Parental Advisory
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- For the book of the same name, see Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America.
Parental_Advisory_Label.jpg
Parental Advisory is a warning message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to musical albums records containing what the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) saw as explicit content in the United States. Many record stores refuse to sell albums containing the label (most notably Wal-Mart), and others limit the sale of such albums to minors. To some, it has become known as the "Tipper sticker" because of Tipper Gore's involvement in the PMRC.
Some politicians have tried to criminalize the sale of explicit records to minors, and others have gone so far as to try to ban such records. However, the power of the PMRC has greatly declined in recent years, especially with the growing popularity of rap and heavy metal (popular targets of the PMRC). Still, the RIAA encourages the labeling of any album containing explicit lyrics.
There have been some cases of unusual use of the label. After Frank Zappa campaigned against music censorship in 1985, the Parental Advisory sticker was attached to his next album Jazz From Hell—an instrumental compilation with no lyrics.