New Classification Rules For Oz Labels, Retailers

Next year, teenage consumers in Australia will have to flash their IDs when they buy CDs.

An updated Labelling Code of Practice, effective April 1, 2003, will see some releases banned from sale to under-18s. Devised by the Australian Record Industry Assn. (ARIA) and the Australian Music Retailers Assn. (AMRA) in consultation with regulator the Office of Film & Literature Classification (OFLC), it may be the first of its kind in a major market.

The new regulations replace a previous voluntary code, which split product into two categories, a "general" level and a "restricted" level (R), carrying a warning sticker. The new one has three categories—moderate (level 1), strong (2), and high (3)—depending on the level of sex, drugs, and violence references in lyrics.

ARIA CEO Stephen Peach rejects the idea that this is tantamount to censorship. "The code is down to parental control and discretion," Peach insists. "We've used the language and criteria of movie classifications. The difference is, a cinema cannot let an under-18 patron into an R-rated movie, even if a parent agrees the child can view it. With the CD, the parent can buy it for their children. All we're saying to parents is [that] retailers have agreed not to sell these Level 3 recordings to under-18s."

In March, the Australian government's Standing Committee of Attorneys General requested that the music industry's existing voluntary Labelling Code of Practice be amended after consumer complaints that some titles were not appropriate for sale to minors. Among the albums cited as problematic by the committee were titles by Eminem, Tori Amos, the Prodigy, and Marilyn Manson, plus local acts Machine Gun Fellatio and Regurgitator. ARIA came up with the idea of introducing a Level 3 category to accommodate more extreme releases, believing that not everything on the previous Level 2 "R" list should be restricted to over-18s.

Peach and AMRA executive officer Ian Harvey agree that parental concerns about knowing a record's content are justified. If the music industry had not adopted a cooperative stance, there were fears that the attorneys general may have introduced a "pre-check" system, similar to that applied to movies and videos here. Record companies could have had to pay a fee in the region of $1,000 Australian ($570) for the OFLC to check each CD release. Labels' marketing schedules could also have faced disruption.

ARIA members will be responsible for the classification and labeling of all CDs manufactured and/or distributed by them in Australia. Music retailers will be responsible for ensuring that Level 3 CDs are not sold to under-18s and labeling any CDs they directly import for sale. AMRA will also provide training materials for retailers to use to ensure their staff understands and implements the new system. An Ombudsman will report back to the OFLC at the end of 2003 on the effectiveness of the new code.

Harvey doubts consumers will respond negatively to providing identification in music stores: "They seem comfortable about it in other environments like cinemas and nightclubs." As yet, decisions have not been made about the type of penalties that might face retailers who fail to stick to the code, which ARIA will supervise.