Censorship - Miss Miller

Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other such entities. Censorship is used to protect younger individuals from inappropriate, offensive language and to considered to keep materials tasteful to the public. Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for UK communications industries. It regulates TV, radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and the airwaves which wireless devices use. Many artists music have been censored including;

1. Miley Cyrus - Wrecking ball. Wrecking ball was censored on all music channels as Miley was naked in the original video, which was found to be highly inappropriate as most music channels have a target audience starting from a young age. To air a music video containing a large amount of nudity would most likely negatively damage their reputation. 

1. Chris Brown - Hoes ain't loyal. When the radio play this song they change the lyrics from 'hoes' to 'girls' as well as cutting out certain words for example 'weed', they do this because of the unnecessary use of inappropriate words. The word hoe is used in a discriminating way towards the female gender and weed is an illegal narcotic which should not be promoted within songs.

Artists opinions (Eminem/Rihanna)“Are you f*cking kidding me? ‘S&M’ called ‘Come On’ now? That’s BS [b*llsh*t]!” - Rihannas reaction towards them censoring her hit song 'S&M'. Rihanna believes her songs are more about metaphores rather than sexual references, they represent experiences and other similar things that have either happened to her or occur in the world. Therefore as an artist she should be able to express herself however she choses too, which includes using innuendos which people may interpret incorrectly.Eminem believes the music he listened to when he was younger never effected him as he grew up, therefore why would it effect other children? Children from a certain age understand how to correctly perceive others actions and mimic similar behaviour to their own. Eminem believes that music doesn't influence bad behaviour, if children are bad they always were, which is a very controversial statement to make. Both artists also believe that music is only a form of entertainment for listeners, and for them it is a way of expressing past events and feelings they have. It is a way for them to connect to their fans and they should not be edited by companies such as music channels and radio stations.
Record labels opinions
Many record labels are believed to be for censorship, this is because it results in a larger target audience for their artists. If songs are censored they can be broadcasted on a a larger scale of sources eg; Radio, shops, public places, Television ect. The larger their audience is the more revenue and profit they can make, this benefits them much more than by considering the artists true intentions, therefore they chose to censor a majority if not all material that is deemed inappropriate to air. The record labels main focus is to create as much money as possible, therefore disregarding most of the wants of the artist, however they do need to at least consider their wants because of possibility of losing them which would be a larger financial loss for them.
Parents for censorship
Parents that are for censorship believe that without censorship the artists/songs promote a wrong image and false impression on younger individuals, which can negatively effect them when growing up and maturing. They do not want their children to use inappropriate language that may effect their lives particularly within education and socially. They believe artists can express themselves without using swearing or inappropriate messages within lyrics throughout their songs, as the majority of artists within the industry do not include any of this unnecessary material, so why should they be an exception?
Parents against censorship
These are parents who believe it is their choice as to what content their children are allowed and not allowed to listen to and nobody elses decision, as they can trust their children and believe they cannot be restricted from these kinds of inappropriate footage for their whole life. These parents are aware that most children will listen to non censored versions whether they are given permission or not as its what children want. When children are forbidden to listen to certain material it only encourages them to find it more entertaining to listen to, because they enjoy rebelling against their parents. 
Fans opinions
The majority of fans are against censorship as they believe it ruins the quality of the song if swear words and specific words are cut out, especially if there is a large amount within the song. Fans want to hear what the artist has to say and would not be a fan of the artist if they didn't agree or like what that specific artist was writing within their songs. The content that is considered inappropriate and requested to censored is content that fans believe to be most personal to the artist as it is more controversial, therefore has a deeper meaning.
Music channels opinions
Music channels have mixed opinions on censorship. They are for it for the reason that they do not want to receive a bad reputation as it looks like they condone it if they allow it to be shown without censorship.  However they are against it because they want to keep the songs they broadcast in the same way the artist intended it to be shown. Therefore to try to please all audiences, they use the watershed which allows non censored materials to be shown after a certain time, which in this country is 21:00 pm. They believe this is a fair and effective method, even though it does not meet either sides full demands, it aims to create a compromise which will be accepted.
Radios opinions
Radios also have mixed views on the use of censorship. The majority of radio channels are for censorship as they believe it protects children from harmful content, while they still at a young age. Censorship also allows them to play a wider range of genres, and gain more listeners as more artists and songs can be broadcasted on their channel. However a small minority of radio channels are against censorship due to the reason that they believe children can predict the words that are being covered up or skipped out as they are not stupid and are already aware of the words, therefore to censor the songs would be unnecessary. 

