In a report published in December, the Southern Poverty Law Center reviewed the history of racist music on internet music sites, and at least one positive reaction – from iTunes – was finally reported.
White power groups, neo-nazis, and skinheads discovered in the 1990s that racist music was an ideal way to recruit and keep young members, and to raise much needed cash. Racist bands like Skrewdriver, the Bully Boys and Max Resist became popular, appealing to the anti-establishment, pro-anarchic tendencies in our restless youth. Promoted by white supremacist websites like Stormfront and other skinhead sites, the bands used their musical talents to spread hatred and their supremacist message to young buyers in a seemingly innocent medium. And a new-found source of wealth was created.
But the movement really took off when the skinheads discovered iTunes. By listing their racist songs with iTunes, these bands could sell their messages under the seemingly approving imprimatur of a major music distributor. Suddenly the internet became a very effective recruiting tool and a lucrative income producer for the white supremacist movement. Other music distributors, like Amazon and Spotify, were quickly infiltrated as well.
As of September 2014, SPLC had identified 54 racist bands that were listed at iTunes. Rather than popularize their names again, I refer you to the original article.
And guess what? Have you ever received the message “Listeners Also Bought” after making an iTunes or Amazon purchase? Well, once a racist band became established, their sales were used to popularize other bands, and the infestation spread. Spotify has built their entire business model around this idea. The popularity-checker bot embedded in the iTunes infrastructure doesn’t distinguish racist bands from Barbra Streisand or Taylor Swift or any other legitimate musician. It just spits out a list of popular song titles tailored to the musical tastes of the purchaser, regardless of the offensive nature of the music.
And we’re not talking about suppressing First Amendment speech, a few cuss words, or artistic license here. These are true hate-mongering, racist, white supremacist recruitment tools – often advocating violence against the minority du jour – devoid of any socially redeeming value. The songs in fact violate the Terms of Use agreement that every offeror provides and every artist agrees to. If the purveyors of hate want to recruit, let them do it on their own nickel.
Take for instance, the song “Fire Up the Ovens” by the Bully Boys, which features the verses like these: “Leave no stone unturned / We’re going to burn until the last Jew burns / Fire up the ovens, fire up the ovens / Fire up the ovens — let’s do it again!”
For a few other disgusting examples, I suggest you visit
the original SPLC article.
The good news is that finally iTunes has awakened. After numerous complaints, Apple has removed more than 30 bands from their song catalog. But in true whack-a-mole fashion, the job is never-ending. New bands are constantly springing up from the ashes of the old. With over 25 million titles available, iTunes must remain forever vigilant.
And Amazon and Spotify need to follow suit.