UK Music Videos Given Movie-Style Age Ratings

Music videos produced by top record labels in the UK will be sent to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to have them rated before they are uploaded online.

So far the BBFC have cast their eye over 132 videos, with 56 rated 12 and 53 rated 15, including Calvin Harris” Open Wide for “strong bloody violence’ and sexual references.

Online music videos will be given a rating in the same way as movies, meaning parents and viewers are pre-warned about the sort of content they can expect in the video.

Music giants Sony, Universal and Warner have already signed up, and a raft of independent labels have agreed to a new six-month trial.

It commissioned research which found 60% of children aged 10 to 17 believed their parents would not approve of the music videos they were watching.

It works with major UK music labels to introduce a new ratings system that would allow digital service providers to clearly display an easily recognisable age rating on videos posted on the web.

“Keeping children safe as they experience and enjoy all the benefits the internet has to offer is a key priority for this government’s one-nation approach to help families across Britain”, said Shields.

The online age rating system is a must have for governments and parents that do not have the time to monitor what their children are doing.

Cracking down on the ability of young children to watch raunchy music videos was one of the recommendations contained in a government report into the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood.

These age ratings will only apply to music videos produced in the UK. We are very pleased that the UK independent labels – such an important part of the UK music landscape will now be part of this scheme.

David Cooke, director of the BBFC, commented: “We welcome this agreement”.

“Vevo will be working with the BBFC as the scheme rolls out to make sure that age ratings are displayed in the most effective way on our platform, to provide the necessary guidance for audiences in a clear way”.

Nic Jones of Vevo said the company was committed to making age ratings work “as effectively as possible” and would continue to explore additional age controls.