Recording Groups Threaten to Retaliate Over Louisiana Bill : Labels: An industry convention and a museum are imperiled by the proposed album warning requirement.

Two of the nation’s three leading recording industry associations vowed Thursday to retaliate economically if the Louisiana state government enacts an impending bill requiring warning labels on “offensive” albums and tapes.

With a proposal to require such labels expected to be voted on by the Louisiana state senate next week, the National Assn. of Record Merchandisers has informed Louisiana Gov. Charles Roemer that its 1992 annual convention, currently scheduled for New Orleans, will be held elsewhere if the measure becomes law. The convention is the industry’s largest annual gathering, attracting more than 2,000 record-industry personnel.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences also has notified Roemer that it will suspend discussion aimed at constructing a Grammy museum in New Orleans if the bill becomes law. There also has been quiet talk in the industry, according to various sources, that some high-profile artists would refuse to perform concerts in the state.

The actions represent what appears to be a hardening of record-industry attitudes about labeling in view of the legal problems being encountered by the rap group 2 Live Crew. A U.S. district judge in Florida ruled last week that the group’s album “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” was obscene. After the ruling, a record store owner was arrested in Ft. Lauderdale for selling the album to an undercover police officer, and members of the group were arrested later in nearby Hollywood, Fla., for performing some of the album’s material in an “adults-only” concert.

“We’re not going to have any part of any state that stands for this kind of artistic intolerance,” academy president Michael Greene said in his Burbank office on Thursday. He said he made that stand clear earlier this week in a letter to Roemer.

“The law is well-intentioned, but as a practical solution it will not work,” NARM executive vice president Pam Horovitz said Thursday in a phone interview from her office in New Jersey. “Since the legislature is ignoring this, we decided the thing to do was send the message that if they pass the law we cannot spend our dollars in New Orleans.”

Horovitz cited the recent efforts made by New Orleans and Louisiana to use the region’s rich musical heritage as a selling point to both tourists and businesses, which may give the record industry some leverage in that state.

A third group, the Recording Industry Assn. of America, is not planning any similar actions, but a spokeswoman said it will challenge the Louisiana bill on constitutional grounds if it passes.

A spokeswoman for Roemer said Thursday that the governor had not yet taken a position on the bill but would study the matter soon. Rep. Ted Haik, sponsor of the bill that would set fines and jail terms for those convicted of selling unstickered “offensive” recordings, is confident that the bill will pass the Senate despite the pressure.

In fact, Haik said, recent developments have boosted his campaign. “I’m delighted to hear that 2 Live Crew is helping me pass the bill,” he said. “The fact that they continue to publish these trash lyrics enhances (my effort).”

Similar bills in more than a dozen other states have either failed to get through legislative committees or have been withdrawn by their sponsors in the wake of a new RIAA voluntary labeling plan endorsed by most major record companies. But Haik told The Times on Thursday that the industry has not demonstrated that it can police itself effectively and that passage of his bill is considered likely. The bill has already passed the Louisiana house and the senate judiciary committee. To become law, it needs to pass the state senate and be signed by the governor.

Haik acknowledged that the economic pressure can’t be ignored and isn’t inconsequential.

“They’ve got a lot of bucks and influence, and that’s probably more of a threat than anything else,” Haik said. “Because once this state passes it, and we will, other states will too and the industry will have to make a choice: Either they clean up their act or stop selling this trash.”

A survey of major and independent record companies, artist managers and booking agents showed wide support for the NARM and NARAS actions.

“We disagree with the principle of mandatory record labeling,” said Joe Smith, president and chief executive officer of Capitol-EMI Music. “We abhor the situation in Louisiana and, in our view, the passage of such a law there would make operating nearly impossible.”