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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers
BPI to take parental advisory scheme digital
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 2 June 2011
We’re very responsible here at CMU, you’ll notice every edition of our weekly podcast carries the ‘explicit content’ label in iTunes, and just because editor Andy Malt likes to say “fuck” occasionally. But you know, you gotta protect those poor kids from all things nasty. Why won’t anyone think of the children?
Well, the BPI is thinking of the children. It is going to update the guidelines of its Parental Advisory Scheme, which is behind those ‘explicit content’ stickers we are all used to seeing on CDs, so that it covers songs and videos on services like Spotify and YouTube. Although some digital services already have their own systems for marking content that might be unsuitable for the very young or easily offended – such as the aforementioned ‘explicit content’ marker in iTunes – there is no consistent policy on the matter across the digital sector.
Says BPI top dude Geoff Taylor: “We think it is important for parents to get the same standards of guidance and information online as they get when buying CDs or DVDs on the high street. We are updating our scheme for the digital age to ensure that explicit songs and videos are clearly labelled”.
The move follows various criticism of late – albeit mainly from certain tabloids – for the increasingly raunchy nature of some pop videos or performances being aired on prime-time TV, and YouTube for that matter.
As previously reported, XL Recordings chief Richard Russell recently told The Guardian he was slightly concerned about the increased trend of pop labels, especially in the US, sexing-up their artists and videos, especially with female stars, in order to flog records, noting that often such activities are covering up the fact the music being pumped out by such acts is a bit mediocre.
