Miss Miller - Diversity of music videos

There are a number of things which makes a music video unique. Going down to the barebones, through a video being unique they often go against the genre conventions of music. Although saying this, a video can be unique without going against the majority of the conventions, and can still follow conventions to an extent so that the audience is able to still have an understanding and to be able to make a connection with the artist. The advantages of creating a unique/ eccentric music video is that members of the public are more likely to be enticed to watch, resulting in hype and buzz around the videos visuals. This helps towards assisting the medias portrayal/ image of the artist the artists due to the hype associated with the artists music video and this newly found image. Another advantage of making diverse music videos is that they are original in terms of pre-existing music videos, which some audiences would respect the content creator for, as it shows they can make new original content for the target audience and demonstrate originality. The disadvantages of this however is that the audience may find a diverse video simply just strange and off-putting if they do not understand the purpose behind it, or if there simply isn't a purpose; in turn having a detrimental effect to what the content creator would have originally intended. Another disadvantage of making diverse videos is that some people who really don't like the video at all will associate these videos with the artist so they won't become a fan because of that very diverse video. An example of an artist which is known for being an abstract artist and providing with unique music videos is Cunningham, to which I am going to referencing music videos which he created from a couple of artists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MBaEEODzU0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4agXcHLySs


Chris Cunningham has worked with a number of different artists when going to create his unique music videos, examples of artists he has worked alongside being Madonna and Aphex twin. As an individual and with his work, Cunningham is well known for his unique music videos, in which he rarely ever follows genre conventions.

He is often known for often having a rather dark side towards his music videos, an example of this being from Aphex twins "come to daddy" (Bottom link). This music video is a clear example of his dark, abstract music videos. Throughout the video, there is a number of aspects towards the video which do not follow any conventions of the electronica music genre, instead the video consists of dark icons, the lighting of the video being very dark and the nature of such, the artist being portrayed as being evil through this. There is often people to be shown screaming and being scared in the video, and at the beginning it goes to the extreme of implying that the old lady is having a heart attack, which is shown through the use of a midshot (as seen above). Cunningham may do this for multiple reasons, the main reason most probably being to create a strange video which entices people to continue watching, or so that through the controversy of the video it gets spread from person to person, in turn making it more viewed and popular. Although saying this his videos don't particularly have many you tube views (none exceeding into the high millions) and the artist isn't particularly known either. As a less known artist, making something so strange and offbeat will eventfully gain some sort of attention for a source which can then pass it on to another large number of people. An example of this would be a you-tuber with a large number of subscribers which may have seen the video and told there subscribers to watch it because of the offbeat nature of it, eventfully giving the video and the artist addition exposure. Another reason why Cunningham might go to the extreme when it comes to challenging conventions could be for the sake of self satisfaction of going against the norms of what is expected of him as an artist. By doing this he creates an image of himself which is portrayed through his content to his fans. In regards to music channels, they may find work such as this appealing as it creates a diversity between the conventional pop videos per say which would be shown on a regular basis, so it would  make a change to the norms. This would be beneficial as it may entice more people to watch a music channel which plays music videos such as this as they find it more entertaining to the convention music videos shown. Another thing which is present throughout this music video is the affect Cunningham uses which is where he puts his face into those present in the music video, which can be seen near the middle segment of the music video through the use of a handheld camera. He might have done this for a number of reasons, such as it getting the artists face out there and getting him to become more well known, which if the videos are offbeat and popular for that reason it allows for him to get more exposure.

Goodwin's theory is not evident throughout this particular video of Cunningham. This is as the lyrics and visuals do not have a relationship between each other at any noticeable moments. Although saying this, it could be said that genre conventions are present within the music video. An example of this can be seen throughout the entirety of the music video, with the visuals flashing on screen and have generally fast paced imagery. This in itself makes the video unique as it contains elements of Goodwins theory and opposes other elements of it. Having this unique element of having visuals which don't have any correlation with the lyrics may bring attention towards the strange nature of the video. This is as the visuals which can be seem are rather odd and controversial, and from them standing out and being unique/ diverse it may attract an audience of people due to the attention drawn towards it, which may come via the media or word of mouth.

