POP/ROCK - June 25, 1992

Lyric Lawsuit: Making good on a threat, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit to challenge a new law in the state of Washington that bans the sale to minors of tapes, records and compact discs deemed erotic or obscene. The ACLU filed the challenge in King County Superior Court on behalf of the Washington Music Industry Coalition, a local alliance of recording artists, record distributors and shop owners, and other local music industry businesses. Lawyers for the Recording Industry Assn. of America will represent national groups joining in the suit, including Atlantic Recording Corp., Capitol-EMI Music, MCA Records, Polygram Records and Sony Music Entertainment Inc. The Seattle-area rock groups Soundgarden, Seven-Year Bitch and Nirvana, along with the groups Criminal Nation, Alice in Chains and members of the group Heart, were among the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit. An ACLU spokesman said the new law is “stifling” to the creative process.