How The PMRC And Their Influence On Music

Music has been around for centuries. Governments have also been around for centuries. People probably would not expect that the two would ever be linked together. But after the 1985 PMRC hearings, the term “government” would forever be linked to its influence on music and the sale of music in stores. Now some people might not know what the PMRC is or what their impact was on music. According to the article “PMRC Events”, The PMRC or Parents Music Resource Center was formed in 1985 by Tipper Gore, Susan Baker, and other senators’ wives after Tipper Gore’s daughter came home with a Prince “Purple Rain” album. Tipper was upset about the sexual content in the lyrics. Particularly the song “Darling Nikki”, which is about pleasuring one’s self. She did not think a child that age should be listening to that kind of musical content and that other parents should know what their kids are listening to. So when the PMRC was formed, the goals of the group were to lobby the music
Lots of music artists use figurative language in their music. An example of this was used during the hearings when Dee Snider, lead singer of heavy metal band, Twisted Sister defended his music against the allegations that Tipper Gore had claimed. She claimed that the song “Under The Blade” was about sadomasochism, when in fact, according to Dee Snider’s testimony, the song was about guitarist Eddie Ojeda’s fear of going under during surgery. But it wasn’t just heavy metal music that was the concern of the PMRC. The PMRC released the filthy fifteen, which is a list of fifteen songs that the PMRC deemed inappropriate to be sold in stores. But that music is considered art in the musicians’ eyes. Also the artists are exercising their freedom of speech by singing these lyrics. Also, why do they not just let the music industry regulate this songs and albums, since they know the artists better than the PMRC