In terms of the structure of the video, this particular video of Cunningham's I believe contains an element of concept and narrative, lacking performance. Narrative is present as throughout the music video, the visuals do begin to change and progress as the video goes on, as the people throughout the video are continued to be shown throughout. In regards to the concept, I believe there is one portrayed through the dark nature of the visuals throughout the video, which is of the generation of youth being controlled by televisions and the media, and that previous generations can see this yet are unable to stop it. This can be seen through shots of the old lady and dog being scared off by the television, in which the extreme close up of the mouth comes onto screen. Also, this is supported by the children (whos faces are of Cunningham) all run to the television and surround it, almost being controlled by it, supporting the idea of the concept which is connoted in the video.

Another music video by Aphex twin which many would say is unique is "Window Licker" (top link), to which it follows the same principal of his other videos, which are generally quite strange and odd. This video is particularly long in comparison to that of the previous one, and differs with the dark nature which is shown throughout the other video. This video has more comical/ sexual themes portrayed throughout, in comparison to the other video at hand. One appealing aspect of the video straight from the off could  simply be the length, as it is almost telling a story, which some may find entertaining.

Throughout this video, there is narrative, performance and concept present. For the narrative, this is clear from the beginning of the video as it has the two men which are driving about, to which they come across the girls and later the artists. For performance, this is evident at a number of times, one example being when the artist is completely his opening dance routine with the umbrella, and on another instance come the very end of the music video, in which a dance routine with a group of girls can be seen.

In terms of conventions, in comparison with the other video, one convention which I identify within the video can be seen near the very end, in which the dance segment with the girls and the artist is seen, which is what the audience would expect to see of a music video which falls into the electronica genre. Although known for defying conventions, another one which can be seen is of the dance segment of the artist and the umbrella, to which the whole bit some would say is a tad raunchy. This whole idea is present throughout many songs of the electronica. One aspect of the video which goes against the convention of music videos as a whole is the length length of it, probably done to enable more to be shown to the viewer. Most videos which fall under the electronica wont rarely exceed the 5 minute mark. Through incorporating conventions as well as defying, it makes Cunningham stand out as a content creator, making his work different but not to the point where it cant be considered to not fall under a certain genre because of it having a lack of the main components which can often be seen throughout.


This video would be considered unique for a number of reasons which would be both beneficial and detrimental in regards to advertising and overall viewer feedback. It doesn't follow many conventions at all of the genre that it fits into, although it has a few which are chucked into the long duration of the video.
 Similar to that of the other video, the artist has chosen to put his face onto others in the video which could be done to a number of affects. Firstly doing it makes the viewer see the artist and video in a certain way, portraying such as being odd and weird. From this it makes both the artist and video stand out, the artist more so as he may do this with the aim of getting his face out there. From this controversy and weird aspects within the video, it could potentially make the video popular and make word spread. Although saying this, similar to the other video it wasn't particularly popular, so through his persistence strange/ unique videos could lose potential fans through it simply being too controversial. His videos are certainly memorable overall, although as he does not follow many conventions at all it makes building a relationship with the viewer considerably harder; the artist constantly putting his face in his videos could be done to combat this. Through his face being put onto others in the video, it helps get his face out there.

Another music artist which Cunningham has worked with is Maddona, one song which I shall be referring to in particular is "Frozen". The song is associated with the pop genre as Madonna is a key figure in that genre of music in the industry, however the song is definitely a differentiation from her usual content she would be often associated with. The video was made in 1998 however the videos she released in previous years leaned more towards being conventional to the pop genre, this showing that Madonna wanted to change her musical direction into something more unique than what she began doing. The music video does demonstrate some conventions of the pop genre, one example is that the artist Madonna is seen frequently singing in the video. The majority of the video is just a wide range of camera shots including close ups of Madonna singing the lyrics to the song, however the most stylistic use of cinematography to show the artist performing the song is a two shot of Madonna as well as herself singing, showing two Madonna's on the visuals. The pop convention is followed because the camera technique shows the artist singing very much like other artists in the same genre, however the two shot relates back to the desire that Madonna wants to change her music style, almost connoting that she has two sides to her in regards to the music content which she can created which can be seen in this instance, or potentially her desire to be shown in a more unique way rather than being restricted to one avenue of music and target audience which she can appeal towards.

