I have known for a long time that Wal-Mart did not carry certain CD’s that they felt were inappropriate or held the title, “Parental Advisory.” Wal-Mart’s credo is “saving people money so they can live better.” Wal-Mart values itself on being family oriented and providing values for all your home needs. Wal-Mart is the second largest distributer of music in the United States. When a power such as this does not sell CD’s because of their lyrics, it becomes a controversial topic.
Sheryl Crow released an album in 1996 that Wal-Mart refused to sell because of the following lyrics:
“Watch out sister
Watch out brother
Watch our children as they kill each other
With a gun they bought at the Wal-Mart discount stores.”
This particular incident I do not agree with Wal-Mart. The CD is not bad and the message of the song is not what it appears at first. However, I do agree that they should have a choice with what they sell. If I owned a major company, I would carefully choose my products so that my values were not compromised. Also, the majority of the CD’s that have the Parental Advisory label already have released edited versions for the radio stations. They are the same copies that Wal-Mart receives.
Everyone has a choice as to what they want to listen to or what they want to sell. I support Wal-Marts right to choose what kind of music they sell just as I exercise my right to not buy music there.
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2 comments:
You seem to be playing both sides against the middle, perhaps in an effort to be fair and objective. You don't have to be fair and objective; I want to read your opinion. Is Wal-Mart's policy right, or wrong, in your opinion?
I wish to leave two cents here - Wal-Mart as a whole in its current form of existence is wrong. The children of the emperor have taken the spoils of their father's labor and turned it into lies. Remember all that money they poured into assuring us that most of their products were made in the US?
I think that corporations as large as WalMart, Pepsi, etc. need to make it a priority that is written in their charter that they have to contribute to the community in which they conduct business, and that no corporation should be obligated to put the stock holders' interests above the stake holders' interests. But I'm kind of radical that way.
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