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ARTICLE01 January 2001 White Noise Music - an international affair Presented at the 1st World Conference on Music and Censorship, Copenhagen 20-22 November, 1998 By Ms. Heléne Lööw, Ph.D, National Council of Crime Prevention, Sweden More from the conference Read article as PDF Read more about hate music: Hate music: Music With a Heart Full of Hatred VH1 special on how music is used to promote racism 18 February 2002 South Africa: Old anti-apartheid song banned on hate speech charges On 26 March 2010, a South African high court prohibited the singing of a controversial anti-apartheid song, ‘Ayesab'amagwala’ (‘The cowards are afraid’) 19 April 2010 Dr Martin Cloonan: About Hate Music Politicians and police have accused rap music of encouraging gun violence, while musicians say deeper social problems are to blame 04 February 2003 Denmark: Activist campaigns against online sales of 'murder music' Online music stores that sell so-called 'murder music' (reggae with lyrics inciting to violence against homosexuals) receive complaints from Danish gay rights activist 22 May 2008 Reggae stars 'help to spread HIV' International Development Minister Gareth Thomas fears that discrimination against homosexuals is deterring people from being tested for HIV. "A number of artistes are effectively contributing to the spread of HIV by producing reggae and rap songs actually encouraging discrimination" 22 November 2004 'Anti-gay' lyrics inquiry starts The government is considering banning reggae star Sizzla from the UK. Meanwhile detectives are investigating claims that lyrics penned by eight leading reggae artists incite violence against homosexuals and are therefore illegal. 03 November 2004 South Africa: Controversy over whether ‘hate song’ should be banned The Irish singer Bono’s defense of a controversial song has triggered heated debate. Supreme Court in South Africa is considering whether the song should be banned 25 February 2011 Australia: Controversy over race-hate music festival When a white supremacy group in Queensland organised a race-hate music festival on the Gold Coast on 17 April 2010, authorities' response was not to give them much attention 20 April 2010 Germany: 11 Jamaican 'hate music' albums blacklisted An official German authority has blacklisted 11 dancehall albums in the period between 2008 and January 2010 due to violent and homophobic content 20 April 2010 Denmark/Sweden/Germany: In court for selling Nazi music Two men were arrested in Denmark on 27 August 2008 for allegedly distributing recordings that have been deemed illegal because of their extremist content 18 November 2008 UK: Brighton first city to outlaw 'hate music' The British seaside town Brighton has become the first place in the UK to ban music that "incites hatred towards minorites" 06 December 2007 UK: City council proposes ban on 'murder music' Brighton and Hove City Council may become the first in United Kingdom to place a ban on music which encourages violence towards minority groups, reports The Argus 08 February 2007 The Hot Sound of Hate Hundreds of bands in America and Europe produce Hate Music. In September Panzerfaust Records launched Project Schoolyard, a plan to snag kids 13 to 19 by distributing 100,000 free CDs of such bands as Day of the Sword, H8 Machine and Final War. 29 November 2004 City demands 'anti-gay' music ban Brighton will be the first UK city to demand that retailers ban albums with "anti-gay" lyrics. The City Council voted unanimously to write to the managing directors of Virgin Megastore, HMV and MVC condemning the music. The council do not have the power to force the stores not to sell the music 27 November 2004 Censor and be damned? The link between violent music and violent behaviour "The UK Home Office has decided that Sizzla cannot come to the UK to play at this time." Scotland on Sunday about the current debate on homophobic lyrics 14 November 2004 Middle East: Hip-Hop on the frontline The rap form allows a powerful voice for political invective, and is being used on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. But for Arab countries and the Middle East, the influence and performance of hip-hop lights a few fuses 02 November 2004 Germany targets neo-Nazi music German police have raided the homes of more than 300 people suspected of posting neo-Nazi music files on the internet 24 March 2004 Pop lyrics and their censors "Political correctness has imposed a new restraint on free speech." Interview with Freemuse co-chair Martin Cloonan on explicit lyrics and music censorship today 15 January 2004 White Noise Music - an international affair Hate Music. The story of modern racist music, covering cases from UK, Sweden and USA. Paper from the 1st World