There are many connections between this video and Goodwin's theory surrounding music videos and the videos content. Firstly, the song does demonstrate characteristics of the genre known as pop as the artist is seen singing throughout the video, another element of Goodwin's theory present is that the demands of the record labels will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist. The reason why the record label emphasise the importance of the artist being seen through close ups is because it enables the audience to build up a relationship with the artist, so that they may relate to her songs a lot more and understand her music better. The record label want this because this makes the audience buy her albums and watch her music so that they further understand her music and the lyrical content of her songs. There are two distinctive styles of video used in this video, the two being Concept based and Performance based. The performance based has been implemented into the video through the use of editing and cinematography as it constantly cuts back and forth to her singing in different locations in the desert. The other style is concept based, the concept that the audience would take from this video is that Madonna is a sort of witch in the video, she shape shifts into bats and dogs several times in the video, this could represent the need for change in her music style as she changes her look, much like the way she changed before.



Gondry has created a number of music videos also, to which can be said to be unique also. Two of which are Kyie Minogues's "Come into my world" and The white stripes (hardest button to button). Overall, his style of music videos often have a meaning towards them, and pose a big purpose either towards the portrayal of a message or for advertisement.

Kylie Minogue (come into my world)

For Kylie Minogues "come into my world" music video, it can be seen that within music videos created by Gondry, he likes to incorporate an element of having a meaning behind the video itself, connoting a message to the viewer throughout the duration of the video. For this particular video I believe there are a number of meanings behind the video, the main one being that her life is a continuous cycle which is never ending, which can be seen through the use of multiple kylie minogues which come into frame every time the cycle is complete (a particular example which can be seen through the use of a two shot of the two kylie's). Alongside this, through the lyrics which can be heard and the continuous loop, the meaning behind the video is that are life remains the same everyday day in day out, and that she wishes for someone to come into to and change that for her. Gondrys work focus's upon there being a deeper meaning which can merely just be seen or denoted. This is beneficial for artists that work alongside him as it enables them to portray a meaning or value through a music video, making there content deeper rooted and have an intellectual appeal towards them, which could result in them being higher regarded as an artist and the video being respected. Through this, it could also help towards maintaining or creating an image for an artist or Gondry, through the portrayal which can be seen through the content. Alongside concept being present throughout the video, narrative could also be said to be present throughout. This is as during the short duration of the video, a story is still being told through both the visuals and lyrics, which links towards the concept as that is the idea of the story being told and her endless cycle of everyday life and wishing for someone to come and change it. Performance is also evident throughout the duration of the video. This can be seen when she is addressing the camera front on through the use of a close up, to which she can be seen singing the lyrics in the video. This takes place during multiple moments in the music video.

This is not generic of the pop genre. This is as they are often targeted towards a large group of people, and try to make a video as appealing as possible to a wide audience. The reason as to why this defies conventions as it would appeal more towards a niche target audience of people who appreciate intellectual content which has meaning behind it. This isn't particularly beneficial for the artist or Gondry as it will get less exposure this way oppose to a more mainstream music video. Another genre convention which is challenged throughout the video is the use of clothing. The clothing Kylie can be seen wearing is more everyday wear and is not particularly fashionable, which goes against the common convention through pop music that the clothing presented is often trendy (as can be seen through the use of a mid shot in the image above). However, this could be done to assist with the concept and story being portrayed throughout, emphasizing how "everyday" her life is, being very basic and not changing.

Goodwin's theory is definitely evident during the music video. The theory stating that there is often a connection between the lyrics and visuals throughout the video, which is evident through the concept/ narrative of the video of her wishing for someone to end her never ending cycle of life. This is as the lyrics and title of the song is "come into my world" alongside the continuous visuals, supporting the idea of Goodwin's theory. There is no female nudity present however, which goes against the use of the theory. Due to the setting being rather urban, there are multiple records labels which can be seen throughout the duration of the video.

The white stripes (Hardest button to button)

Throughout the music video by the white stripes "hardest button to button" the video follows and
defies a number of conventions of the alternate rock Genre convention. There is the presence of rock instruments such as an electric guitar and drum sets, which is expected to be within a music video of this genre. One aspect throughout the video which goes against the rock genre is the portrayal of the artists. Artists within this genre are often shown as being extraordinary stars, whereas due to the everyday playing locations shown throughout the music video (an example being the underground), the artists are shown in a down to earth and relatable light. This helps towards making the video different and stand out. This makes the video stand out amongst others within the genre as it is different to others, which might provide with some additional exposure as viewers of the music video may use it as a point of discussion with other people.

