Question: Rap artist Ice-T and his band, Body Count, recorded a song called Cop Killer, in...

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Question: Rap artist Ice-T and his band, Body Count, recorded a song called "Cop Killer," in which the singer gleefully anticipates slitting a policeman's throat. (The lyrics to this song are readily available on the Internet.) Time Warner, Inc., produced this song and other gangsta rap recordings with violent and sexually degrading lyrics. Recorded music was an important source of profits for the company, which was struggling with a $15 billion debt and a depressed stock price. If Time Warner renounced rap albums, its reputation in the music business-and future profits-might suffer. This damage could spill over into the multimedia market, which was crucial to Time Warner's future. Strategy: Review the Ethics Checklist. The company was concemed about several important stakeholders-shareholders, consumers, suppliers (rap musicians), society. What are the alternatives? Would it be possible to work with rap musicians to tone down such hateful lyrics? Find other sources of music? Does this music violate important values? What about the artists' free speech rights? Are the Time Warner executives creating the kind of world in which they would want to raise their children? Do they care about anything other than profitability?