Entertainment Law

Brief

Skyywalker Records, Inc. v. Navarro

Procedural History:

• The court finds the recording of As Nasty as they Wanna Be to be legal obscene.

Facts:

• The lyrics of 2 Live Crew’s album are what is being discussed and whether that material is found to be obscene.
• The songs on the album made constant references to the genitalia and to intercourse, etc.
• The song soured high on the 1989 Billboard Hits Chart and sold over 2 million copies.
• They also released another version of the hit song which only sold 250,000 copies.
• In South Florida, after numerous complaints warned local record stores not to sell the song if they wanted to avoid prosecution and the stores immediately complied.
• Skyywalker Inc then filed suit.

Issue:

• Whether criminal proceedings against Nasty met the controlling test enunciated in Miller v. California?

Holding:

• Yes.

Reasoning:

• The court decided not to address 2 Live Crew’s first argument that obscenity should not be criminal and should be left to the free market of ideas.
• Next, the court used the Miller test to establish whether the song was in fact obscene.
• The court used the 3 Part Test from Miller.
• Each prong of the test is satisfied according to the court:
  • The music appeals to the prurient interest.
  • The court found the music to be patently offensive as the lyrics are obscene as measured by the contemporary community standards.
  • The court found that the song did not have serious social worth.
  • As proven by their release of multiple versions, they don’t need the obscenities to get the point across.