Goodwin's theory is partially present throughout this music video by the white strips. This is as there is a correlation/ relationship between the lyrics and visuals of the song, to which two different versions of this is seen throughout. The clearest and most obvious firstly being that every time a noise is made, the beat moves in time with the progression of the artists moving with there instruments. There is another instance during the video in which the lyrics match with what action is occuring on screen. The is a line which references a box, to which a man in a white suit comes into screen (no other people actively being on screen other than the artists at this point) to which he hands the artist a box. This can be seen through the use of a longshot (bottom image)  Both of which are examples of Goodwins theory being evident throughout the video. There is no reference to female nudity throughout the video. On occasions, there are references to business's/ labels throughout the video. The video itself doesn't particularly have much of a narrative to it, it more so being  narratuve and performance based.

For this particular video, the structure and the style of the video consists of mainly performance. Throughout the duration of the video, the artists can be seen actively performing the song. An example of this can be seen through the use of a low angle shot (image to the right). Throughout the entirety of the music video, the visuals show the artists performing.

Gondry and Cunningham both have different directing styles and approaches towards the content they create. Cunningham's style is very abstract, very often defying genre conventions, although at the same time having to have elements of them through his work so that they don't get disregarded as not falling into that genre of music. Alongside this, his content is very strange as he has a tendency of adding his face onto those in the music video, which gets his face out there in a strange way. With Gondry his work is a lot more meaningful, often trying to portray a value or tell a story throughout, or to provide with offbeat content which is appealing towards his audiences by making them unique and different. Compared to that of Cunningham, he does this in a less abstract and strange way, making it more mainstream but appealing towards a larger audience. With Gondry his work is appealing because of it being so different and odd. Because of this they share a number of similarities and differences. The main similarity that they both share is that there content is abstract and unconventional, although in different ways, as mentioned previously Cunningham being weirder and darker, compared to that of Gondry whose work is more meaning, often having a connoted meaning or appeal. Both of them often have the presence of performance, Gondry most often having that alongside concept and some sort of a narrative. Cunningham follows less conventions to that gondry who makes his content abstract, but not to quite the extreme. There is an appeal with working with both of the content creators, and would be dependant on what final product you are looking for as to which one would be better to work with. With Gondry, he would be appealing towards a larger group people as his work is more diverse, which could potentially result in a better music video in regards to popularity and view ratings. When it comes to Cunningham, he may also be able to create a popular music video but through the appeal of the music being so offbeat, to which if it receives either media coverage or attention from a popular or big source, it may be spread via mouth and social media, resulting in a well known, watched and successful. Both content creators may be able to benefit an artists portray through there different styles. This is as Gondrys may show a different side of an artist, perhaps a more artistic side to an artist which had previously been considered as being rather boring and shallow, whereas with Cunningham it may show the weird side of an artist, making them possibly come across as more abstract and interesting.

An artist would choose to create a diverse music video for a number of reasons. One main advantage to state is that they are often memorable because of this, although saying this as a result it means that it is more difficult for the viewer to create a relationship with the artist. As seen with Cunningham's work, this is overcome through repetitive use of the artists face throughout videos to try and help with said connection. If the audience finds a video centrifuging, there more than likely to continue to watch, which is one benefit of creating a unique video. Another is making the video stand out to the rest, making it less generic. As unique music videos are not often targeted towards a particular audience, it allows for the video to appeal towards a larger number of people. They also enable to see another side towards an artist, although in the case of aphex twin, as almost every single one of his videos are similar in there strange nature. And finally, having a unique video can at times have an intellectual appeal, through the use of a connoted meaning shown throughout. Although saying this, having a video being too controversial can in fact lose fans. Viewers also may not wish to continue watching a video if they find it to be too strange and that they don't understand it, which can affect popularity. If the video is too out there with a particular message or theme, it can lead to "hate" campaigns. And for the last disadvantage, the artists representation may be put into jeopardy if fans see them as being weird or strange through a video which portrays them in that way. I believe that gondrys style would work better as his work often has a particular reason for whats occurring in the video, which allows for the viewer to appreciate the video more as it is easier to understand as it does follow some conventions, but it doesn't stay generic in the sense that it strictly follows conventions when trying to convey a message or show a performance and such.

