I researched regulation in the UK music industry to gain an understanding of who owns the pop music songs in the charts, how it is regulated for consumer consumption in hard copy and on digital streaming services; and how it is regulated in broadcasting on mediums such as radio.
Copyright Laws UK
I started by researching copyright laws in the UK music industry to see who specifically owns any music produced. This also showed me the difference between owning the song as a creative idea (such as owning the chords, lyrics, and melody) and owning the performance of a song (such as a particular recording or performance of a song).
Broadcasting Regulation
In the UK, the independent regulatory body called Ofcom is in charge of regulating TV, Radio, and digital on-demand media. In their mission statement, they say "Our duties come from Parliament. Our priority is to look after you...".
This is their mission statement full:
I then researched UK broadcasting laws and regulations. I also looked at specific examples of banned songs, and why these songs were deemed inappropriate. This helped me to fully understand the expectation of UK pop music, in terms of appropriately, in order for it to be suitable for broadcast on mainstream radio.
Regulative Bodies
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's trade association. The membership is comprised of hundreds of music companies, including the "Big Three" music labels (Sony, Universal, and Warner). It was established in 1973 and its principal aim was to promote British music and fight copyright infringement.
In July 2011, The BPI adopted the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Parental Advisory Label program. This meant that the BPI published guidance for use of the logo on digital streaming platforms.
In July 2011, The BPI adopted the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Parental Advisory Label program. This meant that the BPI published guidance for use of the logo on digital streaming platforms.
Parental Advisory is a warning label that was originally introduced by the RIAA in 1985 and adopted by the BPI in 2011. This now makes it an industry-standard in both the UK and the USA. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profanity or inappropriate references in the lyrics within the track. This label is put on hard copies of the single or album and has been extended to listings on certain digital and streaming stores such as Apple Music and Spotify.
Tracks with the Parental Advisory label are often released alongside a censored alternative which is clean. Some distributors release multiple versions of a track, including an original version and clean or 'radio version' in order to allow the track to be broadcast to mainstream audiences and adhere to broadcast regulation.
This label has the intention of alerting parents of material potentially unsuitable for children, in order for them to self-regulate and decide whether it is suitable for their child. However, the label has been described as ineffective in limiting the inappropriate material to which young audiences are exposed. This is because of the non-legal and uniform standard of the regulation, meaning it is up to individual adults to decide whether the material is appropriate - meaning the effectiveness of the label is varied.
BBFC Music Video Ratings
YouTube and Vevo work in partnership with the BBFC on pilot schemes to age regulate ll music videos and artists who are signed to the label in my brief - Sony Music UK. The certificates they apply are 12, 15 and 18 based on the nature of the content shown. As my music video will apply to a target audience of 16-25, it must have an age rating of 15 or less to ensure it is appropriate to my target audience. The sort of content that the BBFC deems as needing restriction varies. It includes but is not limited to; drug misuse, dangerous behaviour treated as normal or safe, bad language, sexual behaviour and/or nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence. The way in which the BBFC censors content is similar to their film rating system, helping to provide a standardised censorship policy for video content in the UK.
For my own music video, I will ensure that there is no explicit content or even implied explicit content. This will make sure that my video is appropriate for my target audience and can be uploaded onto as many platforms as possible without restriction in order to appeal to my mass-market target audience through having a wide reach.
Drill Music
Drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in South London, Brixton. Borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music, UK drill artists often rap about violent and hedonistic lifestyle. Typically, those that create this style of music are affiliated with gangs or come from socioeconomically-deprived neighborhoods where crime is a way of life for many.
Some London public officials have criticized UK drill and the culture surrounding it, arguing that it has encouraged violent crime. Some argue there are gestures of violence, with hand signals suggesting they are firing weapons and graphic descriptions of what they would do to each other.
It came under fire after the Met's top police officer linked it to an increase in knife crime and violence in London. In response to this, the police have asked YouTube to remove around 90 drill music videos that seem to glorify violence. This was a controversial decision as the point was raised that creating drill music and finding fame from telling stories from personal experience may help people from deprived areas to escape their poverty and the world of crime.
In May 2018, YouTube reported that it had removed more than half of the music videos that people had asked the platform to delete. More than 30 videos had been removed in total. In July 2019, YouTube decided it would no longer be taking down UK drill videos on YouTube.
Sexualisation in music videos
Teenage girls, kids growing up too quickly, sexualised dance moves
In our modern society, the music industry thrives and relies on selling the female body. This is both lyrically but especially visually through the medium of music videos.
One argument on this issue is that our freedom of expression in society means we should be able to sing and showcase the elements of ourselves that define who we are through our artistry, including our sexuality. Music videos both accompany and push the message of a song, so if that is about sex, the artist is just visually communicating what they are saying through the video, it has a purpose.
However, many people believe that it is having a bad influence on its younger audience, who are exposed to sexualised body representations and sexualised dance moves frequently in music videos. It is now common for dance to be sexualised, especially for females in pop videos, where women are expected to fill unrealistic societal expectations.
As younger children are able to access these videos through YouTube or TV - which are often uncensored and accessible to all - they will look at these popular artists such as Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus who encourage sexualising women for men to fantasise over and girls to idolise.
In response to this movement, and to prohibit children and underage people from viewing other types of explicit content while on the platform, YouTube has introduced age restrictions on some of their videos. This means to view the video in question, you must log in to a YouTube account and confirm you are over the age to view this content. Although this is a good start, it relies heavily on people telling the truth and self-censorship. This may not be the most effective way to restrict content.
Monetization of content
As a consequence of changes and developments in media consumption patterns, labels and distributors are monetising content in other ways than just selling hard copies. This is through the selling of merch, tour tickets and deals with streaming services. Companies such as Spotify and Apple Music often bag exclusive deals with artists to help monetise content, such as live recordings that are available to stream exclusively from that app. This creates many opportunities for many unconventional methods of monetisation.
