The addition of the parental advisory sticker came about in the late '80s after the PMRC group of parents complained about how easy it was for children to listen to songs with unsuitable content. This sticker is technically left to the discretion of record labels however the RIAA and BPI heavily request it to be put on any songs with explicit lyrics and it is almost always done where applicable.
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| The logo placed on most singles and albums with explicit lyrics |
There are also typically clean versions released of songs or even whole albums as radio stations are not allowed to play music with offensive language in the UK according to OFCOM rules, the American supermarket chain Walmart also only carry censored versions of records.
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| OFCOM deals with regulation of BBC content meaning music played on BBC radio or demand |
The BPI is the British recorded music industry's trade association, they represent the interests of British record companies by promoting British music and fighting copyright infringement, they also founded the annual BRIT Awards. The certify songs for silver, gold or platinum certification in the UK as well as developing software to actively fight known copyright-infringing sites.
UK drill, an offshoot to both UK grime and Chicago drill is a rap genre which is typically quite violent in its lyrics. Though many would argue that the songs are simply a reflection of the hardships these artists have been through and that it acts as an outlet for them to creatively express themselves; many see it as simply a way of promoting violence and have taken action to get it banned. 2 UK artists Skengdo and AM were banned from performing drill tracks and given 9 months in jail for doing so, there are also many songs/videos removed from Youtube due to being too distressing or violent. Many believe this acts outside the laws previously put in place and set a dangerous precedent against freedom of speech
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| A drill music video that was removed from Youtube |
A large number of music laws however are based on copyrights, you have the publishing rights when you create the song, however often the actual master/ final recording can be owned by someone else, typically the label the artist is signed to. The collection of royalties is overseen by the MCPS, the PRS pay royalties to their members whenever their work is performed, broadcast on the radio, streamed, downloaded, reproduced played in public or used in film/TV. PPL is another organisation who license music out to businesses who play recorded music, without the need for the business to contact the artist directly. VPL is a sister company of PPL who specifically deal with music video licensing. PPL and PRS recently formed together to start a joint venture known as PPL PRS.
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| PRS and PPL, the 2 major music licencing companies in the UK |
These practices are quite effective as they protect artists work and make sure that artists are properly recouped for their work. They provide grounds for any artist regardless of size to sue those who use their work without permission or pay, with no hoops they have to go through to own the copyrights of their own music.
Generally, these laws don't impact the music itself as artists will usually just make a song and think about copyright infringement after it's created. Despite this, it is fairly common for artists to sample other songs for their own music, whether to simply use it as a base to build off of or as a mashup with other songs. In these cases, copyright laws must be followed, with samples having to be cleared by the original artist/artists estate (if the artist has died), typically in these cases artists must pay a certain amount or give a certain percentage of music revenue to be allowed to sample these tracks. Often artists will give others over 50% of the song's revenue just for the ability to use a sample, which can actually be a smart move if the song does extremely well and allows the artist to make a lot of money from future, non-sampled music.
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| Despite only owning the sample in the song, Sting owns 85% of all revenue made from it. This shows how powerful samples are and how far people will go to license music. |
Copyright laws do heavily impact how people consume music, with over one third of music consumers pirating their music. The advent of sites such as Youtube where anybody can post anything means it's not at all uncommon for people to post other people's music without permission and with the site being so popular, many listen to their music either on or ripped from the platform.
However, Youtube's Content-ID system allows them to detect copyrighted music in a video and either take down or claim revenue from any views the video gets. As well as this, companies like PPL are making sure to move with the times and give royalties to artists for streams on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, services which allow people to easily and conveniently listen to all their favourite music whilst still giving money to the artist.
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| The Youtube Content ID system recognizes a song and will send any revenue made from it to the artist |
This all meant that as I supposedly signed to Sony music, they would own the masters to the song/album; which would mean they would want me to sell as many records as possible. This can be seen through the website, as it contains a large section promoting people to buy the single/album, therefore giving me and my label royalties. My site will also contain links to stream the song on Spotify and Apple Music, as now artists can earn royalties through such platforms.
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| Spotify pays its artists with money acquired through premium subscriptions and ad placements |
As well as the website, the song itself, though not created by me, is impacted by copyright laws as it contains a drum sample all the way through from James Brown's funky drummer, as well as heavily interpolated the Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band song of the same name. This means a lot of money was likely spent / the creators own a large percentage of the song's revenue to clear all of these samples. This is very likely the case as both songs were released less than 70 years ago, meaning they are all still protected under copyright law.
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| The 2 songs Express Yourself sample and interpolate. |
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