Music
Music is mainly regulated by the Australian Recording Industry Association and the Australian Music Retailers Association.
The current classification scheme was introduced on 1 April 2003, with the following four levels:
- Level 1: WARNING: MODERATE IMPACT coarse language and/or themes
These recordings contain infrequent aggressive or strong coarse language and moderate impact references to drug use, violence, sexual activity, themes and/or any other revolting or abhorrent activity.
- Level 2: WARNING: STRONG IMPACT coarse language and/or themes
These recordings contain frequent aggressive or strong coarse language and strong impact references to or detailed description of drug use, violence, sexual activity, themes and/or any other abhorrent activity.
- Level 3: RESTRICTED: HIGH IMPACT THEMES Not to be sold to persons under 18 years
These recordings contain graphic descriptions of drug use, violence, sexual activity, themes and/or any other revolting or abhorrent activity that are very intense and have a high impact. They are not permitted to be sold to anyone under the age of 18.
- Exceeding Level 3: Not to be sold to the public
These recordings contain lyrics which promote, incite, instruct and/or exploitatively or gratuitously depict drug use, violence, sexual activity, themes and/or any other revolting or abhorrent activity in a manner that would cause outrage and/or extreme disgust to most adults. They are not permitted to be released, distributed or sold to the public.
However, it is worth noting that these classifications and guidelines carry absolutely no legal ground and are strictly self-regulated.
Read more about this topic: Censorship In Australia, Current Situation
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“A lot of pop music is about stealing pocket money from children.”
—Ian Anderson (b. 1947)
“The manner in which Americans “consume” music has a lot to do with leaving it on their coffee tables, or using it as wallpaper for their lifestyles, like the score of a movie—it’s consumed that way without any regard for how and why it’s made.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1994)