The job of the Federal Communications Commission, otherwise known as the FCC, is to “regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable” throughout the entire United States, which includes music media. The FCC also the only organization that is responsible for “[licensing] FM radio and full power TV stations,” according to their official website; however, if the commission does not believe that a station would not benefit the interest of the public, it can hold a hearing in court that can deny a license to that station. Therefore, if the FCC has a bias towards a radio or television station because of what media it plays, they can hold a hearing to potentially revoke that station’s license by claiming that what the media had displayed does not benefit the interest of the public. This fact would enforce pressure on radio stations around the United States to always play songs that are enjoyable or “beneficial” to Americans, which does not include controversial songs. Stations can be reluctant to play songs with themes of violence, such as Holiday’s Strange Fruit, as well as songs that invoke political controversy, as they may have a subconscious pressure that their license may be taken away by the FCC. The head of the FCC is also appointed by the president, which may cause the Commission to have a bias depending on if they are democratically liberal or conservative, whether they are democratic or republican. There has been research that shows results of a person’s music preferences being affiliated with which political party they are a part of; a study conducted by scholars Brianna N. Mack and Teresa R. Martin from Ohio Wesleyan University showed a “strong correlation” between country music and people who identify as being a part of the Republican party. On the contrary, people who identified as a Democratic party member had a negative correlation with country music; members of the Democratic party usually geared towards genres of pop, hip-hop, or rap. Thus the head commissioners of the FCC that the president appoints will always have some sort of bias regarding genres of music, whether it is subconscious or known.
Similarly, radio stations and channels, such as Music Television, and several stations in Chicago banned songs with politically controversial themes to suppress anti-government ideals. During a live performance at MTV Movie Awards, the band Nine Inch Nails were banned from performing one of their songs, The Hand That Feeds because they used a backdrop of President Bush while they sang the song. While it was the actual performance that got the record banned, the song was already an attack on the Bush administration during the Iraq War, which the band expressed that it was simply a “charade” to drag on the war: “What if this whole crusade's/A charade/And behind it all there's a price to be paid/For the blood.” Not only does the band suggest that the government was a charade, they also mention religious language, such as “crusade”, which means a religious war. This language could imply that the government was trying to convert Iraq to Christianity in a way or was trying to establish Christianity as the superior religion. President Bush has also directly referred to the war as a crusade. Finally, the band reinforces the government’s religious operation with the last line of the verse: “Which we dine/Justified in the name of the holy and the divine.” Because of the backlash towards the Bush administration, MTV decided to ban Nine Inch Nails’ performance, as they thought it was too controversial and might invoke disappointment from the FCC. Another instance of radio channels banning politically controversial songs is when some stations in Chicago and other U.S. cities banned Street Fighting Man by the Rolling Stones. The song was released in 1986 purposefully, right when tensions were rising between the United States government and American citizens regarding the latter’s dislike of the Vietnam War; the lead singer of the band, Mick Jagger transformed the song into a “commentary on the unrest” after he experienced the protests in America. The track essentially encourages the protest, telling the listeners that it was the right time for a revolution: “Hey, think the time is right/For a palace revolution…I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king/I'll rail at all his servants.”
Though radio stations and other media outlets have contributed to censorship, the pressure that is put upon media channels by the FCC and presidential administrations is the true driving force behind the stations’ censorship. The FCC can suppress not only the radio’s First Amendment right to express their opinions, or in other words broadcast what they want, but also the artist or song that ends up not being played. Media channels are not obliged to play songs and artists that they believe may bring controversy or send unpleasant messages–it is their own freedom of expression granted by the First Amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no law….abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press….and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” If the First Amendment states that people have the right to petition the government, then governmental organizations such as the presidential administrations and the FCC should not try and stop artists such as The Rolling Stones and Nine Inch Nails from expressing their thoughts about current political events.
