The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hey guys,

I've been working on a new album, and I'm very close to being finished. Unless something catastrophic happens in the next few hours, I'll probably be sending my masters to a printing company tomorrow. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out how best to handle the fact that there's some mildly bad language in the album. I don't often rely on so-called "foul" language to get my point across, since there are usually more evocative ways to say whatever I'm trying to say, so I don't have much context for how cautious to be.

Track 1 has the word "Hell," which I don't think anyone cares at all about anymore, but I'm concerned about the phrases "act like a dick" in Track 7 and "scared shitless" in Track 11.

I signed up for an account on Distrokid, and I think most of the services that Distrokid distributes to want artists to self-identify when their songs are explicit. If I were on a major label going with traditional CD distribution, I know that my lyrics would not be bad enough to require a "Parental Advisory" sticker (which usually requires at least one song with multiple f-bombs), but I think that some of the streaming services have a lower threshold. For instance, Apple has a history of being rather prudish with their app store; are they similarly strict about song lyrics in iTunes?

I know I've heard songs on the radio that use "dick" in a way similar to how I've used it. Ten years ago, Lit had a hit with a chorus going "I'm so addicted to you / and you're such a dick to me." Based on that, I assume my use of the d-word is okay, but does it pass the iTunes obscenity test? Who knows. I know you can't say "shit" on terrestrial radio, but I'm pretty sure I've heard artists use it without being labeled explicit. Should I flag that one song both?

If you've used online distribution and employ foul language, have you ever encountered problems? Did you submit multiple versions? How did it go?

The problem with the way all the 'parental advisory' things are applied now is they apply to the ENTIRE ALBUM even if it's just one little swear word buried deep in the mix at one point.

Last I was aware the label was based on whether you're concerned that a kid listening to the album will be traumatized by hearing the language. It's less about the specific words and more about the subject matter. So, for just the examples you list I wouldn't set the content flag.

foodsexsleep has one "shat" and Love and Monsters has one "fuck," and based on those being the only swears on the entire respective albums I opted to leave the parental guidance flag off. I have not received any complaints or takedown notices. Maybe if more than two people had actually bought the albums it would be a problem.

Also, you CAN have (limited) swearing on the radio in certain circumstances, in particular during the so-called "safe harbor" hours. (Allowances are also made for incidental expletives produced due to technical failures or live callers being dicks.)

A good rule of thumb for an album: would the content of the songs, as dialog in a movie, push the rating to R? Then add the flag (well, maybe in the case of PG-13). PG and PG-13 films are allowed a certain number of certain swears.

And taking the movie analogy further, swear words aren't really the be-all end-all either. Songs that evangelize violence such as rape or murder or whatever can be squeaky-clean in the epithet categories but they should still have a content advisory, IMO.

If you want a more specific standard, try the RIAA guidelines. They're actually pretty well-written and more or less boil down to "use your better judgement." They also point out that the flag is entirely optional and self-policing.

fluffy wrote:The problem with the way all the 'parental advisory' things are applied now is they apply to the ENTIRE ALBUM even if it's just one little swear word buried deep in the mix at one point.

Last I was aware the label was based on whether you're concerned that a kid listening to the album will be traumatized by hearing the language. It's less about the specific words and more about the subject matter. So, for just the examples you list I wouldn't set the content flag.

foodsexsleep has one "shat" and Love and Monsters has one "fuck," and based on those being the only swears on the entire respective albums I opted to leave the parental guidance flag off. I have not received any complaints or takedown notices. Maybe if more than two people had actually bought the albums it would be a problem.

That sets my mind pretty well at ease, thanks.

fluffy wrote: Also, you CAN have (limited) swearing on the radio in certain circumstances, in particular during the so-called "safe harbor" hours. (Allowances are also made for incidental expletives produced due to technical failures or live callers being dicks.)

A good rule of thumb for an album: would the content of the songs, as dialog in a movie, push the rating to R? Then add the flag (well, maybe in the case of PG-13). PG and PG-13 films are allowed a certain number of certain swears.

And taking the movie analogy further, swear words aren't really the be-all end-all either. Songs that evangelize violence such as rape or murder or whatever can be squeaky-clean in the epithet categories but they should still have a content advisory, IMO.

If you want a more specific standard, try the RIAA guidelines. They're actually pretty well-written and more or less boil down to "use your better judgement." They also point out that the flag is entirely optional and self-policing.

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Man, making the comparison to movie ratings opens a huge can o'worms. PG-13 movies are permitted one instance of the word "fuck," but not two. However, in addition to that "fuck," they can also depict up to two instances of the middle finger. But there are demonstrable problems and inconsistencies in how the MPAA enforces their guidelines anyway.

Well, it's not a strict standard by any means. Again, look at the RIAA guidelines. It turns out the RIAA are actually good for something.

Heh!! Americans are such funny cunts!

You're a good man, Tex.