Should record companies be responsible for putting parental advisories on the music they distribute? Many can argue in both directions and prove valid points for both. I am not biased one way or the other. However, in my opinion, I do believe that it is a good idea for the record companies to put parental advisories on the music that they distribute. The reason I feel this way is because a lot of parents have no clue what is being put out as far as music. My mom had no clue who any of the bands were that I listened to growing up. She also had no clue what kind of music they sang whether it had bad words or negative influences.
The only thing that parents have to go on today as far as music is the parental advisories that are on the music we purchase. Of course, the hard part about this is that most people don’t purchase CDs anymore. We have ipods and mp3s that we can easily put music on there from the internet and listen to it without having to physically buy a CD. In this case, parental advisories are a mood point. On the other hand, for those who still buy CDs, their parents can see whether or not it has any parental advisories on it.
Parental advisories can be a key to making sure that a parent wants their kids listening to that music. It gives them notice that a parent may not approve of the music. My kids are two and five so they have no clue right now but I know that as they get older, I will want to know what music they listen to. I also see how this can almost be invasion of privacy and can make record sales difficult for the artist. One of the things to worry about is a kid who listens to music about hate, violence, or depression. Teen suicide is on the rise and somehow they seem to link music as being a possible source.
The parental advisories are somewhat effective but if the parent does not physically check their kid’s music to see if there are any parental advisories, they will not know and it will be ineffective. Parents should be aware of what their kid is listening to if they do not want them listening to certain music. The parental advisories give a window of what is in the music and what to be aware of. There is no harm in that at all for concerned parents.
I do not plan on being one of those parents that checks up on everything my kids do or listen to but with parental advisories, I will be aware that they are listening to music with bad language. I would simply talk to my kids and let them know not to believe everything said in music and that they should know not to talk like the artists talk in their music. To ban certain music would be like shutting someone’s career down and I could not do that especially if my kids had a strong interest in music.
I certainly think the parental advisory's are good because it gives the music industry some accountability. With your children you're absolutely right. At 5 and 2 you don't have to worry to much about that right now. But as they get older they will definitely be picking up some of the more adult productions. And it boils down to that. Content. If we say its unacceptable then I think we should also say its also unacceptable for that artist and not promote them because of the content. But it just boils down to what you feel is acceptable or unacceptable. That is where our differences lie. In our country there are extreme groups that want to lower sexual consent ages to 10 and 8. No joke. So where do we draw the line?
ReplyDeleteThe music can be very vulgar. Profane and pornographic not to mention violent and our young kids are listening.
The influence is there and knowing what age groups are listening should raise a red flag. I think we need to keep advisory boards even when the record shops are closed. How they monitor the online downloading should be interesting. They catch people pirating so there should be some kind of safeguard that can be used. You and them babies take care. God bless.
I like the points that you stated in your blog. I never took into consideration of itunes. Like you said, kids can download any type of music form itunes and the parent would not know about it. But I feel that as a parent you in a way have that right and responsibility to know what is going on in your child's life and until they are eighteen you need to check up on them. As long as a parent does not make a big scene and actually talk to their child in a respectful manner about the music they are listening to if they find out that their child is indeed listening to music with foul words and negative influences then I feel it is okay to peek into your child’s privacy. It is nice to hear that a parent like you actually takes the time to talk to their children about the different types of music. Like I mentioned in my blog, some children do not have this luxury and as a result fall victims to this that is why I feel there needs to be some sort of regulation in buying music. Now on itunes maybe put an age limit on M rated music but again it’s over the internet so who knows.
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