Lack of BALANCE - Music, Media and the Message
Lack - Deficiency or absence.
Balance - The power or means to decide.
In a nutshell, the music industry
-- record labels, distribution, promotion, retail -- and
broadcast media --TV and radio, have become a
monopoly with a handful of organizations controlling what people
see, hear, and know; ultimately shaping the perceptions and
behaviors of people watching, listening and learning.
RESULTS
- Sexually explicit and violent media messages
- Perpetuation of Stereotypes
- Lack of Non-White Media Ownership
- Obscene and Indecent Broadcast Violations
- Payola
FACTS
- A $10 billion dollar a year Hip-Hop industry that claims to reflect black life and culture; but 80% of it is consumed by whites.
- Over 90% of radio stations, record labels, magazines, TV stations, and retailers that disseminate hip-hop and associated products including music, clothes, movies, and games -- are white-owned.
- African-American teens ages 12-17 listen to more than 18 hours of radio per week on average, compared to 13.5 hours for all teens (Radio Advertising Bureau, 2002) .
- Thirty percent of African-American teens are among the most frequent TV viewers (the top TV-viewing quintile) versus 21.1% of non-African-American teens (Simmons Market Research Bureau Adult Fall 2002 and Teen 2002 National Consumer Surveys).
