Music Executives on Sidelines in Latest Hearings on Violence

As film industry leaders appear today on Capitol Hill to answer claims that they market violent content to minors, their music industry counterparts are watching in silent relief that--so far--they have largely sidestepped this round of criticism for reasons they say are both practical and political.

Today’s hearing is the latest result of a scathing government report released Sept. 11 that condemned the marketing of violent music, films and video games to youth. But as the effect of that Federal Trade Commission report continues to ripple, the focus of the inquiry has shifted firmly to film.

While surveys show that rap and heavy metal music--the genres with the greatest number of parental advisory stickers--are among the strongest sellers with under-17 listeners, music industry insiders point to a variety of factors for the shift in attention. Chief among them are the differences between movie and music advertising and Hollywood’s age-specific ratings system. But music executives also point to the markedly different way the industries initially responded to the report.

A Perceived Hollywood Snub

While the music and video game community were represented at the initial hearing on Sept. 13, no film studio executives attended. That perceived Hollywood snub prompted committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to note that their “hubris underscores the lack of corporate responsibility so strikingly apparent in this report.”

The bitter tone of that appraisal was not lost on music industry insiders. Even though the focus is now on film, most music executives called for interviews would not return calls, much less speak on the record. The ones who did found relief that their film counterparts--in some instances, colleagues who work for the same conglomerate--are taking the heat for now.

“Music people showed up and the film people didn’t and I think it really hurt them,” one music industry source said on condition that his or her name not be used. “So for hours and hours, they became the scapegoat, the bad guy, and there was no one to respond. . . . It’s hard to predict where this will go, though.”

One of the music industry representatives who testified was Danny Goldberg, formerly chief of Warner Bros. Records, currently president of the independent label Artemis Records and also president of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. Goldberg says the no-show by Hollywood chiefs may have been a factor in the changing emphasis, but a more meaningful reason can be found in the differences between the marketing realities of the two industries.

While major studio films with violence are often heavily advertised on network television--and, according to the FTC report, often deliberately aimed at young viewers--albums are rarely advertised in commercials, Goldberg says. Instead, radio remains the most powerful way for music to reach new audiences.

“You’re not going to see a Limp Bizkit album advertised in a prime-time commercial,” Goldberg says, citing a popular rap-rock group that has sold millions of albums, but also has been criticized for violent imagery.

Radio, governed by federal regulations, plays songs that have been edited of obscene language and, increasingly among some urban music stations, even have violent imagery also “bleeped” out. Videos are also a major component of marketing, but the two major channels, MTV and VH1, have traditionally opted to steer clear of violent imagery or play them only in off-peak hours when older viewers make up most of the audience.

Another key difference, Goldberg says, is the approach taken by the two industries to identify their products that have mature or violent content.

The music industry, prodded by a similar campaign from Washington more than a decade ago, adopted a labeling system that identifies albums with explicit content. And, because many major retailers such as Wal-Mart will not put stickered albums on their shelves, the industry also now distributes “clean” versions with some of the controversial content edited out.

Specificity of Film System May Have Hurt

The film industry has embraced a more tiered approach through the years to answer content critics. The now-familiar film ratings system labels movies on an age-appropriate scale, such as NC-17, which defines an intended audience as 17 and older.

The specificity of the film system may have hurt the movie industry in the FTC report, which found that 46% of kids under 17 easily were admitted into an R-rated movie without being accompanied by a parent or guardian.

“Albums are sold because of radio and word of mouth, so generally you can criticize the content but not the marketing avenue,” said one longtime label executive. “The sticker doesn’t say what age can or can’t buy an album, so that leaves things vague.”

Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Assn. of America, says her trade group has stood against age-specific ratings because they are “a trap,” considering the vagaries of artistic speech and audience appropriateness.

The FTC report was ordered by the Clinton administration and is among the sporadic efforts to scrutinize violent entertainment in the wake of the 1999 Columbine mass shooting, the murderous spree by two teens at a high school in Colorado. This particular approach--aiming at the marketing of entertainment instead of its content--has some reform proponents optimistic that they can avoid getting entangled in freedom of speech issues.

A chorus of leaders in the music and film industry, however, says privately they doubt the hearings will lead to any legislative action. Still, all the entertainment industries targeted are mulling over new measures to head off further criticism. The film community is expected to bring a number of proposals today and, among music executives, one suggestion is to post lyrics to stickered albums on an Internet database that would give parents another resource to size up their children’s music choices.

“It’s the approach with the most information and the least restrictions,” Rosen said, adding that she viewed the FTC report summaries as “inflammatory beyond . . . the report findings.”

Some music industry executives also say McCain and other Republicans are focusing on Hollywood now to highlight their accusations that Vice President Al Gore has been hypocritical in recent months by criticizing film content while also wooing Hollywood powers.

“Don’t think for a minute that that’s a coincidence,” said another major label executive. “It’s an election year.”

McCain’s Daughter Wearies of Fallout

One music industry executive who has wearied of the fallout from the report is Sid McCain, the daughter of the senator leading the hearings and also a senior publicity director for Capitol Records in New York. When asked for comment Tuesday on the issue facing the industry and her father, she said she is taking herself out of the public discourse.

“I’m completely staying out of this now,” she said, citing a recent East Coast media report that she says printed a quote out of context. “I’m not saying anything else or talking about this ever again.”