Parental Advisory (fictional world)

The Parental Advisory label (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label first introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and later adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of excessive profanities or inappropriate references, with the intention of alerting parents of potentially unsuitable material for younger children. The label was first affixed on physical 33 1/3 rpm records, compact discs and cassette tapes, and it has been included on digital listings offered by online music stores to accommodate the growing popularity of the latter platform.

Recordings with the Parental Advisory label are often released alongside censored versions that reduce or eliminate the questionable material. Several retailers will distribute all varieties of the product, occasionally with an increased price for censored versions, while some sellers offer the amended pressings as their main options and choose not to distribute the explicit counterparts. However, the label has been questioned for its perceived ineffectiveness in limiting the amount of inappropriate material that young audiences are exposed to.

In the fictional world, artists and bands such as Zoey Dawson and DJ Mala are notorious for often having Parental Advisory labels on their albums, EPs and singles.

Background
Shortly after their formation in April 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) assembled a list of fifteen songs with deemed unsuitable content. Particular criticism was placed on "Darling Nikki" by Prince, after the daughter of PMRC co-founder Mary "Tipper" Gore recognized its references to masturbation. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) responded by introducing an early version of their content warning label, although the PMRC was displeased and proposed that a music rating system structured like the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system be enacted. The RIAA alternatively suggested using a warning label reading "Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics", and after continued conflict between the organizations, the matter was discussed on September 19 during a hearing with the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Notable musicians, Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver each testified at this hearing with strong opposition to PMRC’s warning label system, and censorship in general. Approximately two months after the hearing, the organizations agreed on a settlement in which audio recordings were to either be affixed with a warning label reading "Explicit Lyrics: Parental Advisory" or have its lyrics attached on the backside of its packaging.

In 1990, the now standard black-and-white warning label design reading "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" was introduced and was to be placed on the bottom right-hand section of a given product. The first album to bear the "black and white" Parental Advisory label was the 1990 release of Banned in the U.S.A. by the rap group 2 Live Crew.[2] By May 1992, approximately 225 records had been marked with the warning.[3] In response to later hearings in the following years, it was reworded as "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" in 1996. The system went unchanged until 2002, when record labels affiliated with Bertelsmann Music Group began including specific areas of concern including "strong language", "violent content", or "sexual content" on compact discs alongside the generic Parental Advisory label.[4] The Parental Advisory label was first used on music streaming services and online music stores in 2011.[5] That year, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) revised its own music censorship policies to incorporate more prominent usage of the warning label.[6]

The Parental Advisory label was introduced in the Island of Sally in 2001. Before it, “Warning: Strong Language/Sexual Content/Violent Content” was placed as a sticker on the jewelcase or sleeve, sometimes over any explicit content in the artwork.

Application
The "Parental Advisory Label Program" in the United States and the "Parental Advisory Scheme" in the United Kingdom lack agreed-upon standards for using the warning label, although they provide guidelines for its recommended inclusion.[6][7] Although a voluntary practice that is ultimately left to the discretion of record labels,[8] the RIAA suggests that material with "strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse to such an extent as to merit parental notification" be affixed with the Parental Advisory label.[7] The BPI additionally requests that "racist, homophobic, misogynistic or other discriminatory language or behavior" be taken under consideration when determining the appropriateness of a record.[6]

Audio recordings that include Parental Advisory labels in their original formats are generally released in censored versions that reduces or completely eliminates the questionable material,[9] They are recognized as "clean" editions by the RIAA, and are left unlabeled in their revised formats.[7] American retailers including Best Buy and f.y.e. distribute explicit and censored records;[10] Target has sold both varieties of a given record,[11] although has occasionally offered only the explicit version depending on the product.[12] Walmart and their affiliated properties are well known for only carrying censored versions of records; in one instance, the retailer refused to distribute 21st Century Breakdown (2009) by Green Day because they were not given the "clean" copies that they requested.[13] Online music stores, including the iTunes Store,[14] generally have the Parental Advisory logo embedded into digital files.[1]