EXPLICIT music videos are to be given age ratings in an attempted government crackdown on graphic material watched by UK children online.
Credit: Vevo
A scene from Rihanna's video for 'B***h Better Have My Money'.But the measure will only apply to songs produced in the UK – so there will be no curbs on videos by controversial overseas artists such as Rihanna or Miley Cyrus.
American record labels – or the US arms of global music companies – are responsible for uploading their own content online. That means there will be no classification for US videos that have been criticised in the past for showing nudity and violence.
Rihanna sparked an outcry last month with the video to her song B**** Better Have My Money, involving a gruesome revenge plot in which a housewife is kidnapped, stripped and tortured.
MPs on Tuesday night blasted the policy, saying it had "more holes than Swiss cheese".
Under the UK scheme, videos produced by labels in Britain will carry the same five ratings as films – Universal (U), Parental Guidance (PG) and age restrictions 12, 15 and 18. Issued by the British Board of Film Classification, they will take violence, sexual content and swearing into account.
Ministers say the move is driven by parents’ concerns that music videos contain lyrics and images unsuitable for youngsters. But with US artists not covered by the measure, many are wondering how effective it will be.
Labour’s culture spokesman Chris Bryant said: “This policy seems to have more holes than Swiss cheese. There will be an incentive for producers to make their videos elsewhere.
“I applaud the Government’s aim but worry that in the execution it will be at best ineffectual and at worst could be counter-productive.”
Claude Knights, boss of the charity Kidscape, added: “The problem is that the internet does not have any frontiers and young people can access content from around the world.
“I’m not sure how introducing ratings only for videos produced in the UK will help matters.“
However, officials say they hope the scheme will put pressure on the US and other countries to implement similar schemes.
Baroness Joanna Shields, the minister for internet safety and security, said: “We welcome this voluntary step from industry to bring internet services in line with the offline world.
“Keeping children safe as they experience and enjoy all the benefits the internet has to offer is a key priority to help families across Britain.“
Major labels have signed up to the scheme, and a pilot that launched last October saw 132 videos given new ratings. Just one, British rapper Dizzee Rascal’s Couple of Stacks was classified 18 for ‘strong bloody violence, gore and very strong language’. The video, shot as a pastiche horror film, features a murderer who rips a girl’s heart out and decapitates another with a meat cleaver.
Those given a 15 rating include singles by Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris. Ratings will be displayed before a song can be played online on the websites YouTube and Vevo to make parents and children aware. For songs rated 18, users have to log in and provide proof of age first.
Labels Sony, Universal and Warner all took part in the pilot and have now agreed to continue with the scheme permanently.
A number of independent UK music labels have signed up to a six-month trial.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport says clear age ratings are a “first step”. Vevo is already working on new age-control technology, while YouTube said the ratings would add to restrictions it already imposes.
Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the British Phonographic Industry – which represents record labels – said videos must be broadcast in a “responsible way“.
A study commissioned by the BBFC shows that 60 percent of children aged ten to 17 are watching music videos their parents would not approve of.
David Cooke, director of the BBFC, said: "Parents want to see clear and recognisable age ratings on online music videos and we look forward to building on the success of the pilot, in partnership with the industry, so that the public can have the trusted signposting which they seek."
Candice Morrissey, content partnerships manager at YouTube, said: "We have been working with the participants in this pilot to help them display the BBFC's age ratings on their music videos on YouTube.
"These ratings are in addition to the controls we already provide on YouTube, including the ability for uploaders to add age warnings to videos and a restricted mode."
X-RATED? THE OFFENDING VIDEOS
Rihanna – ‘Pour It Up’
In a video that features pole dancers and strippers, Rihanna dresses the part in a jewel-encrusted bikini and stiletto heels.
Robin Thicke – ‘Blurred Lines’
There were two versions of the video for the controversial hit 2013 song, one with nudity and one censored.
Miley Cyrus – ‘Wrecking Ball’
The former child star (above) sheds her clothes, straddles a swinging wrecking ball and licks a sledgehammer.
Nicki Minaj – ‘Anaconda’
The rapper broke a streaming record with this video in which she repeatedly thrusts her behind at the camera and suggestively eats a banana.
Daily Mail and The Independent