In Chechnya, music must have a tempo between 80 and 116 BPM (beats per minute), and all songs above or below this threshold will be banned. This was decided by the government of the country, which is a republic that is part of the Russian Federation. The restrictions are only for music composed within the country. The goal is to ensure “conformity of musical, vocal and choreographic works” to the “Chechen mentality”. According to what was reported by Grozny Inform, a press agency linked to the Chechen government, the decision was taken last Thursday, during a meeting between Musa Dadayev, the Minister of Culture of Chechnya, and some associations of local musicians.
Rewrite the music
By June 1st, therefore, local musicians will have to “rewrite” their music to adapt the rhythm of their songs to the new directives, and those who do not comply will not be able to perform in public. If the ban is also applied to music produced abroad, ensuring its application will be particularly problematic and challenging, given that much contemporary pop music exceeds 116 BPM.
