Research into music censorship

Censorship Law/Ofcom

Censorship is the supression of speech and public communication in a variety of different contexts such as books, music, films, the press, radio, television etc that may be considered to be harmful or sensitive. A variety of methods are used in channels such as mtg or aka in order to solve for this example:

Blanking- this is where the volume is silenced to mute the offensive word
Repeating the word said before the offensive word
Skipping the offensive word without time delay
The government control this through private organisations that self-censorship. an example of this is Ofcom.

Ofcom

Office of communications, government approved regulatory and competition authority of broadcasting and postal industries of the United Kingdom. 
Ofcom was established in 2002 but received its full authority from the communications act 2003.
They have control over a wide range of television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors. 
Their aim is to represent the interests of citizens and consumers by promoting competition and protecting the public from what we might be considered harmful or offensive material.
The main areas ofcom administer are licensing research, codes and policies, complaints, competition and protecting the radio spectrum from abuse.  Their overall aim is to protect the public from what might be harmful or offensive material. Ofcom mainly has control over licensing, research, codes and policies, competition and protecting radio stations from abuse. Whenever a complaint is made about something they’ve seen or heard, the Ofcom assess it against the code

What they do

• the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband;
• a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;
• television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations;
• people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material;
• people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and from having their privacy invaded; and
• a universal postal service is provided in the UK – this means a six days a week, universally priced delivery and collection service across the country; and
• the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

What they do not do

• disputes between you and your telecoms provider;
• premium-rate services, including mobile-phone text services and ringtones;
• the content of television and radio adverts;
• complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes;
• the BBC TV licence fee; or
• post offices; or
• newspapers and magazines.

Examples of censorship in music videos
Another artist that has been known to cause havoc in the music industry is Lady Gaga. She is known to wear outrageous and over the top outfits such as one made completely of meat, which could be offensive to a majority of people. Lady Gaga was also banned from performing a concert in Indonesia as they objected her show as they claimed it was too vulgar. People from Indonesia were also threatening violence which would of therefore sparked controversy if the show was to go ahead. Lady Gaga is also known for her eccentric narratives and costumes within her music videos. Her music video bad romance was very shocking due to her skinny and naked frame being shown as well as her computer generated cartoon like eyes.

Rhianna, a barbadian recording artist, has received many complaints about her music videos as they are extremely controversial and include many elements which are either illegal or frowned upon.
These include the following

• Drugs/smoking
• Sexual references
• Minimal clothing
• Fireworks
• Standing on tables
• Stealing
• Reckless driving
• Arguing/ Abuse
• Tattoos
• Excessive drinking 

Rhianna's video 'We found love' received complaints from MTV saying that they were only happy to show the music video on their channel after the watershed (9pm) as they didn't believe its content was suitable for before this time as it was likely that children would be watching. They believed that the video was explicit and raunchy.

 

 

In class we partook in a debate about whether Rihannas music videos should be censored. This is due to the fact she wears provocative clothing and includes sexual references in many of her music videos. Within the debate we had people becoming the roles of; Rihanna, a 15 year old fan, her record label, parents for and against, Kiss100, MTV and AKA. Throughout the debate we came across a varied opinion amongst the people holding these roles.

Those who took on the role of parents said that Man Down was too violent as it includes Rihanna shooting a man who had previously raped her. Parents also asked for the video to be pulled off of TV. They said that Rihanna should not get a pass to do this as she is a role model to their children and they will think it's acceptable to go around shooting people who have done them wrong just to be like Rihanna. They gave the statement that Rihanna's video promoted 'Retaliation in the form of premeditated murder'.

However some parents were for Rihanna and her music videos saying if you educate your children they will understand that they do not need to copy her and they value her music for entertainment.

We also had a statement from a fans point of view. They said 'Rhianna makes good music and she is very successful. She stands up for girls who should be proud of what they have'. They also said that Rihanna's videos contain narratives and shouldn't be taken too seriously. They tell a story about what happens in the world and all Rihanna is doing is sharing these stories through music and videos.

Those who took on the role of Rihanna's record label said it is Rihanna's job to release music not to be a role model. it is down to the audience to idolise her or not. However two music channels AKA and MTV had very different views on Rihanna's music videos. AKA said they believe in providing a true reflection of the artist and censorship prevents this. On the other hand MTV say that censoring is for protection of younger people, not exposing them to sex, drugs and the adult life.  The person with the role of Rihanna stated how Rihanna makes good music and lots of money from it, so therefore people like it. She is successful and stands up for women to make them proud of what they have.

Music station Kiss can only broadcast clean music therefore they say Rhianna should take this into account if she wants to be successful within her music career. If she continues to make music that breaks the boundaries then they will not proceed to play her tracks.

Another example of a music video that Ofcom was responsible for protecting viewers from is, S&M by Rihanna. The music video contains extremely sexual references with people wearing ‘gags’ and the words ‘chains and whips excite me’ being used. The language and elements of the music video is extremely inappropriate for younger viewers and may be offensive to anyone who watches the video and regards the S&M factors as unacceptable. Ofcom ban music videos if they believe they may cause harm to people under the age of eighteen.

By gaining knowledge into Offcom and how censorship works in regards to music videos. We now have more of an understanding of how breaking the expectations of Offcom can effect that production process and how successful your music video will be. Having a controversial music like Man down has the opportunity to gain publicity however it did not receive all positive comments and therefore could hinder it's success and also how the artist perceived for future releases.

 

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