Blog post 3: Regulation in the music industry

Ofcom Mission Statement

The UK music industry is mainly self-regulated, however there are several regulating bodies, making sure that broadcasted content is appropriate for its intended audience.

Ofcom is a regulating body in the UK. Ofcom have a statutory duty to protect under-eighteens. This means that when children are likely to be listening to the radio  (pre-watershed), broadcasters have a duty to regulate the type of content they air. They are not allowed to play songs that are potentially offensive. This includes offensive language or potentially offensive interpretations of the lyrics.

UK music regulation

Other regulators:

• Phonographic Performance Limited - licenses the use of recorded music and when played in public. used on the internet or broadcasted
• Video Performance Limited - licensing of music videos when played in public or braodcasted 
• Mechanical Copyright Protection Society - regulates record companies, makes sure they are paying the artists their royalties

In terms of music videos YouTube states that song must be owned by the channel or revenue will go to song owner instead of video producer. Songs can be used for parody, teaching, review and other formats like this.

So for our project we have the freedom to choose any pop song, copyrighted or not as it is for educational purposes.

In general:
-no drinking
-no drugs
-no violence
-no criminal activity

thought of this while making idea and so wasn't a problem also doesn't attract a fun loving 16-25 year old mass market demographic.

Copyright research:
Copyright laws in the UK protect property of artists and writers. Under the copyright, design and patents act 1988 means artists own the right to their work lasts 70 years after their death. The song must be in tangible format.




The parental advisory sticker came about in the late '80s after the PMRC group of parents complained about the accessibility for children to listen to songs with unsuitable content. This sticker is technically left to the discretion of record labels however the RIAA and BPI heavily request it to be put on any songs with explicit lyrics and it is almost always done where applicable.

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 which young audiences are exposed to. 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 which means the label is not always effective.




In music videos, songs can be portrayed with sexual or violent images meaning the video is more likely to cause offence. Broadcasters must be aware of this, and only play age appropriate content pre-watershed.

The BBFC regulate online music videos. All artists signed to Song Music UK must produce videos classifieds with a BBFC age rating.

UK record labels, such as SONY Music, have to submit any video that they would expect to receive a 12 rating or higher by any artist signed onto their label. The BBFC watches and examines the videos and then classify them into an age rating based on their own guidelines.



Problems within the industry and regulation:

UK Drill

A rap genre which typically has quite violent lyrics. Many argue that the songs are simply a reflection of the hardship the artists have been through and that producing music acts a s a creative outlet.



Many others see it as a way of promoting violence and have made moves to get certain tracks banned. For example Skengdo and AM were banned from performing their tracks and given 9 months in jail for doing so. Many songs and videos are removed from YouTube due to the lyrics or images being distressing or violent. Many believe this regulation sets a dangerous precedent against freedom of speech.

The Met's top officers linked the music to an increase of knife crime in London and in response they asked YouTube to remove around 90 drill videos that glorified violence. There was controversy as creating drill might be the way out of poverty and crime for the artists.

Sexualisation

Teenagers, especially girls are growing up too quickly and wanting to be seen as sexy and many blame music videos for the sexualised dance moves and the way they often portray women as passive or sexual objects.



Selling the female body is huge in the music industry but is it a good thing? Many argue that artists should be able to sing and express elements of themselves, such as their sexuality. Some see certain videos as empowering while others see it as sexualised.

Being exposed to a constant representation of females being sexualised in the media and music videos may have a negative effect in younger audiences. They want to be just like their idols even though the artists are filling unrealistic social expectations by showing of their bodies and performing sexualised dance moves, often for the pleasure of men.

Many ask why if their talent is singing, why do women have to sexualise themselves.

YouTube has introduced age restrictions on some videos. for this to go into effect, the audience must log onto YouTube and confirm your age. It relies on individuals telling the truth and undergoing self-censorship.

Monetization of content

As media consumption moves towards streaming, labels are monetising content in other ways rather than solely hard copies. They do this buy selling the artist and artists brand which makes audiences buy into the artist, they are then more likely to buy tour tickets and merch. They also make deals with streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, who often make deals with artists to help monetise contents that can only be streamed from that platform.

For example Sony Music made a deal with Spotify. The label agreed to reduce royalties Spotify had to pay in return that Spotify restricted new albums to paying subscribers for two weeks. This meant that more people would buy the actual album in both digital and physical form. This is beneficial to Sony as you get a higher profit margin from album sales than streaming.

The artists also monetise the music videos on YouTube, through adverts before and after the video, which when watched gives the creator of the video extra revenue.

In an attempt to stop illegal downloading of  media the Government passed the Digital Economy Act in 2010.  Part of the act meant that there was increased penalties for copywriter infringement.

Conclusion

I understand the laws relevant to the ownership and distribution of music and how they turn music into a monetizable asset. It has showed me the importance of regulation when picking a song for a specific target audience. For me the song must be suitable for 16 year old and would have to be appropriate to stream on radio during watershed because pop music is often played on the radio and seen in the charts. My music video must also be appropriate for my target audience of 16- 25 year old to watch on platforms like YouTube and so can't feature any explicit content. I want to attract as wide of an audience as possible and to do this my video must not break regulation.

As I am signed to Sony music, my artist would be expected to not produce any music or music videos that would break any regulation and so when picking my song and planning my music video I need to keep in mind what I should not have so that I am a conventional pop singer signed to a big label.