Wrekin MP calls for music videos to be rated
Increasingly raunchy and violent music videos need to have Government imposed film-style age ratings to protect children, a Shropshire MP has said.
The Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has raised the issue in the House of Commons.
He asked Ed Vaizey, the Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he would consider holding discussions with the music industry about establishing a universal video rating and classification code for music videos.
Speaking after about his reasons for raising the issue, Mr Pritchard said: "Some music videos appear to be getting more violent and more explicit.
"If the music industry does not regulate itself sufficiently, then Government may need to step in to protect children from exposure to such images."
Mr Pritchard was told by Mr Vaizey there was a Government-backed pilot which started in March this year where fans watching music videos online on sites such as YouTube and Vevo are presented with cinema-style age certificates in some cases.
It was introduced following concerns over explicit videos by artists including Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke and Rihanna.
Ratings are being decided by the British Board of Film Classification, with all three major record labels taking part.
It is the second phase of the pilot, which began as a behind-the-scenes trial in October.
It currently only applies to British acts signed to Sony, Universal and Warners, who have been submitting their videos to the British Board for Film Classification (BBFC) for consideration.
The initial phase found that roughly 20 per cent of all videos would receive a 12, 15 or 18 certificate. But labels were not required to submit videos they felt would not attract a rating.
Among the songs deemed to require certification were Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do – from the soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey. The video, which contained several excerpts from the erotic thriller, was rated 15 by the BBFC for "strong sex references".
Responding to Mr Pritchard, Mr Vaizey said: "The British Board of Film, the music industry and digital service providers are currently piloting voluntary video ratings for online music videos.
"To date 123 videos have been classified under this voluntary pilot and some 3,000 members of the public are taking part in an evaluation of its impact."
