Age ratings for music videos from 1 October 2014 following changes to Video Recordings Act
30 July 2014 - Press releaseMusic videos are currently exempt from statutory age rating under the Video Recordings Act 1984 unless they contain strong adult content. However, the Government has recently passed changes to the law regarding music videos that are released as physical packaged media on Blu-ray, DVD or CD formats.
From 1st October 2014 companies that plan to either release or distribute music videos in physical format in the UK will be required to first submit these to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for certification where they are deemed to contain any content that may be unsuitable for children – i.e. if it is judged that the content would typically attract an age rating of 12, 15, 18 or R18. Videos with content considered suitable for children under 12 years of age remain exempted from this process.
The BBFC issue a certification within a turnaround, currently of up to 7 days. Companies will need to build this additional lead time into their production schedules to ensure compliance. On top of this, there are labelling requirements around the display of the rating on packaging and products. Time to comply with that aspect of the law will also need to be built into the production process. Information on the new certification process, including operational details on how the music videos can be submitted, should be made available on the official BBFC website http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
The Video Recordings Act does not apply to digital works, such as online videos or those supplied for download from digital service providers, although a voluntary code among UK-based companies is currently in place to ensure that content deemed suitable for viewers aged 12 or above is labelled as such using the BPI’s Parental Advisory warning scheme.
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