Swearing: Artistic Licence, Poor writing or somewhere in-between?
Swearing has always been a point of contention in any music project I have been involved in. Some organisations have a blanket no to swearing, some allow certain words and some operate differently depending on young peoples ages.
Livewire also have had various versions of swearing rules, depending on who was in charge at the time. When I became Project Manager I was acutely aware of the age range we operated for, I felt like we needed to revisit the rules around swearing. I consulted with staff, management, funders and of course the young people. We’ve not come up with a rule that covers every occasion (heck, there are still big conversations around certain words or nature of subject) but we’re pretty happy with what we have, we think (and hope!) the young people are too. So here are a few pointers to consider around swearing.
Approach
Firstly, opening up the conversation with the young person in a relaxed way is key. Not only do you get to hear their opinion on why they have included the swear word/subject matter but it also opens up a great conversation on their world views. It’s important to approach this with an open mind, if you go in with the mind-set that you’re essentially telling them off, it won’t go as smoothly as the first approach.
Context
Does the song need the swear word? What does the swear word offer? Does it convey emotion? You’ve now heard the reasoning behind the inclusion of the offensive word. Do you agree? If my YP is telling me about a terrible abusive upbringing, I’m not going to pull him up on calling his Dad a shit. But if someone is using the F word as a describing word every other sentence I would likely challenge. I also have an idea in my head of how ‘severe’ I would think particular words would be. One thing that I out right decline is any language that is trying to incite hate.
Yes, or Replace?
So, you’ve had a conversation with the YP and you’ve discussed the context behind the offensive word. What if you feel the word is unneeded? You can say no outright, but there are better ways to get the desired result.
Is there another suggestion that would replace the word? Challenge the young person to better their writing by finding clever ways around. Make it about them stepping up to the plate, some young people will enjoy the challenge!
Audience
Another good indicator for me is who will be hearing this track? Is it a for a public gig in the back room of a pub or is it a performance for royalty! Etc. I often ask rappers where they want to release their music. If they are looking for radio play on mainstream channels then they would have to have a radio edit and be prepared for elements to be censored. If they are happy uploading to YouTube or Spotify then it’s kind of up to them along as the context has been considered and there is no inciting hate.
Final Thoughts
It’s not just swear words, there are loads of controversial topics and subjects which may offend people. I for one believe in freedom of speech but I also think swearing can be lazy writing. It’s about striking a balance. I think that balance is struck if you’ve discussed the usage of these words and the consequences of including them in their songs. Obviously, there are some topics which would not take a lot to argue why their inclusion is beyond that line.
Tricky, tricky, tricky but this should always be about compromise.