Executive Director Of The Jamaica Broadcasting Commission Cordell Green has not taken too kindly to arguments from Grammy winning DJ Shaggy that the commission is hypocritical in its approach to banning music of a certain kind from the airwaves.
In an interview on Monday with WMV, Mr. Boombastic said, the commission doesn’t have the reach to stop the music from reaching people’s ears.
“I don’t think it affect music at all, because the majority of the music is consumed through the internet and on YouTube and if you can’t ban YouTube then you not gonna move nuttn at all, it’s not going work,” Shaggy said.
The 54 year old reggae super star who has had a three decade long career singing international hits also put into context the other medium currently available to the youth demographic.
“I think its a bit hypocritical, unless you plan to do it across the board with Hip Hop music and television and all a that cause its the same content across the board, you not banning Netflix, you not banning YouTube, but you banning our artist from doing that is freedom of speech. You can’t say freedom of speech but only when it suit you,” he explained to World Music Views.
Green upon reading and seeing Mr. Luva Luva’s statements, released a statement exclusively to WMV outlining the role and relevance of the Commission and reiterating the reason for its recent actions to ban violent music.
“Shaggy is entitled to his opinion but that does not mean what he says is truthful or sensible,” he stated, as he expressed his disappointment with Shaggy’s comments.
“It is disappointing that he has reportedly skirted the issue of whether harmful glorification of criminal conduct should be permitted on freely accessible and licensed radio services, choosing instead to attack the Broadcasting Commission for carrying out its statutory duty and suggesting that the making of money is a deciding factor on how such content must be treated,” Green said.
“In Jamaica and most other countries there is a difference in the treatment of subscription platforms such as Netflix and local television broadcasters who use the spectrum (a public asset). Local broadcasters have licence obligations and perform social responsibilities that do not necessarily apply to foreign entities,” the Jamaican Attorney said.
He admits that the youth are more attracted to new media platforms but says at one point television and cable were also new and regulating them came with challenges.
Shaggy’s statements about where young people find media and music aligns with an Ofcom report on news consumption in the U.K. published on Thursday July 21. The report found that roughly 25 percent of 12- to 15-year-olds watched BBC One and Two, compared with 45 per cent five years ago. Meanwhile, 29 per cent of young teenagers surveyed this year cited Instagram as a source of news.
Young people are increasingly using social media for more than just entertainment but as a news source.
Even though TV networks were considered the most trusted source and news on social media the least reliable, younger people were more likely to access news via digital platforms. Some 46 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds surveyed said they turned to Instagram, compared with 36 per cent who watched bulletins on BBC One.
The Ofcom report also found that the music driven TikTok was the second most popular platform for young teenagers seeking news. It reached 28 per cent of 12-to 15-year-olds, up from 11 per cent two years ago, and enjoyed the largest increase in use among all Britons over the age of 16.
“Teenagers today are increasingly unlikely to pick up a newspaper or tune into TV news, instead preferring to keep up to date by scrolling through their social feeds,” said Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom’s group director for strategy and research.
“And while youngsters find news on social media to be less reliable, they rate these services more highly for serving up a range of opinions on the day’s topical stories,” he added.
Away from broadcasting, the report showed that newspapers, whether in print or online, were particularly vulnerable to changing news habits. In 2022, only 38 per cent of British adults read a newspaper, down from 51 per cent in 2018.
Meanwhile in America, research conducted last year found that 48% of U.S. adults say they get news from social media “often” or “sometimes,” a 5 percentage point decline compared with 2020, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted July 26-Aug. 8, 2021.
Even with these overseas and local changes, the executive director said the Broadcasting Commission will not abandon its mandate. .”Yes, the current digital global reality throws up new and more complex challenges but the shifts in content consumption do not justify an abandonment of the standards that apply to traditional platforms,” he said.
He went on to say there is no line drawn between foreign music and local when it comes to regulating the airwaves,
“Foreign music is not exempt from broadcasting regulation in Jamaica and the BCJ makes no distinction between its treatment of local and foreign genres. Quite the contrary, several of the Commission’s investigations and decisions pertain to foreign music. This is well known by radio stations that have been found in breach of the regulations for broadcasting inappropriate music.”
In October the Jamaican music community reacted to the news of the Jamaica’s Broadcasting Commission’s “Halt On All Versions Of Music & Music Videos That Promote Violence & Drugs Use”
The statement issued under the heading “BROADCAST COMMISSION ISSUES DIRECTIVE ON SONGS PROMOTING ILLEGAL ACTIVITY” outlines that television and radio stations operating in the island should halt “any audio or video recording, live song, or speech which promotes and/or glorifies scamming. illegal use or abuse of drugs (e.g. ‘Molly’), illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, “jungle justice” or any other form of illegal or criminal activity.”
According to the Commission’s website the entity is mandated by the Broadcasting and Radio Re-diffusion Act (BRRA) to monitor and regulate free-to-air television, broadcast radio and subscriber television (Cable) services to ensure their operation at appropriate levels in relation to technical, programming, and service standards.
In the last four years World Music Views found that much of the music that has saturated Jamaica’s airwaves first got recognition via YouTube and other streaming platforms and then radio disc jocks include edited versions of those songs in their playlists.
That practice can no longer happen for songs that fall in the banned categories, as the Commission further stated that all edited versions of songs that had the promotion of illegal activities should not be played on the airwaves.
“Any edited song which directly or indirectly promotes scamming, illegal drugs, illegal or harmful use of guns or other offensive weapons, jungle justice, or any form of illegal or criminal activity. This includes live editing and original editing (e.g. edits by producer/label) as well as the use of near-sounding words as substitutes for effective lyrics, expletives, or profanities.”
Dancehall artist Skeng, who has a string of explicit songs chronicling drug use and violence has the two most streamed songs in Jamaica. As more music consumers in the island are moving away from radio and television as their main mode of consumption, they are creating new stars using YouTube. Skillibeng whose breakout dancehall trap hits Whap Whap and Crocodile Teeth, are considered banned on Jamaican airwaves but went to No. 1 on the island’s YouTube charts. Subsequently the songs found legs in the US and Europe where he will be going on second European tour with Chris Brown. He also recently won the MOBO Award for Best Caribbean Music Act. New comer Bayka also found favor with top selling cock band Cold Play recently.
