Government to Engage Music Industry on Impact of Content on Youth
The government is taking proactive steps to address concerns over the influence of music on the nation’s youth, according to remarks made last week by government spokesman Melford Nicholas. The Minister of Festivals has been tasked with engaging members of the promotions community, as the government seeks to encourage more responsible content creation and dissemination.
Reflecting on the positive collaboration with the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicholas recalled how the government worked closely with music promoters to help revive their businesses. During that time, the industry had been significantly impacted, with activities grinding to a halt for nearly two years. The government’s intervention, which involved easing restrictions to allow events to resume, was seen as a successful model of cooperation.
Building on this experience, the government is now looking to address a different but equally pressing issue: the content of music being produced and consumed. Nicholas expressed concerns that some of the music currently popular among young people promotes harmful behaviors, including gun violence, negative stereotypes of women, and other forms of socially destructive conduct.
“We are of the view that some of the music that hits the airwaves and reaches the ears of our young children is, in itself, destructive,” Nicholas said. “They promote this gun culture, they promote a lot of negative stereotyping of our young women, and they promote a lot of insidious social behavior.”
To combat this, the government is advocating for the music industry to adopt self-regulation practices. Nicholas emphasized the need for “self-management, self-regulation, and even some self-censorship” to prevent the romanticization of crime and criminal activities in music, which he believes is contributing to negative influences on the youth.
The Minister of Festivals, who also holds the education portfolio, has been given the responsibility to lead these discussions and develop strategies to address the issue. Nicholas acknowledged that the task ahead is challenging but necessary to ensure that the country’s young population is not inundated with harmful messages.
The government’s approach appears to be one of collaboration rather than confrontation, with an emphasis on engaging industry stakeholders in a dialogue about the social impact of their work. The upcoming engagement is expected to lead to recommendations and possibly new guidelines for content creation that align with the government’s objectives of promoting positive societal values.
As the Minister prepares to embark on this important mission, the government is hopeful that the music industry will respond positively, just as it did during the pandemic, and work towards creating a more responsible and socially conscious cultural landscape.
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So I hope the Government not going to allow people like VYBZ KARTEL to come and have any show in Antigua
The public is waiting to see……….
Gonna blame everything but the fking parents who has no home order or time for their kids.
Letting them rule them and run wild out here, the yute is a reflection on the household and environment.
Music… Media in general adds to it but it is not the main issue. The main issue starts at home and the lack of guidance and order.
If you gonna blame music for example you gotta blame TikTok cause we all know that app does more fundamental harm as the main media source for the west than every other content or intake right now and it also pushes the mental decay but we don’t wanna talk about that we Gon ignore the main shit
Stop blaming music and blame the parents who not raising them blasted children right. As soon as things go wrong, you find some avenue to go down and start blaming things that someone have a problem with. Beat you kids and put them in their place or else what we see today is going to get worse and is not music cause that
In all fairness if u gonna blame dancehall music aka. Jamaican music..then u should also blame soca. Alot of violent clashes happens during the carnival season. Plus scores of teenage pregnancies. Some of u worthless parents needs to stop blaming other pplz music and culture for your parenting failures. Some of u should be fined and jailed. U are the reason your children behave the way they do. No good example is being set in your homes. Then u want to blame others. Take personal responsibility for raising your kids right.
music when you adults not leading by example all acting like whores showing ass and pums during carnival how you not talking about movies that show in our cinema?
Yes so TRUE. I remember seeing a parent having his children in the vehicle n the kinda a songs he was playing was so slack..band them all. A man was asking what’s gone wrong with his Jamaican singers .singing songs that are so disturbing. Sexual immoral nasty.especially the young ladies n them.. Gun slanging. I wonder y jamaica in that state. Don’t bring none a Dem nasty sexual gun sling singer into Antigua no matter where they coming from.
Wat a sexing joke ! This is bare cunt the gov deh pon. You a really blame and defame Skilli and music for your own sexed up shit.
I’m not going to say who and what to blame but this just confirms how sexing blind and dumb this gov, especially the ministry of festivals and information is.
The children will continue to murder each other and rob and terrorize as long as this nation is in the hands of these blind dumb asses . Wat a beeping mf joke.
Antigua News Room, using this photo which may be AI generated. But by using it repeatedly; are we the readers to think you have made yourself out as purveyors and champions of Antigua news, culture or identity?
And that news and culture is crime and gang warfare.
What is the message of the clip art you are using.
