Declaring "implicit faith and unconditional support" for the heads of Warner Music Group, Time Warner chairman Gerald Levin delivered a strong personal defense of the company in the face of stepped-up protests against violent and misogynist lyrics in recordings. At the company's annual shareholders meeting in NYC May 18, he added personal notes to his remarks, stating that his son uses rap lyrics in social work with children in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, about a dozen picketers outside City Center carried signs with lyrics by Warner acts like Snoop Doggy Dogg and Nine Inch Nails. And a representative of the National Political Congress of Black Women read a statement to the shareholders and the company, condemning it for "putting profit before principle."
-- transcribed by dirk ellis