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FTC blasts music industry's marketing to young

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By Jamie Allen
CNN

(CNN) -- While film and video producers have curbed marketing of adult-content material to young people, the music industry continues targeting under-17 customers with products that have explicit and violent material, according to a federal report issued Tuesday.

In a no-nonsense summary of the entertainment industry's marketing efforts, the Federal Trade Commission said music producers have not "visibly responded" to a report issued last September that took movies, video makers and music-industry officials to task for aiming adult-theme material at underage consumers.

VIDEO Lieberman talks about his bill with CNN's Jeanne Meserve Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MESSAGE BOARD Violence in entertainment     DEBRIEF CNN business news correspondent Greg Clarkin on the FTC ruling

The music industry was quick to defend itself Tuesday, with one executive claiming it would be "virtually impossible to categorize words."

The anticipated follow-up report, whose contents were leaked Monday, said movies and video games have made "some progress both in limiting advertising in popular teen media and in providing rating information in advertising" since the September survey.

"The music industry, however, has not visibly responded to the commission's report; nor has it implemented the reforms its trade association announced just before the (September 2000) report was issued," the report said.

FTC: 'Concerns' recognized

Government intrusion into content-related issues raises First Amendment "concerns," FTC chairman Robert Pitofsky acknowledged in the statement.

The FTC is counting on all three industries to regulate themselves, and two have responded, said Pitofsky.

"The follow-up report illustrates that the motion picture and electronic game industries have improved and enhanced the self-regulation of their marketing practices," Pitofsky said. "Unfortunately, the music industry response, at least so far, has been disappointing in its failure to institute positive reforms to its self-regulatory structure."

The music industry had a response ready even before the report was released, Reuters reported.

"Music is unique," Hillary Rosen, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a prepared statement issued overnight. "For the same reason that there is no rating system for books, the works of musical artists are not rated by age or content specificity -- as it is virtually impossible to categorize words."

However, Rosen said, the industry supported clear labeling of explicit material, and it had an effective program in place that was overwhelmingly supported by America's parents, Reuters reported.

Encouraging findings

Meantime, Sen. Joe Lieberman, who pushed for the review of entertainment industries' advertising practices, told CNN the federal report held "good news."

"In this report you see a lot of progress, including a lot of entertainment companies that are going to make a lot less money," because they're not marketing to children, the Democratic senator from Connecticut said Tuesday.

Lieberman said he would introduce legislation making it against the law to rate an entertainment product for an over-17 audience, then market it in media outlets that cater to teens younger than 17.

"If you rate a product that's only good for adults, then it's just not legal to market it to kids," he said. "That's just not fair advertising."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-CT, told CNN Tuesday he will introduce legislation that will make it against the law to rate an entertainment product for an over-17 audience, then market it in teen media outlets

The legislation would not violate First Amendment rights of expression, as critics of the FTC reports claim, Lieberman said.

"It's (the artists') right to express themselves artistically however they want," he said. "It's just not fair and right to turn around and market that to American children. ÷ That ought to be illegal."

Film and video producers apparently took the FTC's earlier report to heart, the federal agency noted in its Tuesday summary.

The commission said it found no advertisements for R-rated movies in popular teen magazines it reviewed following the September survey. Likewise, the commission found "general compliance with the industry's commitment not to run trailers for R-rated movies in connection with G- and PG-rated feature films."

Investigating the electronic game industry, the commission's survey found no ads for games rated for mature audiences on popular teen television programs it reviewed. When an M-rated game was advertised on TV, the commission said the ads clearly disclosed the game's content in sound and pictures. Print ads for the games "nearly always included the game's rating icon," the survey said.

Plenty of 'explicit content'

It was a different story for the music industry. Ads for music recordings that contained explicit content "routinely appeared on popular teen advertising programming," the commission said.

"All five major recording companies placed advertising for explicit content music on television programs and magazines with substantial under-17 audiences," the summary said.

The commission report also pointed out that parental advisory labels on some recordings were so small "that the words were illegible." Ads for recordings "usually did not indicate that the recording was stickered with a parental advisory label," the report said.

A "single positive note," according to the FTC summary: Almost 40 percent of music labels' or artists' Web sites contained song lyrics.

The FTC says a second, more comprehensive report will be released this fall.

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FTC Follow-up Report

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