“Don’t censor the artists” The controversial words of a famous Iranian singer Reza Bahrami

Not long ago, at the Middle East Music Festival, Reza Bahrami, a famous Iranian singer, announced: Artists are usually temporarily or long-term fired for various reasons and are not allowed to work in the media or to hold concerts. Singing is one of the popular but troublesome professions in Iran, which has many fans and sidelines. This issue, which is gradually becoming a crisis for the domestic and authorized singers of the country, has been the main topic of secret meetings of the country’s music officials with some domestic figures in the past days.

The laws of singing in Iran are among the most important and challenging issues related to the field of work of artists who are active in this field. In general, singers who are prohibited from working in Iran due to non-compliance with these laws or marginal issues are prohibited from performing activities related to their field of work. He also added: “Iranian singers have been banned because of their association with abroad living unauthorized singers, or their association with unlicensed singers, and political and social criticism.”

In general, the laws of singing in Iran have not prohibited women’s concerts if they are performed only for women and done in solo singing style and also men are not forbidden for having concerts, however, giving a concert license is associated with personal preferences. The rules of singing and what we are seeing in today’s society do not allow the broadcasting of women’s voices on radio and television. On the other hand, there are rulings in this field from religious authorities, who has said: “There is nothing wrong with listening to a woman’s

voice, either alone or in a group, in a state where there is no singing and listening  for  pleasure, and it should not be attributed to corruption”.

Also, music and songs that insult religious issues, the beliefs of different groups of society, any insults or are associated with moral corruption are prohibited in Iran. Any kind of music, music videos and singers’ songs should not be against the national interests of the society, anti-current political system and vulgar.