Iranian Music Streaming Site Removes All Female Singers From Their Album Covers, And It Looks Really Wrong
An album isn't just about the music. Yes, the sounds are without a doubt its most essential element, but we must acknowledge the role of cover art in making it whole. Be it the fold-out gatefolds of the vinyl era, the pull-out liner notes in CD cases or the icon on a digital player, these visuals have an important role in defining how we look at a particular release. However, one Iranian streaming site, Melovaz, isn't happy with how some of them look. In fact, they're so worried these album covers might be a bad influence on their listeners, they're censoring them. What devil seeds are these pictures featuring, you ask? Women.
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Lady Gaga - Joanne
I bet they'd just erase women of the planet if they could. Too bad they need us to exist.
And that's just the thing, women are human beings too, and they NEED us to make more human beings (and that includes making more male humans). So you'd think that even just for that reason they would see us as equals...
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Theocracies at best are annoying, at worst, dangerous. The only ones who like them are the freaks making the rules.
This might not have been so noticable if they has moved the hat a bit lower.
Men of this planet would love it if they could just leave our vaginas intact and erase everything else from real life tbh. It seems that majority of men worldwide hate women as evidenced by how much they try to erase and silence us from political and social life, sexually assault us, rape and murder us, sell us as sex slaves, create child brides, make other women ABORT female fetuses ( and thus creating a huge gender imbalance and a crisis in South and parts of Southeast Asia and China as a whole) then FORBID and control us from having an abortion in the 1st place, etc. God I'm just so tired of men's misogyny and their violence against us....
Is this your opinion of "men" in general, seriously? Because then you are simply guilty of misandry (the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against men or boys in general). We are many men who love and adore women in all parts of life (social, cultural, political, sexual etc.) and who would never engage in any kind of violence against women. Your examples are of course valid, because these horrible acts do happen around the world. But they are not shared by most men at all.
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I think if i were a female songwriter/ artist (and I am) I would just ban my music from being played in Iran. That's ridiculous. If you listen to my female voice, you can see my female face. TYVM.
Wdf you guys just wanted to talk about things you guys not sure about it Khkh : get you copy right a way from Iran not showing you music cower then😂🔥🔥
How come i like the edit out better..it looks like masterpiece..if people put it as album cover, i would have believe that is the intended cover..
The men are frightened of the powerful women. Another silly thing they do but it doesn’t stop the rise of divine feminine.
"I was casually scrolling through Reddit when a user there submitted a photo of Taylor Swift's new album cover without herself, just the album title," Izzi, the Twitter user who spread the message, told Bored Panda. "In the comment section, someone linked to that Iranian music streaming site so I went there and discovered the huge collection of photoshopped music covers specifically involving women."
Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born
At first, he was surprised and in disbelief, however, due to the ridiculousness of the situation, Izzi couldn't help but laugh at some of the horrible jobs they did to remove the female artists from their covers. "That was when I felt like I should share this on my Twitter."
Lana Del Rey - Nfr!
Lana is a thief!! She left and took half the US flag with her!... No respect for her fans and the male model who now looks perplexed and lonely.
"The editing for A Star Is Born's song Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper infuriated me the most. They completely censored and removed Gaga but not Brad, and even did a terrible job at it. That was so unnecessary."
"I would like to add that I know for a fact that some countries in the Middle East would censor its female images by adding clothes and hijabs, I'm not okay with that, but this Iranian streaming site takes it to a whole new level by erasing every trace of them," Izzi said. "I hope this brings some awareness to the world that some women still face this kind of discrimination even in the 21st century."
Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water Cover
Little Mix Ft. Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me
Billie Eilish - When I Was Older
Lizzo, Dababy - Truth Hurts
Oh. My. God. I can see a little bit of female skin in the bottom left! What a scandal, the censors didn't do a good job.
Melanie Martinez - K-12
Kygo And Whitney Houston - Higher Love
Meghan Trainor - Badass Woman
Celine Dion - Courage
Beyonce - Homecoming
Miley Cyrus - She Is Coming
Bebe Rexha - Last Hurrah
Saweetie - Icy
This is like the only one I remotely understand the purpose for censoring.
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
As Iranian girl who lives there, I'd like to mention that according to strange law here listening to female singers is banned and this site is doing illegal and this sort of censorship is a weak try for ditching authorities. by the way 90 percent of people here don't like this kind of rules and don't listen to the government. this actually happened after 1979 Revolution in Iran before that time we had a free country like yours.
It makes more sense now that you've explained the reason why. Religion should never have power in government. I hope you return to having freedoms, stay strong, sister! ✊
Strange enough, listening to none Muslim female singers is not HARAM (banned). Everything is pointed to Muslim males pleasure.
Things may have changed in the last few years, but last time I was in Iran western music of all kinds was banned.
