Blog Week 6

Yes, record companies should be responsible for putting parental advisories on the music they distribute. Since our country already has an established system in place that rates movies, video games and music then why change that system now. To a certain extent these are all art forms but we have already “labeled” them in a sense. Parental advisories are another tool for parents to monitor what their children should and should not be listening to. Parental advisories are not meant to take the place of parenting though, and that is where the confusion arises. The music industry takes too much heat for the negative impact music has on minors. Freedom of expression is valued in this country and should not be criticized or censored. Parental advisories are not very effective, in all reality. If we focus on what the parental advisories really are then they do serve their purpose. They are simply a “label”, that is all. Children can still access the music in many ways, and that is why I stated that they are not to act as the parents. It is entirely up to the parent to decipher what their child should be listening to. If the label was not there, parents would still be responsible for monitoring their child’s musical preference. Music can be accessed via internet, television, or even at a friend’s house. There is ultimately no way to restrict your child from certain music at all in this society. What is important though is raising your child with integrity, guidance, and discipline. If all of these values are incorporated into your child then you should not have a severe issue resulting from any type of music a child is exposed to (not saying all music should be at their disposal.) Definitely the music industry should continuously keep catering to society and parents by including parental advisors on music, it cannot hurt anyone.