Keep on rockin' in the free world

To most people in the United States, censorship in music brings to mind cases like the Dixie Chicks. Sure, musicians might see their album pulled from stores or some lyrics rewritten, but how bad can it really be? In reality, censorship takes many forms: A musician in Algeria is assassinated. Another is imprisoned in Cuba. This form of repression is much worse, and it's a global problem facing the international music industry. This is the reality of modern-day music censorship. On March 3, the World Forum On Music and Censorship, also known as Freemuse, will hold its second annual Music Freedom Day. In addition to events promoting awareness of censorship for the world media, Music Freedom Day 2008 will actually feature music, surprisingly enough. The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo will host a concert in support of the event featuring several European artists. The concert will be televised by The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, a recording will be available via satellite and streamed on the Internet. Established in August 2000 in Copenhagen, Freemuse joined together a plethora of journalists, musicians and human rights activists to discuss the effects of censorship in music. The main objective of Freemuse is to create a global network to support musicians and their right to free musical expression. Continuing its work to inform the public of music censorship, Freemuse hosted the first Music Freedom Day in 2007. On this day, musicians, broadcasters and journalists were encouraged to direct their focus toward the violation of human rights and banned music. Journalists in Lebanon, India and Zimbabwe took initiative by interviewing censored artists from around the world. The media collaboration on Music Freedom Day 2007 enabled oppressed artists to share their stories with the public. One such person is Ferhat Tunc, a Turkish musician and human rights activist, who was arrested for a political comment he made at one of his concerts. Tunc stated his opinion regarding the guerilla warfare occurring in Turkey. His outspoken fight for peace and democracy violated the Turkish Penal Code, which is under great scrutiny worldwide. Assorted artists from different countries have had similar experiences of coercion. Severe instances of human rights violations have been seen in Sudan, Afghanistan and China, which include imprisonment, exile and assassination. Even the United States government has censored artists such as Madonna, Marilyn Manson and Eminem because of pressure from lobbyists. As an advocate for freedom of expression, Freemuse focuses specifically on the human rights of musicians and composers worldwide. More information about Freemuse and Music Freedom Day can be found at www.freemuse.org.

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