US tech firm Gabb Wireless, which sells phones customised for children, is launching its own music streaming service, which will be preloaded on its devices. Gabb Music says it will be “the largest clean music library in the world … with hit songs from every era and genre—explicit lyrics and innuendo not included.”
What is the definition of the “explicit lyrics and innuendo” that gets filtered out? Well, that’s not entirely clear, although Gabb’s website describes “inappropriate content” as “bad language, sexualized or pornographic images/videos, or acts of violence.” Gabb is nixing tracks through a combination of human review and a partnership with B2B firm Tuned Global, which in turn is using technology from LyricFind to screen tracks for child-unfriendly content.
LyricFind filters “31 categories pertaining to profanity, sex, violence, drugs, politics and more,” which suggests that Dr Dre’s back catalogue, for instance, may appear only sporadically on this platform.
It’s initially a $4.99-a-month radio-style service, and in the future a (yes, that figure again) $9.99 service will offer a fuller experience.
Music for children is an increasingly competitive area: Spotify has a Kids app where all content is hand-picked by editors; the YouTube Kids app includes child-friendly music that’s filtered by both humans and tech; and the Yoto children’s speaker is selling a series of exclusive physical albums of music.
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