Target often forces musicians to alter lyrics in order to have their CDs sold in Target stores. Is this censorship?

The answer is no. I referred to "My World" on this one, as in this instant I will qualify myself as an expert on the subject. I'm a professional musician that records, and has researched the topic, and its rules for decades.

Music is an entertainment media, and the rules that apply to all other media in the form of ratings also apply to music. Music falls under the FCC rules to get airplay, and musicians must filter their content if they hope to be on the radio, or television. On the internet this appears to be voluntary as YouTube has many bands have both altered and unedited versions of the same song. The difference is you have to sign in, and prove age verification to listen to the uncensored version.  Other bands have uncensored songs available without signing in.

Target is using the same protocol as the FCC guidelines. One might think that having the CD labeled “Explicit lyrics” would be enough.  Target is a family store, and as such doesn’t want to sell anything with adult content. Simply putting the rating on a CD would be equivalent to putting the rating X on a hardcore adult movie. 

I think it is fair to ask musicians that want their music to be played in public venues to be asked to keep it clean. In my personal experience I have been told what a band can’t play in certain venues. I believe a good musician should be able to express themselves without the use of profanity.  The only time profanity is appropriate in music is when it is the best adjective used by the writer to describe their feeling, not just saying it for shock or entertainment value. If it is used a musician should be aware of the limitation of using adult content.