All music videos that are produced in the UK will now be required to be sent tot he British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) before they are allowed to go up on sites such as YouTube with the hope that parents will be able to regulate what their children are watching more easily.

So far 132 videos have been submitted for classification and only one has received an 18 rating - Dizzee Rascal's Couple Of Stack. 56 videos have been rated 12 and 53 classified 15.

Initially, it was only major labels such as Sony Music and Warner who were required to submit their videos for classification but now it had been confirmed that independent labels will also have to adhere to the new rules, at least for a six month period.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the British Phonographic Industry said: "Britain is a world leader in making exciting and original music, in part because our artists have a freedom to express themselves that we rightly cherish.

"While we must continue to uphold this principle, it is equally important that music videos are broadcast in a responsible way and that parents are given the tools to make more informed viewing decisions on behalf of their families."

Candice Morrissey from YouTube added: "We have been working with the participants in this pilot to help them display the BBFC's age ratings on their music videos on YouTube.

"These ratings are in addition to the controls we already provide on YouTube including the ability for uploaders to add age warnings to videos and a restricted mode."

As she states, YouTube already does have a way of making sure that young people aren't accessing inappropriate content. Having extra safeguards in place are a good thing but will having to adhere to the codes of the BBFC mean that the quality of British music videos will change?

Don't get me wrong, something has to be particularly nasty for it to be unclassifiable but will this mean that video producers will be working harder to make sure that there video is able to be given a rating? It's great that more is being done to protect children online but it does feel as though a little bit more freedom is being taken away.