An article in last Saturday's STAR said brewing company Red Stripe has announced its decision to withdraw sponsorship of live music events.

According to the article, Red Stripe says live music events facilitates violent and anti-social lyrics and claim that the withdrawal is in tandem with the company's strategies and values.

A move such as this may seem controversial, but one has to applaud the boldness of Red Stripe.

It is surely not a secret that crime and violence are two of our biggest problems.

Also, time and time again we hear debates over the negative influence which our music sometimes has.

While many may argue that music is just mere entertainment and should not be taken seriously, many may also argue that it does have influential attributes and go on to add that it worsens our crime situation.

Bear in mind, Red Stripe has been sponsors of events such as Sting and Summerfest for many years, and such a move by them has firmly indicated which side of the line they are on while showing also the direction in which they wish to travel no more.

Violence and anti-social behaviour are two things that cannot be curbed in the blink of an eye. But, a few more steps like this will eventually bring about some changes in our music one hopes.