Parental Advisory

Parental Advisory, abbreviated PAL, is a label affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. The label is prevalent on hip hop and rock albums, though it can appear on any musical genre that the RIAA believes warrants the need for one.

The logo is not a rating, and there are no agreed-upon standards for the label. It is the record company's decision whether or not an album requires a label. Some albums, however, have been considered so extreme in their violent content that the distributor of the album has put on a secondary warning next to the Parental Advisory sticker, most notably Geto Boys' self-titled album released in 1990.

The warning, which has been called the musical equivalent of an "alcohol content" label, has appeared to make some albums more desirable, resulting in the reverse effect to what was intended. The warning has achieved a degree of cult status, with comedian George Carlin titling an album Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics and numerous t-shirts, metal signs, and other paraphernalia bearing the logo. The RIAA, however, officially states, "It's not a PAL Notice that kids look for, it's the music. Independent research shows kids put limited weight on lyrics in deciding which music they like, caring more about rhythm and melody. The PAL Notice alone isn’t enough incentive."

The label is occasionally seen on other content not intended for young children, such as novels.