Censorship - Miss Miller

Censorship is the suppression of content within the music industry, throughout both the music videos and songs themselves. Censorship is used to protect audiences from inappropriate material which is not suitable for a certain age, or which exceeds what is deemed to be acceptable to be shown on television or on youtube and other outlets. Most often, censored material is shown before the watershed (which occurs from before 9PM GMT), therefore enabling parents the peace of mind that it would be harder for younger viewers to access mature material during daylight hours.

Censorship is used to protect viewers from taking offense to the content creators music at hand. This could potentially benefit the artist as it could protect there image and avoid criticism from the public, although it could also do this but in a detrimental way if they have an established image which appeals towards a teenage audience, which is often associated towards rebellion and such. A negative for many content creators (often those that belong under the rap or RnB genre of music) is that it can harm the way in which they are portrayed in the media. This is as the image they try to give themselves and maintain, which is often of rebellion; often referencing themes of drugs, violence and such cannot contain this in there music. This can have a detrimental on the popularity of an artist as they might end up producing "softer" lyrical content, which isn't appealing towards there target audience.

Censorship for music on television and the radio take place before the watershed at 9pm GMT, to which explicit versions of the songs are allowed to be aired from that point onwards. In regards to music videos, two versions of the song will often be created if the original song is of an explicit nature, to which the edited version would the one easiest to access online, and would be aired on television. This enables audiences to be more protected to sensutuve content, although despite this it would still be easily accessible via online means

Ofcom is the communications regulator. They regulate a number of things, including both the TV and radio sectors and a number of other outlets. There role in terms of music videos, songs and artists is to make sure that the content which can be seen, with the intentions of censoring sensitive material. Any material deemed to be of an adult nature would be shown after the watershed after 9pm GMT. They are an essential part of the music industry, as they are at the core of what is visible to daylight audiences, having a large impact upon the consumption of music videos for viewers.

In regards to artists, Ofcom is often seen as having a detrimental affect towards there work, preventing them to voice what they wish, often jeopardizing there right to creative freedom and free speech, although others would argue that this is done with the intent for the general greater good by preventing potentially sensitive material from younger listeners/ viewers. This often results in artists having to creative radio edits and non explicit versions to any songs which are deemed to be of a controversial nature , a prime example of this being the 2005 song from Eminem called "Stan" which had multiple versions created for different viewing purposes. 

An example of an artist which has had there work censored would be Eminem, which has happened on a large number of songs. This is often due to the controversial nature of his songs, which has come under criticism in the past, to which his music in present day is more tame, although there are clear examples from previous years which his music contains controversial lyrical content and visuals in music videos.

One of Eminems songs which is probably the most controversial of them is a song which was released in the early 2000's named "Kim" named after his wife at the time which he was having relationship issues with, to which the song expresses his anger and hatred for both the relationship and Kim herself. The song itself was in fact banned from being played on radio stations, music channels; some of the few ways of actually being able to hear the song came via the internet and non monitored means. Here are a few examples of lyrics which can be taken from the song:

See it all makes sense, doesn't it?
You and your husband have a fight
One of you tries to grab a knife
And during the struggle he accidentally gets his Adam's apple sliced

Another example of lyrics throughout which were brought up as being insensitive and causing controversy is:

Now shut the fuck up and get what's coming to you
You were supposed to love me
[Kim choking]
NOW BLEED! BITCH, BLEED!
BLEED! BITCH, BLEED! BLEED!

Its clear to see why such lyrics which have been shown were the root of controversy, containing lyrics which would be said to be extremely graphic and inappropriate, not only just for a younger viewer but just for viewers in general.

There are various other examples of songs to a similar nature (but not quite to such a graphic extent) which have caused controversy, only being aired when having censored edits created. Another example would be one of Eminem's more deeper rooted songs, linking towards a real event from his life at the time. The song named "Stan" was released in the year of 2005, part of Eminems curtain call album. Multiple versions of the song have been created for its music video, an extended version (raw and explicit version) and the edited version for TV and radio purposes. The song is about the true story portraying the events of a obessed Eminem fan which loses his life in a drink driving accident, to which the song has an explicit nature to it, containing strong language and sensitive content. Examples of such throughout consist of:



Eminem 

Eminem stated how he says what he wants when he wants to say and does what he wants to do. Therefore Eminem believes that statements he may come out, or lyrics that may be present throughout his music should not be taken as anything offense from intent, as they are just broad remarks, terms and phrases he simply wishes to say and nothing more. Therefore Eminem believes that he has a right to do such through freedom of speech and creative freedom.

