Parental Advisory

Parental Advisory (short for Parental Advisory: Explicit Content/Lyrics) is a warning label placed on audio recordings that contain explicit content. It was introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1990 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. The label was first affixed on physical 33⅓ rpm records, compact discs and cassette tapes, and it has been included on digital listings offered by online music stores. In PAL-region territories, some video games featuring licensed music were affixed with the label in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The label was created in response to the efforts of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) to highlight songs with unsuitable content. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) responded by introducing an early version of their content warning label, although the PMRC was displeased and proposed that a music rating system structured like the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system be enacted. The RIAA alternatively suggested using a warning label reading "Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics", and after continued conflict between the organizations, the matter was discussed on September 19 during a hearing with the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Approximately two months after the hearing, the organizations agreed on a settlement in which audio recordings were to either be affixed with a warning label reading "Explicit Lyrics: Parental Advisory" or have its lyrics attached on the backside of its packaging.

Recordings with the Parental Advisory label are often released alongside an uncut censored version that reduces, eliminates or replaces the objectionable material. Several retailers will distribute both versions of the product, occasionally with an increased price for the uncut censored version, while some sellers offer the amended pressing as their main option and choose not to distribute the explicit counterpart. The label has been widely criticized as ineffective in limiting the inappropriate material to which young audiences are exposed.