When It Comes to Peddling Hate Music, iTunes Appears to Be Selective
鈥淟et鈥檚 see out the Fuhrer鈥檚 dream/To break the back of the eternal jew/Rid the world of the evil we鈥檝e seen/Make it safe for me and you.鈥�
鈥� From 鈥淯nder the Hammer鈥� by Brutal Attack
鈥淲hen the battle is over and the victory is won/And the White man鈥檚 lands are owned by true white people/the traitors will all be gone.鈥�
鈥� From 鈥淲hite Warriors鈥� by Skrewdriver
If you thought such unabashedly bigoted music was available only from underground sources, you鈥檇 be wrong. With a few clicks at Apple鈥檚 iTunes website, Internet users can buy albums and songs from white supremacist groups such as Bully Boys, Final War, Stormtroop 16 and H8Machine.
But what has one iTunes customer particularly incensed is that the website has apparently removed homophobic songs by reggae artists, but left the white supremacist music. Galen Andrews, who lives outside Des Moines, Iowa, told Hatewatch that he thinks all hate music should be pulled from iTunes. 鈥淚t made me sick,鈥� he said of the white supremacist music. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 irresponsible of iTunes to offer that kind of music. I don鈥檛 like the fact that they鈥檙e selling racism for profit.鈥�
Among the anti-gay songs no longer available on iTunes are Buju Banton鈥檚 鈥淏oom Bye-Bye鈥� and T.O.K.鈥檚 鈥淐hi-Chi Man,鈥� Andrews said. ITunes, which bills itself as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most popular digital media player,鈥� did not respond to several phones messages and E-mails seeking comment. However, it鈥檚 not the only mainstream music distributor selling racist and offensive tracks.
Although Amazon.com did not return a phone message, it also peddles music from many of the same white supremacist bands. An Amazon.com spokeswoman told that third-party companies were selling the tracks through its website, but declined to elaborate. A spokesman for CDBaby, which distributes independent music, told Hatewatch that the company doesn鈥檛 ban artists based on content, though it donates profits from music it deems racist to anti-hate organizations.
鈥淢y impression is that online music distributors currently aren鈥檛 banning racist music,鈥� Paul Becker, a sociology professor at the University of Dayton, wrote in an E-mail to Hatewatch. 鈥淚 suspect that if you asked them they would justify it because there is a wide range of music that people find offensive and how do you decide what bans you鈥檒l implement.鈥�
Andrews, the iTunes customer, said he doesn鈥檛 buy the argument that banning racist music inhibits freedom of speech, because artists can simply sell it elsewhere. And he disagrees that it鈥檚 difficult to determine what to ban. 鈥淵ou can tell straight off that it鈥檚 pretty racist,鈥� he said.
White-power music broker who uses the alias Byron Calvert, also hopes racist music gets banned 鈥� but for a different reason. 鈥淪hut us down,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ake it illegal tomorrow. It would be great.鈥�
Cecchini 鈥� whose recent ventures include Project Schoolyard Volume II, a campaign that targets teenagers with a 25-song sampler of white power music 鈥� believes that prohibiting racist content would compel artists to find subtler ways to express the same message. That, in turn, would help them reach mainstream audiences. Moreover, he told Hatewatch, it鈥檚 human nature to be attracted to the illicit. 鈥淲hat we do is illegal in Germany,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 fifty times more popular.鈥�
