Record industry and a watchdog group agree that labels help consumers know what the words of song are before buying music.

Parental concern about music isn't new. In 1950, many parents thought Elvis Presley's hip movements were obscene. Today, parents are alarmed by album covers depicting nearly nude torsos and lyrics urging people to challenge police _ or worse.

The fact is, lyrics that include four-letter words are increasing and have become available to a much younger audience in the past two decades. These lyrics have parents questioning the content of all music and the companies that package and promote these songs.

The Parents' Music Resource Center was founded in 1985 by a group of parents who were concerned about the messages of the music their children were hearing. Each had purchased music for their children that they later felt was inappropriate.

Lyric advisories

The goal of these four parents _ one of whom is Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore _ was to be able to know the lyrics of songs before they purchased a recording and to inform other parents about the explicit messages and themes in music that is available to children, according to Tom Davis, president of PMRC based in Arlington, Va.

Soon after the group was formed, the PMRC and National Parent-Teacher Association began meeting with members of the Recording Industry Association of America to determine the best way to educate parents about lyrics. The PMRC wanted to have the lyrics available before the music was purchased, and the PTA wanted a rating system similar to the one used for movies to indicate any potentially offensive material, Davis said in a recent phone interview.

The groups agreed that a simple advisory label was one way to educate the public. The agreement they reached states that the record companies are to label anything with explicit lyrics _ sexually explicit, graphically violent or those that glorify the use of drugs or alcohol.

"The Parents' Music Resource Center does not have a warning label. The label that says `parental advisory' or `explicit lyrics' is placed on the recordings by the record companies themselves," explained Davis. "The PMRC does not have anything to do with the decision-making process."

It's the individual recording company, not the industry, that decides whether to use a warning label, said Michael Cover, director of customer relations for the Recording Industry of America in Washington, D.C.

In a recent phone interview, he agreed that labeling is a voluntary system for 50,000 songs recorded each year. He said that since July 1990, only 400 labels have been placed on recordings.

Informative, not restrictive

Both organizations agree on the logo's purpose.

"The purpose of the label," explained Davis, "is not to restrict sales (or) to keep people from listening to the music. The purpose is for information. Just like the label says, it's for parents.

"We do not take a position on any type of music or any particular song or any particular group. We feel that parents and other individuals are completely capable of making decisions as to what they feel is appropriate or not," he added.

And, Cover agreed that the label is designed as a way to help consumers determine types of music for their homes and he said doesn't compromise the First Amendment freedoms of the artists or the consumers.

As a rule, he said, the labels have been on heavy metal, rap and hard rock music, but added that there's no punishment for not labeling.

"Certainly, we don't promote or condone the use of the logo to segregate the music or advise retailers not to sell it to minors. We understand that retailers will respond to the needs and desires of their communities as they see fit."

Monitor broadcasts

And since PMRC's goal is to inform, the organization's work doesn't stop with the advisory labels. It urges its members to monitor record stores, radio stations and television broadcasts such as MTV. If members find something offensive, PMRC recommends that they write the broadcaster or store as well as their sponsors, informing them of the objectional material.

PMRC also puts out material for parents and others about specific bands, lyrics and the negative messages in many songs. In one pamphlet, The Influence of Media on Adolescents, the PMRC reprints studies that report on the harmful effects of films, music and television on children. One study analyzes the relationship between subliminal messages in Ozzy Osbourne's album The Blizzard of Oz and the suicide of a 19-year-old youth.

"Our concern isn't so much with particular words," Davis said. "Our concern is with messages that are being put into the music _ messages that violence is an acceptable and desirable way to settle a conflict, messages that women are to be viewed as objects for sexual gratification and no other purpose, ideas that suicide is an desirable alternative to growing old.

"Our concern is that parents be aware of these messages, not necessarily that they say, `You can't listen to this.' But simply that they be aware and if they feel that their child needs to have someone sit down and discuss these topics with them, then that would be something for the parent to decide."

Cover believes, after all, that music reflects social mores and doesn't create them:

"Music does reflect the current conditions in society, and it ought to be allowed to speak to those conditions without any restrictions on freedom of expression that artists and consumers enjoy."

"Our position is that music is reflective of society rather than a cause of actions that are taken in a society, that would include violence or any other kind of behavior that music is accused of (causing)."