Music videos are now also monetised on platforms such as YouTube to bring in more revenue. This is often through adding adverts before and sometimes during videos. This advert space gives the creator of the video extra revenue every time the video is watched. This is another way that ways of monetising music have adapted and evolved as the industry has changed.
Conclusion
This research was useful to my studies as it allowed me to understand laws surrounding ownership of music by the artist and/or record label, turning music into a monetizable asset for the creator. It also showed me the importance of thinking about appropriately when choosing a song for my own project, as a mainstream pop song for a 16-25-year-old audience would have to be appropriate to be broadcast on the radio. This is due to the nature of the pop genre - as it is often played on the radio and seen in the charts, and also my own song must be appropriate for the target audience in order to satisfy the demands of the brief. My music video must also be appropriate for a 16-25 year old audience to view on platforms such as YouTube, meaning it must be appropriate and not feature any explicit content that will need to be censored. This will ensure that my music video is fit for purpose and will be suitable for my target audience.
BBFC Music Video Ratings
YouTube and Vevo work in partnership with the BBFC on pilot schemes to age regulate ll music videos and artists who are signed to the label in my brief - Sony Music UK. The certificates they apply are 12, 15 and 18 based on the nature of the content shown. As my music video will apply to a target audience of 16-25, it must have an age rating of 15 or less to ensure it is appropriate to my target audience. The sort of content that the BBFC deems as needing restriction varies. It includes but is not limited to; drug misuse, dangerous behaviour treated as normal or safe, bad language, sexual behaviour and/or nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence. The way in which the BBFC censors content is similar to their film rating system, helping to provide a standardised censorship policy for video content in the UK.
For my own music video, I will ensure that there is no explicit content or even implied explicit content. This will make sure that my video is appropriate for my target audience and can be uploaded onto as many platforms as possible without restriction in order to appeal to my mass-market target audience through having a wide reach.
Drill Music
Drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in South London, Brixton. Borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music, UK drill artists often rap about violent and hedonistic lifestyle. Typically, those that create this style of music are affiliated with gangs or come from socioeconomically-deprived neighborhoods where crime is a way of life for many.
Some London public officials have criticized UK drill and the culture surrounding it, arguing that it has encouraged violent crime. Some argue there are gestures of violence, with hand signals suggesting they are firing weapons and graphic descriptions of what they would do to each other.
It came under fire after the Met's top police officer linked it to an increase in knife crime and violence in London. In response to this, the police have asked YouTube to remove around 90 drill music videos that seem to glorify violence. This was a controversial decision as the point was raised that creating drill music and finding fame from telling stories from personal experience may help people from deprived areas to escape their poverty and the world of crime.
In May 2018, YouTube reported that it had removed more than half of the music videos that people had asked the platform to delete. More than 30 videos had been removed in total. In July 2019, YouTube decided it would no longer be taking down UK drill videos on YouTube.
Teenage girls, kids growing up too quickly, sexualised dance moves
In our modern society, the music industry thrives and relies on selling the female body. This is both lyrically but especially visually through the medium of music videos.
One argument on this issue is that our freedom of expression in society means we should be able to sing and showcase the elements of ourselves that define who we are through our artistry, including our sexuality. Music videos both accompany and push the message of a song, so if that is about sex, the artist is just visually communicating what they are saying through the video, it has a purpose.
However, many people believe that it is having a bad influence on its younger audience, who are exposed to sexualised body representations and sexualised dance moves frequently in music videos. It is now common for dance to be sexualised, especially for females in pop videos, where women are expected to fill unrealistic societal expectations.
As younger children are able to access these videos through YouTube or TV - which are often uncensored and accessible to all - they will look at these popular artists such as Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus who encourage sexualising women for men to fantasise over and girls to idolise.
In response to this movement, and to prohibit children and underage people from viewing other types of explicit content while on the platform, YouTube has introduced age restrictions on some of their videos. This means to view the video in question, you must log in to a YouTube account and confirm you are over the age to view this content. Although this is a good start, it relies heavily on people telling the truth and self-censorship. This may not be the most effective way to restrict content.
Monetization of content
As a consequence of changes and developments in media consumption patterns, labels and distributors are monetising content in other ways than just selling hard copies. This is through the selling of merch, tour tickets and deals with streaming services. Companies such as Spotify and Apple Music often bag exclusive deals with artists to help monetise content, such as live recordings that are available to stream exclusively from that app. This creates many opportunities for many unconventional methods of monetisation.
Music videos are now also monetised on platforms such as YouTube to bring in more revenue. This is often through adding adverts before and sometimes during videos. This advert space gives the creator of the video extra revenue every time the video is watched. This is another way that ways of monetising music have adapted and evolved as the industry has changed.
Conclusion
This research was useful to my studies as it allowed me to understand laws surrounding ownership of music by the artist and/or record label, turning music into a monetizable asset for the creator. It also showed me the importance of thinking about appropriately when choosing a song for my own project, as a mainstream pop song for a 16-25-year-old audience would have to be appropriate to be broadcast on the radio. This is due to the nature of the pop genre - as it is often played on the radio and seen in the charts, and also my own song must be appropriate for the target audience in order to satisfy the demands of the brief. My music video must also be appropriate for a 16-25 year old audience to view on platforms such as YouTube, meaning it must be appropriate and not feature any explicit content that will need to be censored. This will ensure that my music video is fit for purpose and will be suitable for my target audience.
My sources for this post are:
Wikipedia
Sony Music UK
Copyright service
Ofcom
BBC
Open mic UK
YouTube
YouTube
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