thrasher and Metal Edge, which celebrate metal rock music. Universal Music Group placed more advertisements – 25 – for stickered albums in youth magazines than any

other label. Warner Music Group had the fewest, with seven ads. Only 45 of 147 (31%) print ads reviewed for labeled recordings displayed any parental advisory label, the FTC noted, and those were frequently “a black-and-white blur, often too small or inconspicuously placed to be noticed or seen.” The report also found that: * There were few advisory label disclosures on TV ads. A spot check found that only five of 23 ads showed the advisory label, and none were clearly legible. * On record company Web sites, “less than half of the sites provided notice of a recording’s explicit content.” Few were legible. * Such E-tailers as Amazon, Bestbuy.com, and CDnow did better in providing “some information” about the explicit nature of the recordings. Only Amazon complied