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NEWS
10 August 2004

Albums with ‘objectionable material’ removed from Kansas libraries
The Kansas attorney general has withheld more than 1,600 compact discs from distribution to state libraries because officials determined the albums promote violence or illegal activity, records show.
The albums removed by Attorney General Phill Kline's office were part of 51,000 discs given to Kansas as part of a nationwide settlement to resolve allegations of price fixing.
The CDs included recordings by 25 musicians, including rap artists such as OutKast and Notorious B.I.G., rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Stone Temple Pilots, and even older acts such as Lou Reed and the 1980s experimental group Devo.

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City seeks 'anti-gay' album ban
The first UK city-wide boycott of albums with "anti-gay" lyrics is being considered in Brighton. Councillors want music retailers like HMV, Virgin Megastore and MVC to stop selling albums with homophobic lyrics in its Brighton branches
23 November 2004
Kenya: Are musicians composing "dirty" songs just to please listeners?
Editorial from The Nation on explicit lyrics: “Many people have accused the media of contributing to moral decadence by glorifying music with raunchy lyrics and giving minimal airtime to those with positive messages”
12 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
No apology from 'anti-gay' singer
Reggae star Sizzla has refused to apologise for his lyrics advocating violence against gay men, despite his UK tour being cancelled after protests. Sizzla is not allowed into the UK while the Home Secretary examines concerns raised by gay rights group OutRage!
25 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
'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
United Kingdom: Reggae concert banned over lyrics
Jamaican singer Buju Banton has been banned from playing a concert in Manchester after protests over his allegedly homophobic lyrics. Greater Manchester Police cancelled the gig as previous performances "suggest a likelihood of public disorder"
23 September 2004
Australia: New censorship codes imposed
Robyn Riley, Far North Queensland's answer to Tipper Gore, is a shining example of how one person can make a difference. A Christian activist and fanatical letter writer, Riley believes song lyrics cause suicide, murder and teen behavioural problems
01 March 2004
Beenie Man banned from MTV gig
Reggae star Beenie Man - recently accused of "lyrics that are an incitement to homophobic murder and violence" - has been banned from performing at an MTV concert after gay activists planned a protest over the singer's past lyrics
04 September 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
China: Ministry makes new push to control online music
The Chinese ministry of culture implements new censorship rules for online music providers by 1 January 2010 to ensure that lyrics are "acceptable"
05 October 2009
Guyana: Ban liftet on 'gangsta' dancehall star
Several countries in the Carribean have barred the Jamaican dancehall artist Mavado citing that his lyrics advocate violence. In Guyana, the goverment lifted the ban
23 September 2009
Iran: World premiere of film about music censorship in Iran
Documentary film on governmental censorship of music in Iran had its world premiere in New York in 2006: ‘Sounds of Silence – Underground Music in Tehran’
04 May 2006
Pride and prejudice: 'anti-gay' stars refuse to apologise
Their gigs have been cancelled all over the world and their names withdrawn from awards. But Jamaica's dancehall stars refuse to apologise for - or even stop singing - songs that encourage the murder of gay people. Extensive article from The Guardian
10 December 2004
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
Albums with ‘objectionable material’ removed from Kansas libraries
The Kansas attorney general has withheld more than 1,600 compact discs from distribution to state libraries because officials determined the albums promote violence or illegal activity, records show
10 August 2004
Malaysia: Malay songs with English lyrics banned
The government of Malaysia has banned songs that contain English lyrics from state-controlled radio and television stations
20 April 2004
Explicit Lyrics & Parental Advisory
Tipper Gore, the PMRC, and the infamous black-and-white logo: Background material and news articles
01 February 2004
China: "opium song" banned
Faye Wong's song In the Name of Love, which includes the lyrics "opium is warm and sweet", will be removed from her upcoming album
30 October 2003
Singapore upholds Janet Jackson ban
Officials in Singapore have thrown out an appeal against a ban on Janet Jackson's album, ‘All For You’. The Publications Appeal Committee, a panel of academics and professionals, decided that the lyrics of the album, particularly one song, Would You Mind, were "not acceptable to our society".