Also stating that if your gonna take anything from his music, it should be in the form of inspiration. He believes that if anyone finds his music offense or possibly depressed, they should acknowledge this and build upon it and themselves as a foundation of self improvement. From doing so this gives him the ability to express his creative freedom throughout whatever way he pleases, even if it may be a tad "colourful" at times.

The songs are not purposely aggressive per say, the lyrics depend on the beat and feel. Eminems music has been iconic for this in the past, and besides this his modern day work is more tame to that of previously, but despite this the aggressive nature of his music Eminem wishes to emphasize 

A lot of his songs are like this and of this nature due to his bad life experiences as his songs are often based upon his life experiences. If he wishes to talk about his previous experiences that's his own choice which shouldn't be taken aware from him. He is respected by his following because of such adversity which he faced in years beforehand, and telling stories of which in a creative way shouldn't be taken away from his fans for the use of language or themes. 

From making his songs about his life experiences, this allows for people to make a personal connection to the music. If he was to make his music more tame in regards to what he has experienced in his life, it may prevent his fan base from creating a relationship with him, which would be a bad thing for how relate able he is as a media icon, in turn making his music less accessible to people. From changing the way in which he creates and portrays his content, this could also result in him becoming too mainstream, which isn't Eminem or the star that the media and his fans have become familiar with over the years. 

The things said may shock people but he doesn't act in that way. The way in which he talks shouldn't have to automatically be interpreted as being the way he acts or the person he is, to which he should generally be taken more lightly and less seriously. Acting in such a way and shocking people is beneficial for himself because of the media coverage he then receives which could excite his fans and expose more people to the content which is obviously beneficial. 

His songs may be negative but it doesn't mean he actually does these things. If he does say something negative people should build upon this and take it as a stepping stone for there own person improvement rather than knocking Eminem down for expressing his right to his creative freedoms 

Its others decisions weather or not they wish to take what I say literally, which is not the case. People are always going to interpret things in different ways, which Eminem cant change for every individual so he wishes to continue to say what he feels like. People can take offense to anything, so saying what he feels like can be used as a release, as people may get offended by anything regardless

Artists should be able to express themselves and have creative freedom. Censorship as a whole prevents them from being able to have this, to which has a knock on affect to the artist themselves as well as there portrayal/ media identity and fan base. 

He believes that the argument about protecting children and the youth is stupid, which is coming from a parents perspective as he is a father himself. Eminem has stated that he believes that Its a parents duty to protect there own children as to what they are able to watch and have access to. Some parents may not mind there children being exposed to explicit language or adult themes.  

Record label 

The record label at hand is Shady records, which was created after the success of Slim shady, 

Eminem needed to create a new record label to properly portray himself and his own music. From doing so this enabled him to work around the restrictions which would be present if belonging to a big corporal company, which let him fully utilise his right to creative freedom by letting him release explicit songs without having it aired less or being dubbed even before release. 

Eminem acknowledges the bad content in regards to children being exposed to it, being a father himself. As he is a father, he's well aware of how easy it is to access content online regardless, so when it comes to himself and his own music, he believes that children of this generation are exposed to worse stuff on a daily basis when online. Also being a father, he has the right to let his children listen to whatever they wish, and he believes the same principal applies to other parents and there children, so if they believe that an artist like himself is a bad influence they should simply stop them from being able to listen to his music to the best of there ability, rather than having content censored which ruins the work for others that wish to listen to the original version of a song, and once again he emphases how the children will probably find a way to listen to explicit versions of his songs regardless. 

Through the controversy of his videos, the audience likes it which therefore contributes to the popularity of his videos. Videos which have a sense of controversy to them are often see as being more appealing in general, and he has never been afraid to take this upon and apply it towards his own work. Although saying this, what is deemed to be controversial is subjective, therefore some parents may see the video as being fine for there children whereas others may not see it the same way, causing a divid. 

Eminem trys to emphasis how music is an art form, and a very big one at that which is used to help artists express themselves, books and art is not censored so why is music he states? Going on this basis, expressing himself surely shouldn't come across as a bad thing for the sake of freedom of speech and expression, as he is just trying to portray his work and artwork to his fans as a content creator. Adding on from previously, surely as a book is in a physical form it is more damaging than simply listening to a song

If it was so negative and bad why is it so popular, and an artist like Eminem and his songs are so well known. If anyone was truly that bad, or offensive towards a large group of people someone like himself wouldn't gather such an incredibly large following, which only continues to grow in popularity to this day. He is very well known for expressing his own feelings and life experiences into his content, which many people appreciate and have grown to respect about the artist. 

