Clause 9 of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council's Code of Ethics deals with radio stations in Canada:
...particular care shall be taken by radio broadcasters to ensure that programming on their stations does not contain:
(a) Gratuitous violence in any form, or otherwise sanction, promote or glamorize violence;
(b) Unduly sexually explicit material; and/or
(c) Unduly coarse and offensive language. (CBSC, 2002)
Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. (2002). Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.cbsc.ca/codes.
Information on music censorship from Freemuse, an independent international organization that advocates for the freedom of expression.
International stories on music censorship from Index On Censorshp
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is committed to labeling CDs with parental advisory notices, if they've decided the music contains "inappropriate" material.
What does the RIAA think warrants a warning for parents?
"...strong language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse" (RIAA).
Compared to other media, the recording industry is relatively liberal. As their guidelines suggest taking into account changing social mores, multiple meanings of words and the context of the songs.
Read what divergent musical artists John Denver, Frank Zappa and Dee Snider - among others - said at the Record labeling: hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, on contents of music and the lyrics of records, September 19, 1985.
Want to see what it was like? This youtube video will give you an idea. Prepare yourself: you will see a lot of scary 80s hair styles...it is the one thing both sides of the table had in common.
By Jay-Z
By N.W.A.
By Snoop Dog
Want to know what other artists have been censored? Here's a Billboard article listing 21 artists and the circumstances.
Here is another list from Freemuse of albums with artists who have had their music banned.