There are currently no laws regarding the censorship of music. Songs with strong language, racist views, or harmful references will have this label on them. All the label means is that anyone can buy the song, but they should be aware of what the song contains.
The first amendment is in place to keep the government from controlling the media. Amendment law does not apply to community and religious groups. Because record companies are not federally owned, their censorship is legal and constitutional. The censorship of music only violates our constitutional rights when the government, its laws, or its agencies conduct the restraint themselves. Therefore, when we speak of music censorship, we are usually referring to community or corporate attempts to regulate the society according to what they deem appropriate based on their standards and beliefs.
In 1990, The Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC) and a serious of Senate hearings pressured the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to introduce a uniform labeling system using the logo, "Parental Advisory- Explicit Lyrics." However, the RIAA did not give any standards, criteria or guidelines for determining which albums should be labeled. Many organizations have been dissatisfied with the RIAA's labels and have demanded more limits on the sale of music containing controversial lyrics. Because of this, legislators have introduced bills in more than 20 states that would require far more detailed warning labels, and some that even go as far as to ban the sale of music to minors that is deemed to be objectionable.
Members of Congress have held hearings and made suggestions as to how they could censor the music industry. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 required the Federal Communications Commission to issue guidelines for the labeling of sexual, violent or mature materials unless the entertainment industry agreed to a system of self-imposed labeling. This is where we got our labeling laws.
In 1997, the Louisiana house bill 1236 was introduced to prevent the sale of music containing lyrics considered harmful to minors. "Harmful" was defined as being any "record, album, cassette, CD, tape, recording, etc. that advocates rape, prostitution, homicide, unlawful ritual acts, suicide, the commission of crimes because of the victim's race, gender, color, religion, or national origin, the use of controlled dangerous substances, or the unlawful use of alcohol". Any music that fell under those categories was required to have a label stating the material's objectionable content.
Site Links:
Laws Regarding Music Censorship
Censorship (as mentioned before) is when the government, be it state, federal, or local, attempts to restrict what type of music can be purchased, played, or distributed in your community.
Music censorship can take many forms such as parental advisory labels, banned concerts, banned cover art, rating systems, legislative bills/laws, and banned clothing. Organizations that are involved in music censorship are radio stations, MTV, companys such as Walmart, and organizations such as the Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC) are responsible for censoring and labeling albums.
Contrary to popular belief, censorship of music is legal. The first Amendment states:
If you notice, this only deals with the government. This means that it is legal for private companies to tell what and what not their customers can listen to.