Essay on Censorship in the Music Industry

Essay on Censorship in the Music Industry

Censorship in the Music Industry



Censorship in the music industry can be divided into two categories involving new music technology and music products. In the United States, the issue of censorship doesn't necessarily concern music products but rather new music technology. The music industry has become increasingly concerned with the online peer–to–peer services like Kazaa and Morpheus using the MP3 format or motion pictures expert group which allows users to download music free and fast (Cloonan, 2003). In almost every other part of the world, music is censored someway or another usually by a country's government, religious leaders, or individual broadcasters who are financed by their government (Cloonan, 2003). For example, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...This particular type of censorship occurred in South Korea in 1997 when the state radio station KBS banned teen pop music due to the clothing style the entertainers wore (Cloonan,2003). A more recent event of censorship occurred in Morocco in March 2003 when 14 heavy metal fans between the ages of 22 and 35 were convicted and jailed for "acts capable of undermining the faith of a Muslim" and "possessing objects which infringe morals" (Index Online, 2003). All were sentenced between 1 to 12 months in jail.



The People's Republic of China is one of the most heavily regulated countries involving music censorship. The Chinese record industry is controlled by the state government through the publishing houses which are also owned by the state (Cloonan, 2003). Essentially, publishers decide to release a music product, arrange the duplication of the master tape, and distribute it throughout the country. Since all the music appears on the market through a publishing house, the government has the power to censor music which they deem to be sensitive (Cloonan, 2003). All music is reviewed by the government in order to check compliance with Article 102 of the Chinese criminal law which states that it is an offence for any person "to confuse right and wrong, to poison people's minds, to incite the masses and create chaos, to undermine socialist revolution and construction, and to achieve the final goal of overthrowing the people's

... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...