Been very successful, probably down to Eminem being able to create himself and to have less restrictions on his lyrical content. From having aspects of his content which can be said to be questionable and controversial at times only builds up his media persona as well as his portrayal as a person. Without having his creative freedom which is taken through censorship, he would have been unable to clearly identify himself in the music industry which was hugely assisted through the use of controversy and his general portrayal, which has resulted in him being the musical phenomenon that he is today.

At the end of the day its simply entertainment, and doesn't have to be taken literally. Eminem trys to express in a large number of his interviews which a lyric or a statement he has come out with has come under media attention, that his content is just entertainment and shouldn't be taken so literally, rather to just be enjoyed. Or alternately as mentioned previously, to gather inspiration from. 

Parents for censorship

Protecting the innocence of the child is an essential part of parents for the censorship of inappropriate content. If there isn't a higher authority there to establish what material is deemed to be appropriate to be aired to younger audiences, the youth of the current generation could be damaged from the content they are exposed to, which is often of themes of sexism, racism, adult themes as a whole and explicit language. Parents for censorship believe it is morally wrong for children to be exposed to such things. 

Parents for censorship want there children to be able to listen to whatever they want without fearing of there children being exposed to inappropriate or sensitive material. Through censoring the inappropriate parts within songs, this enables children to listen to the music, while giving the parents the peace of mind of knowing whatever they are listening to is age appropriate and clean. 

They believe that an easy way to work around other members of the public and music fans that wish to listen to explicit songs/ versions of the songs there is a solution for without putting childrens innocence at risk. This can be done by making explicit and censored versions to be played during daylight hours, and then passed the watershed explicit versions of the song can be listened to. On top of this, in regards to accessing music via forms of social media such a YouTube, two versions of the song can be made and the explicit version will have a warning on before playing it, informing the viewer/ listener of the explicit content. 

Parents against censorship

Some parents may see restricting children as a good thing, educating them on it makes them aware of censored material being bad. They state how they dont want a generation of  naive children. They can then educate them on the topics at hand at a younger age so that they are fully prepared for later life. 

They say that there is no evidence to support music videos causing negative behavior in children. Therefore is it really necessary for a tame and toned done version of a song to be the most likely to be shown/ viewed if the theory is groundless and has no empirical evidence to support it. 

Some would say that in child murder cases, they were children which were exposed to inappropriate content which caused them to commit such acts.  In nearly every circumstance they suffer from a disease which comes from a biological cause. Due to which it is wrong to create a groundless theory that such a minor things such as adult things and explicit language would cause something so extreme

As a parent you should have control over what your children watch and listen to. A parent should be the one in full control over what there children are exposed to and what they are allowed to watch, they shouldn't automatically be forced into being told what is suitable for there children to be exposed to, which should be there choice and decision. 

Fans

Music is a way of expressing opinions, censorship prevents creative freedom. Without having creative freedom it prevents a break from convention and for content creators to explore new realms of music and ideas that haven't been heard before. Without creative freedom the music industry wouldnt be the same, as it woudnt be able to appeal to such a large group of people from all different ranges of the world.  

Eminem song "Kim" is most controversial, although as he said he says bad things but doesn't do bad things. The lyrics in a song dont have to be taken seriously, and it doesn't mean that an artist actually believes in what hes saying or that he acts in a way that is shown in the lyrics of the song. 

Audience may be able to relate to his experience and/ or respect his opinion. Through censoring the full extent of the message or ideal he is fully trying to portray may be less visible. This is bad as it prevents Eminem from being able to express what he believes in and to show this to his fan base/ following; in tern getting rid of his right to the freedom of speech and his creative freedom as content creator.

Uses his music as a form of sublimation for his negative emotions. If he wasn't able to include this within his music and get it out of his system, the way in which he makes himself out to be in his songs could become a reality if he isn't allowed to produce and release music which is telling the way he feels to the media.

