Wal-Mart ‘censors’ Willie Nelson
Index on Censorship reports that 72-year-old country singer Willie Nelson has been forced to change the cover of his long-awaited reggae album, Countryman… by Wal-Mart.
The regular cover (left), which features marijuana leaves, was replaced by a palm tree, in order to satisfy the retailer’s strict rules regarding packaging and lyrics. Critics have charged that as the nation’s largest music retailer - it tallies more than $52 million in music sales - Wal-Mart has the power to persuade artists to edit content. In the past it has refused to stock albums by artists such as Sheryl Crow and The Prodigy.
Saturday 23 Jul 2005 | Paul | USA
