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Kiss found in breach of Ofcom rules over unedited Calvin Harris track broadcast
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 20 January 2015
Ofcom has found Kiss FM in breach of its rules after the station broadcast an unedited version of Calvin Harris’s ‘Open Wide’ at 5.45pm on a Sunday afternoon back in November. The track features sexually suggestive lyrics and multiple uses of the word ‘fucking’.
In response, Kiss said that it “sincerely apologised” for the error, and acknowledged that it had breached the rules. It explained that it had been given the opportunity to have the first play of Harris’s new single, and had scheduled the spin into its Sunday night chart show.
However, a very tight turnaround between receiving the recording from the label and giving it its first play meant the track had not been properly vetted before broadcast, and had “clearly not been the expected ‘radio-friendly’ edit”.
The Bauer-owned station said that it worked hard to adhere to regulations but “on this occasion the delivery of music from a normally trusted source failed us”. So, basically, it was Sony Music’s fault.
In its decision, Ofcom said that it was “concerned that in this case, the licensee allowed a track that had not been listened to by station staff to be broadcast at a time when children were particularly likely to be listening”.