The overall opinion on censorship is very equal between for and against, however is slightly bias towards for censorship because of the bad reputation and publicity they believe they would receive if they did not use it. In my opinion I believe censorship is necessary for certain material, such as swearing or references to drugs, however I do not agree on the overuse of censorship in songs due to the excess worrying for children's response, for example cutting out normal words because of the meanings they have in regards to the message within the song. This is because I do not underestimate the ability of children, as they will still understand the meaning of specific words whether they are cut out or not, however the use of swear words or drugs promote a negative and illegal lifestyle. Within my music video dependant on my genre and target audience I would not chose to censor it because I believe it would take away a part of the entertainment.

Research into music videos - Miss Georgiou

Channel AKA focus on playing upcoming UK urban/grime/hip-hop music and has helped the breakthrough for acts such as Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk, Wretch 32, Devlin and N-Dubz. Their target audience is 16-34 year olds, who are interested in their specialised music genres. They broadcast songs from artists which include self made videos, they focus on upcoming and new artists within the industry. The logo used for this music channel appeals to their target audience as they can identify the genres played through the image of the man next to the letters 'AKA'. The man within the image is wearing baggy trousers, a snapback and leaning on the edge of the first 'A', these are all stereotypical features of somebody who listens or performs the grime/hip-hop/urban music. The colour red also represents the rebellious side of the genres, as artists from these genres use a lot of explicit and inapropriate language and scenes within the music videos and lyrics they release. The black writing also represents how deep and personal lyrics/beat/video is to the artist as they tend to be sharing an experience or problem they have overcome in their lives. 

MTV Dance have a target audience of 18-30, for people who are interested in listening to upbeat, songs that are featured within the charts. The channel is separate from channels simiular such as MTV Hits, MTV Rocks, MTV Base etc; because it specialises in electronic dance music, therefore audience members who prefer to listen to this genre can be directed easier. MTV Dance features artists regularly such as; Kiesza, Redlight, Netsky, MK and David Guetta. The logo appeals to the audience because it clearly states the genre of music is plays, this makes is easier for the target audience to find the channel as it catches their attention. The worldwide known music channel brand MTV is also included within the logo, which will entice people flicking through channels as it is has a good reputation, the colour purple also suggests a very vibrant and friendly vibe for the audience, which can be associated with the dance genre.



Clubland TV features upbeat pop and dance music videos, all based from the albums it releases, its main rival is MTV Dance however the channel Clubland TV dominates the TV ratings. This could be due to the wider variety in target audience, as Clubland has specific programmes that are aimed towards elder individuals such as 30-50 year olds. Artists that are featured on the channel regularly include; Faithless, Avicii, Cascada, Alesso and Inna. The logo appeals to the target audience as the channel title is used within it, this triggers viewers memory of the well known albums that are released annually, therefor they are familular with the genre of music shown. The dotted  font used gives the audience a insight of the construction of the songs used on the channel, as it can be connected to the beats and tunes used.

Scuzz is the highest-rated rock TV station on UK satellite, it broadcasts music videos from the rock genre and has a target audience of 12-24. The target audience is believed to be so young as the rock genre does not tend to be featured on many other avaliable music channels for younger individuals.  It features artists regularly such as; Enter Shikari, Young Guns, You Me At Six, Bullet For My Valentine, Lower Than Atlantis. The logo appeals to the audience as it represents an alternative style, as block writing is used as the corners of the writing is extended. This can be compared to the style preferred by people who are interested in the rock genre. The black colour also represents how dark and mysterious the music is, as it is very loud and violent. 

From collecting this research into music channels I discovered how the distribution of different genres within the music industry takes place and how important it is to distinguish the different kinds of fonts, colours and styling when producing and distributing a music video. From this I will know how I can make my video conventional to the genre and how to appeal to my target audience.