Music will be music just like any other negative influence out there, the gov needs to be aware of what they allow and Moreso the flocking good for nothing parents of these little delinquents, To the parents, at least do it for the children, you can go hell but don’t drag them along with you, stop mek breed if you’re not responsible, gov should start charge the parents, hold them accountable, they are minors, they not responsible, buss the parents dem asses, use the bull bud pun dem, man and woman alike.
Gaston Browne and social media fb is the BIGGEST CULPRIT in promoting violence through music and threats and who love to preach about having no fear towards anyone who challenges him instead of advocating for conflict resolution. No gang member will trust your government as you guys continue to live big while your voters suffer and beg
The problem is that 98% of youths in Antigua do not get this music from radio stations. While some do play this crap, the authentic stations do not. They get the music from social media and the internet. How do you police that? Look at the Trinidadian DJ that has been banned from almost everywhere, including over the weekend banned from the Bahamas. His offerings are not available on the regular airwaves yet all the young people know him. However, we can ban the artistes who promote guns, violence and the degrading of women. Let’s start with Vybz Kartel, who got out of jail on a murder charge on a technical issue and not because he was not guilty.
Music what! We have foreign criminal gangs operating in Antigua. The ALP imported a foreign underclass, and the chickens are now coming home to roost.
Evil communication corrupt good manners.
The surge in Marijuana use in these youths with other drugs could be also
@Countrymanabroad, I totally agree with you. The AI generated photo sends a wrong signal or message if you will.
To put emphasis on banning music types in today’s world is like closing the gate after the horse has bolted.
We however do need to get parents involved in the kind of music their children have downloaded on their devices, set a standard for air play on the radio stations and have promoters of shows take part in discussions on who they bring here. It has to be multifaceted and it still would not be 100%.
Please, please, please, can someone answer this question for me please. Syrian, Chinese, East Indian and white people children live in Antigua and Barbuda. How/Why is it that they are not on the streets, robbing, raping, smoking herb, unmarried and pregnant, sitting at the corner, fatherless???
Music was always blamed for the bad things the youth did. Or not even the bad things. The radical stands. Starting from when I was a young boy and I used to hear music from Calypso Rose, singing Fire fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzZ2GkZbBTM. My grandmother would have nothing of that and beat me and my other young siblings anytime she heard us sing that. Or the song from the Merry Man, Big Big Bamboo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5UlDU8-GAA.
I say this to say, songs each generations have gotten worse and more explicit. James Brown started by saying Sex Machine. And you do not want to listen to songs by Dex Daps, Busy Signal, Vybz Kartel and many others, you cannot start telling the youth not to listen to these songs. All you can do is guide them. And yes it starts from the home. Values. Family Values, Moral Values are not legislated. They are taught at home. Therefore parents are fully responsible for how their children grew up. That is why many of us can remember our parents strictness when we go the wrong path. Do not blame the society or the government or the church. It start with the parents. You do not go to church, you do not take your children to church. OK but do you teach him/her moral values and family values? Do not blame the teachers either, cause many would go to school and tell the teacher do not hit my child. Call me if anything let me deal with them. Well sorry the teacher should not have to call you if you bring up your child right. And they are not your eyes and ears at school. You do your job and do it well. So that your child reflects your values. Banning Music, or banning books are things promoted in many places. Expecially totalitarian regimes. You have the freedom to do what you want to do and you will also suffer the consequences of your action. I listened to a social worker today on Twin Island Media and ofcourse the excuse is the mental state of the youth. Well why is it only a small group of what I call tugs that seems to have mental issues? Going to the bible, For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. I cannot take someone else’s life and claim I was not of a sound mind. Then all criminals should be set free, because I don’t think they are of a sound mind when they commit these crimes. The must be sick in their head. If parents cannot handle the upbringing of their child/children they should seek assistance from the government before it’s too late. And we need to pass legislation to that effect to declare certain children property of the state and have The Family and Social Services Division deal with that. And the parents will have to pay child support to the Treasury. Both Father and Mother. Especially the absentee fathers. Let them pay. Once the parents go to the court for help and the court decide to step in, that is it for that child until they reach maturity age of 18 years. Some can be mentored by foster parents or the church. Councilors will be attached to these programs to guide the children to become productive and law abiding citizen. And reports will be sent periodically to the court for review. This should be the Family court. Not a criminal court. family court can have prominent persons such as retired judges, lawyers, police officers, Church leaders and other citizens of good standing to sit on it. But that is the support that the Government needs to provide the parents that do not have control over their child/children anymore. I would even go as far as to say, foster parents should even be sought overseas. Because sometimes it is better to remove the child from it’s environment completely. I have seen that done in Europe where the country is much bigger and the child is placed in an environment far away from his naturel parents.
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