Australia may soon launch a new classification system which would stop people under 18 from buying some music. Australia’s music classification system is already a bit more sophisticated than it is here – they label any CDs containing strong language or themes such as sex, violence, drug use, murder or suicide with one of two levels of warning – level one for ‘moderate impact’ and level two for ‘strong impact’. However these classifications do not prevent anyone from buying the music. After discussions with government officials the Aussie industry organisation ARIA and retail association AMRA are planning a new ‘level 3’ – CDs classified at this level would not be sold to under 18s.
"We are talking about material that is quite extreme," ARIA chief executive officer Stephen Peach told reporters. "We think if there are CDs that are truly R-rated in content, then they shouldn't be sold to under 18 year olds. It's just simply applying community standards that apply already to film, television, videos and video games."
The new moves come after 100 odd complaints in the last year by parents and pressure groups regarding the material on some CDs available to children. One Queensland mother, who is referred to as just ‘Robin’ in the media, has been leading a campaign to get albums containing explicit material banned altogether! The ARIA and AMRA hope their own voluntary classification system will prevent the Australian Government from putting censorship laws in place.
Among the level 2 acts whose classification will be reconsidered once the new level is introduced are Marilyn Manson, Missy Elliott, Nick Cave, Oasis and Jennifer Lopez.
Despite coming from within the music industry some label managers are claiming banning teenagers from buying music will just encourage them to download it and burn it to CD.