His songs are an insight into his life, censorship can ruin the message he is trying to convey to his many fans. Censoring prevents the full extent of a life experience from being shown and re- told, which could be bad because Eminem may feel as if he is shadowing his past from his fans, to which he is iconic for his songs which have personal importance and meaning towards them, which also gives his following a better insight into him as an individual and the struggles he had in previous years which others may be able to relate to.

In his song "stan", some words were censored which ruined it.  In the MTV full version, which is 8:15 long, verse 3 censors Stan mentioning his girlfriend in the trunk to which ruins the flow of the song, and the emotional aspect which is present throughout the original which was highly regarded for such. Admittedly the content throughout would be considered by some as being inappropriate, yet the controversy around it could be the reason to the success of the song in the first pace.

Hes passionate about music and trys to push the boundaries of his creative freedom. Censorship prevents this from occurring and him releasing new material which defies the norms of what is expected upon in the music industry and the media in general. Without this every artist would be generic, Eminem has always stood out for the darker/ more controversial side of his content.
Some say his modern songs are tame now, which could be the result of censorship, and due to which he has been mentioned noticeably less in the media and his content is not nearly as popular as years previously. This is as the majority of his following love the fact he is so controversial and through the use of censoring this is taken away from him and his following.

MTV

MTV are very well known to not take lightly on the topic of censorship, being very strict on the case. Although in regards to artists such as eminem and other rappers, they say this is with good reason as some of the content throughout isn't just harmful to the youth, but can also be sexist, homophobic and so on, so to please the viewers of the music channel only certain music videos can be viewed, to which they usually have edited and censored sections.

Censored during the day, past the watershed the songs are more explicit, the watershed taking place at 9PM GMT, where videos such as the explicit version of Eminems "Stan" would be allowed to be shown without coming under any legal action for showing sensitive material.

Eminem particularly has been shown to not be very frequently played on MTV, for the reason of his content being outright inappropriate at times. In some of his older work, he actually threatens to kill a member of congress. Although its been said that in recent years he has been said to have toned down with his content, this clearly isn't the case in the song "Vegas" which he released in 2014, to which it contains the lines:

“So swallow my pride you’re lucky just to follow my ride. If I let you run alongside the Humvee. Unless you’re Nicki, grab you by the wrist, let’s ski. So what’s it gon’ be? Put that s*** away Iggy. You don’t wanna blow that rape whistle on me. Scream! I love it. ‘Fore I get lost with the gettin’ off.”

This is pretty clear as to why lyrics such as this belong to be censored, and as to why censorship is useful tool for eradicating

Pretty clear why his lyrics are censored, some of the stuff he says is actually illegal. Eminem is iconic for saying stuff within his songs which has caused uproar in the media. Moving along from the song "vegas" in which the theme of rape is present, the song "love the way you lie" ft Rihanna there are also a number of themes which are present throughout that many would seem to be inappropriate. Examples of some lyrics from that song include the following:

"I don't even know his name."
I laid hands on her, I'll never stoop so low again
I guess I don't know my own strength

[Chorus - Rihanna:]
Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts


Dont feel as if sensitive topics can be within songs. This is as a TV network such as the likes of MTV is so large and popular and is viewed by a huge number of people, branching out to an incredibly large fan base, to which a number of these could find some sensitive topics offence and not suited for such public broadcasting.

Hes very homophobic, so content in relation to that has to be reworded as it is a sensitive topic, and is sensitive due to the political affects these songs and lyrics have because of how homosexual relations is now seen in the united states

Radio

The radio is connected to family channels, therefore it needs to be censored. This is done with the intentions of parents in mind, attempting to satisfy them by preventing any mature, explicit damaging content is not exposed to young children. By doing so it keeps the radio station family friendly and appeals towards such.

Eminem's song references lots of bad things which are not appropriate for a younger audience. This is evident with a large number of Eminems songs, which can range from inappropriate material such as sexist comment, to themes of an adult nature within the song lyrics; the most common inappropriate thing present throughout his content simply being the use of explicit language, to which is censored to protect listens.

Children can be impressionism so they should be protected by bad content. It is essential that children are not exposed to any damaging content via easily accessible means such as the radio. This is one big reason as to why it is essential to censor material so that the youth of today are not negatively influenced from a young age. The artists which would often perform on the radio children look up to as stars and idols, if they continue to maintain a bad example as there persona or create on, children need to be protected by this side of content creators from a young age. This prevents any negative influences such a children repeating explicit lines or phrases which are present throughout the songs.