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Music censorship is often considered as a discriminatory act that advocates or allows the control or banning of music (Nuzum, 2001). For recorded music, it can take place at several levels, including restrictions before publication, restrictions regarding specific audiences and suppression based on claims of illegal distribution (Cloonan, 2004). Other than the state, music censorship can also be implemented by institutions such as record companies, distributors or even the artists themselves on a worldwide scale (Nielsen and Krogh, 2017; Freemuse, 2018). Apart from banning particular songs, requested or voluntary revisions of music also constitute censorship. Self-censorship practiced by the artists – voluntarily withholding information – is complex and hard to detect. The motivations that lead to self-censorship practices could range from the need to avoid personal sanctions to gaining personal rewards. It could also arise from a concern for the collective well-being of the in-group (Bar-Tal, 2017).
Censorship of popular music in Taiwan has gone through various forms and stages. After Second World War, the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, after the defeat of the civil war against the Communist Party of China, where it reinforced martial law from 1949 to 1987. The martial law had a significant impact on society as it prohibited free speech and publication as well as the formation of new political parties. At the time, music censorship was implemented, first by the Taiwan Garrison Command and then by the Government Information Office (GIO). Music censorship has continued even after the lifting of martial law, although its presence has transformed into practices of self or institutional censorship. The most common type of censorship in post-martial law Taiwan involves the market-based restriction of content, such as music not being broadcasted or artists being asked to change the content.
Focusing on Mandarin popular music (Mandopop) in the post-martial law era, this article examines how music audiences and industry workers engage with music censorship that changes over time. To discover if, and how, music censorship has impacted on the audience's consumption and perception of music, this article employs a grounded theory approach, aiming to develop a theory grounded in systematically analyzed data [1] (Strauss and Corbin, 1994). Firstly, snowball sampling and ethnographic methods are employed for the collection of data. Secondly,...