05 June 2001
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
France: Jamaican reggae star’s concerts cancelled
Six French music venues have axed scheduled performances of Jamaican reggae singer Capleton because of his lyrics against homosexuality
09 June 2005
Wal-Mart: Market censors and market mechanisms
Background information on the biggest retailer in the US. Some Wal-Mart retailers refuse to carry CDs with the Parental Advisory Sticker, a few also go so far as to boycott artists if there is a 'dirty' word, a 'controversial' cover, or 'explicit' lyrics
01 February 2001
Iran: Arya – the Victor Jara of my Homeland
Iranian journalist and poet Sepideh Jodeyri compares the life and music of imprisoned musician Arya Aramnejad with Chile's revolutionary singer, Victor Jara.
12 January 2012
Iran: Musicians are losing hope
Members of the Iranian electronic rock band The Casualty Process spoke in the US about being censored and suppressed by Iranian religious authorities
01 November 2011
China: Beijing's censors cancel opera's world premiere
A new opera about Sun Yat-sen, China’s first president, was canceled shortly before its scheduled opening in Beijing because its music allegedly displeased the authorities
12 October 2011
China: ‘Super Girl’ music tv-show suspended by government censors
One of China’s most popular televised talent shows, ‘Super Girl’ has been put under yearlong suspension by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
21 September 2011
Iran: New music censorship law
Mohammad Mirzamani, the General Director of the Music Office in the Ministry of Culture in Tehran, told that a new music censorship law is being prepared by the ministry
02 September 2011
China: 100 songs on culture ministry’s internet blacklist
100 songs that harm ‘national cultural security’ have been placed on an internet blacklist by China’s culture ministry, reported BBC News on 24 August 2011
29 August 2011
Iran: How they rocked in Tehran before the revolution
On the occassion of two new albums with music of Kourosh and Googoosh, Jessica Hundley wrote an article for Los Angeles Times about music in Iran before the revolution
22 August 2011
Iran: Government bans famous Ramadan singer
The 70-year-old singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian’s beloved Ramadan song ‘Rabbana’ is banned by the Iranian authorities, reported BBC's Karen Zarindast from Iran
08 August 2011
Russia: Minister to censor online music of the youth
Russia’s Interior Minister wants to stop young people from listening to music which, according to the minister, undermines traditional values and leads to cultural decay
08 August 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
Belarus: State radio reportedly bans politically sensitive song
State-controlled Belarusian Radio is reported to have banned a 25-year-old song titled ‘Peremen’ (‘Change’) by the rebellious Soviet rock musician Viktor Tsoi
29 July 2011
South Korea: In the past two years 2,607 songs have been banned
The South Korean Ministry of Gender Equality & Family has caused distress amongst fans for a series of bans they’ve made on songs considered ‘hazardous media’ to the youth
29 July 2011
China: Rock musician arrested in airport
The Chinese rock musician Zuoxiao Zuzhou was detained for over 12 hours by police in Shanghai’s airport, a Hong Kong-based rights group said
29 April 2011
China: American folk singer agreed to Chinese censorship
The 69-year-old American folk singer Bob Dylan - famous for his songs against injustice and for civil rights - agreed to perform in China only with a heavily censored list of songs
11 April 2011
Music Freedom Day: Meanwhile in Turkey, musicians are persecuted
Singer Ferhat Tunç wrote this article as a personal comment to the Music Freedom Day initiative, describing the current situation for more than a dozen musicians in his country
03 March 2011
Zimbabwe: 2,000 musicians unite in protest on Music Freedom Day
Close to 2,000 music composers in Zimbabwe protest, asking the national broadcaster to stop playing music for six hours on this year’s Music Freedom Day
03 March 2011
Egypt and Tunisia: The artistic revolution in the Middle East
An article about music censorship and the role of music in the Middle Eastern struggle for democracy was published in The Observer on 27 February 2011
28 February 2011