Assessing Social Concerns Over the Impact of Popular Music and Music Video: A Review of Scholarly Research

Abstract

For over a half century, the evolution of rock music has been marked by controversy over its social influence. Arguments by the pro- and anti-regulation/censorship camps echo those encountered in debates over the effects of media violence and pornography generally (1). The present study reviews empirical work on the content and effects of violence in rock music and music videos. In evaluating whether the research meets the high burden for regulatory intervention, we must first establish (1) whether the content of these popular arts is, in fact, providing an increasingly graphic content environment, and (2) whether such contents actually influence audience attitudes and behaviors. A narrative review of the literature suggests that critics of popular music have needed to "fill in the blanks" of their empirical arguments with selective citations to the voluminous literature on general media effects (e.g., with TV violence). The literature on popular music and music videos provides little in the way of longitudinal, externally valid findings that can establish a "smoking gun" with media influences as potent causal agents with human behavior. Implications for media regulation are discussed.