Conference on Music and Censorship, 1998 01 January 2001 New Zealand: Controversial American hip-hop group's concert cancelled The Big Day Out festival removed the American rap group Odd Future from the festival's Auckland lineup due to objections from locals over the group's homophobic lyrics 15 November 2011 United Kingdom: Ban on abusive chants by football fans The British football club Tottenham Hotspur has vowed to ban fans guilty of offensive or abusive chanting. The Scottish government is considering a law about it 05 October 2011 South Africa: Anti-apartheid song declared 'hate speech' On 12 September 2011, South Africa’s high court banned the ruling ANC party from singing the old anti-apartheid song ‘Shoot the Boer’ 13 September 2011 UK / Scotland: Offensive football songs criminalised Scottish football fans could be imprisoned for up to six years for singing offensive songs if an ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill’ is passed in the Scottish Parliament 01 August 2011 Jamaica: Ban on violent and explicit sexual lyrics A government-led crackdown on violent and explicit sexual lyrics seems to have stalled reggae music’s 20-year slide into what has been dubbed “murder music” 04 October 2010 Rwanda: Singer Bikindi's conviction affirmed by UN Appeals Chamber On 18 March 2010, Rwandan singer Simon Bikindi’s conviction and sentence of 15 years in prison was affirmed by an Appeals Chamber of the United Nations 29 March 2010 Belarus: German band declared ‘a public enemy’ A governmental Council for Morality in Belarus has declared the German hard rock band Rammstein a threat to the state and wishes to ban an upcoming concert in Minsk 25 February 2010 Denmark: Controversy over Jamaican reggae star's concert City council politicians and a Copenhagen music venue threatened to cancel a concert with reggae star Sizzla after a newspaper had quoted anti-gay viewpoints 21 October 2009 Jamaica / Denmark: University thesis on dancehall reggae and homophobia A university thesis which analyses Jamaican music culture in a postcolonial context was published in Danish language in March 2009. 20 May 2009 Rwanda: Singer sentenced 15 years prison for incitement One of Rwanda’s most famous singers, Simon Bikindi, was convicted on 2 December 2008 for his direct and public incitement to commit genocide 03 December 2008 Sudan: Censored singer tries to reform Janjaweed 'hate singers' While struggling with censorship in Khartoum, the Sudanese singer-songwriter Abazar Hamid hopes to bring peace to Sudan with his music, reported Stephanie McCrummen 24 June 2008 Canada: Jamaica-boycott called off The Canadian group that called for a boycott of Jamaica unless the country's government take action on homophobic violence has called it off after recieving an official letter 22 May 2008 Canada: Silencing Jamaican musicians fuels censorship debate A Canadian coalition calls for a boycott of Jamaica by 12 May 2008 if the country's government doesn't take action on homophobic violence. 08 May 2008 South Africa: Rap song banned for incitement to violence The song 'Get Out' by Zimbabwean-born hip-hop artist Zubz was banned on the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC. 07 May 2008 Mozambique: City authorities called rapper in for questioning The rap artist Azagaia was summoned before prosecutors to explain the allegedly violent lyrics of a song he has written about the February 2008 riots in Maputo 06 May 2008 Jamaica: Dancehall artist banned for his 'gangsta lyrics' In January 2008, a performance by Jamaican dancehall artist Mavado was banned by authorities in St. Vincent because his lyrics which are considered to be violent 28 April 2008 Canada: Reggae shows cancelled after protests Jamaican reggae stars Elephant Man and Sizzla have been forced to cancel two concerts in Toronto, Canada, after locals protested against their homophobic lyrics 02 October 2007 Jamaica: Dancehall star signs the Reggae Compassionate Act Reggae and dancehall star Buju Banton is the fourth artist to sign the 'Reggae Compassionate Act' which is part of the gay rights campaign ‘Stop Murder Music’ 09 August 2007 UK: Tory leader calls for ban on violent lyrics On 4 July 2007, David Cameron renewed his call for the music industry to "show leadership" by banning violent lyrics from songs, reported The Guardian. 04 July 2007 Denmark: Reggae concert under close surveillance 200 activitsts demonstrated against Jamaican rapper and DJ Elephant Man in Copenhagen on 21 May 2007 because he has incited to violence against homosexuals in his songs 23 May 2007 Sweden: rap band taken to court for 'hate speech' Two members of a rap band from the south of Sweden are taken to court accused of ‘hate speech’ after a concert in Landskrona in 2006 25 January 2007