Jamelia has backed the rollout online of the music industry’s Parental Advisory scheme that gives parents warnings about explicit songs and videos online.
With songs and music videos widely available at the click of a button, the record industry has updated its long-established Parental Advisory Scheme for the digital age to ensure parents can decide which music content is appropriate for their children.
The parental advisory EXPLICIT logo is widely-recognised on physical CDs and DVDs, alerting c
onsumers to any music content that they feel might be unsuitable or cause offence. It has now been adopted by a range of popular online retailers and music video services, including iTunes, Amazon, HMV, Tesco, Napster and Vevo.
In the new year, even more services are set to join the scheme and clearly display the logo or the word ‘EXPLICIT’ alongside any music or video files flagged as containing explicit content.
This new advice is timely for parents, with new research showing that children are set to receive up to £110 million in music vouchers this Christmas to redeem at online services or in high street stores - around £20.70 each in spending power.
Singer-songwriter and mother of two Jamelia, who is backing the launch of the updated Parental Advisory Scheme, commented:
"As a parent, naturally I worry about whether my kids are viewing and listening to appropriate content when they’re online, but without some form of guidance it can be almost impossible to stay on top of what’s suitable and what’s not.
"I think parents would agree that having the same logo for online music services that we’re used to seeing in the high street gives parents the ability to quickly and easily judge whether a song or music video is right for their child."
Recent research conducted on behalf of the BPI revealed strong parental support for the existing scheme with over three quarters (76%) of parents saying that they think the scheme is helpful when deciding what music their children should have access to.
BPI Chief Executive, Geoff Taylor, commented: "We know that the parental advisory logo on CDs and DVDs has been a useful tool for parents, offering them a simple means of identifying music content that may not be suitable for their children.
"We believe that parents need the same guidance when their children are downloading or streaming songs or videos online, so we have extended the logo to digital music services.
"Our new website, www.parental-advisory.co.uk gives parents the details they need."
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