The US are complicit in the conversion of Iran to Theocracy in their support of then-Shah. The US are complicit for the genesis of most of the countries it calls enemies, whether in the Middle East or Central America. The US are like Mickey Mouse in the Sorceror's Apprentice: well-meaning--if self-serving can ever be termed well-meaning--, but woefully ignorant.
I wouldn't romanticize the Shah's era too much. The religious government has made Iran a very hard place to live in, but namy older Iranians will tell you it was worse under the Shah, but for different reasons. Iran is a beautiful country and she deserves better than this,, but nostalgia for a time of freedom that didn't exist won't server her well.
Religious extremists have too much power in the US too. Here, they elected a foreign operative as President.
TRUE
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False! Hillary lost the election.
Huh, thanks. Context is everything. I mean, censorship in general is ridiculous, but it makes sense that people do what they can to circumvent over-bearing laws and regulations.
Was it really a revolution then?
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It is kinda ironically that you claim to be an Iranian girl in a post about censoring women...
Another proof those fanatics are completly stupid.
Apparently I was downvoted for agreeing with you on how the Iranian government is treating the women is wrong. Wow.....
There's more down here!
there sure is
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Burk and Shock ... you guys are the cutest couple.
a worthy attempt at a post but ultimately a fail
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not stupid....................committed
Not committed......... completely and utterly extreme and insane. I wonder of the kind of society and the atrocities it will lead to by this non sense.
Doesn't matter. What they are doing is still wrong.
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To stupidity
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HOW COMMITTED ARE YOU TO SUCKING THAT TRUMP DICK?
Yet censorship is accepted widely, particularly if moneycomes i to play. Western IT companies freely abide to China's censorship for example if they fear it might otherwise affect their business.
To their credit, these Iranian sites seem to be doing what they have to to make Western music available. It sounds like they’re risking arrest and aren’t even making money. Western companies are the exact opposite.
What a fucked up place Iran is.
What do you expect when clergy comes to power...
Or 1 possible result of no clear separation of Church & State :-/
Having spent time in Iran you get used to this. Western movies are heavily censored to the point that plots cease to make sense because all the female characters have been removed. Iranian culture is nowhere near as conservative or repressed as people think it is (you'll see all kinds of women's hair styles if you walk down a street in Tehran) but the publishers/broadcasters know if someone in the religious police wants to make an example of someone that month, they have no chance of escaping a harsh penalty if they are the ones picked on.
Thank you Jon S. for your patient explanations throughout this post. I feel like I've learned a lot from you about a culture I'm not very familiar with. Very much appreciated!
I'm glad people seem to be finding my explanations useful. It's a topic that arouses so many passions, I thought I would be down voted badly!
Truth is always good, even if it's inconvenient!
Yes, Jon seems like a smart man! 🙂👍
This isn't suprising... it's just sad. There's Islam, modesty and then there's plain old ignorance.
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RELIGION IS IGNORANCE
Well, that is something you and religion have in common
They even censored the tame ones.
Sadly not surprising. A lot of middle eastern countries don't see women as actual human beings. It's despicable.
I think I don't like this country. Some of the covers are too sexual, but hey, a smiling head? Really? What does it say about men in Iran? That they can't look at a woman without erection? I'm speechless.
Had to google this because I couldn't believe this level of bigotry could be so deeply institutionalized anywhere in 2019. I'm speechless.
And when you think Iran used to be such a free and modern country before 1979.
I would understand if they deleted male pictures too for religious reasons. But this way it looks like women are inferior to men by definition (whose??). Too sad.
In Islam a woman is literally worth half a man, both in monetary value and as a witness in court. But that isn't what this censorship is about. The shape of a woman's body is considered pornographic and Iranian modesty laws say it should be disguised with loose clothing. Men also have to obey modesty laws and are not allowed to show naked flesh or have bold hairstyles, which might be why some of the men are also censored (or it might be that it was easier to remove both figures, I'm not sure).
@Lisa Macateer Some of the choices are a little odd: Lizzo, Melanie Martinez and one of the Beyonce albums would be fine as covers. I asked one of my relatives why they might censor even the acceptable images of women and she didn't know for sure. Her thoughts were along the lines of a western woman's image popping up on your play list is an obvious sign you are listening to illegal music.
I was actually hoping someone in the comments would answer why they did this. So I am just wanting to say thank you for posting this.
That is some deep hatred and fear of women they have going there.
How are women inferior if iranian men can't control a dick. Women there must be in fact extremely strong since men are incapable to overcome a simple bodily function. Can men control other things at all there? Like, do they need diapers to not poop all over themselves? Are they capable of doing complicated things on their own, like chewing their food or blowing their noses?
10 & 19 are just heads no body. Not even a shoulder on display. How would this factor into Islam's pornographic imaging censoring? No 10 is basically covered by a veil
Thanks for the info and perspective. I appreciate your knowledge and objective tone. مرسي:-)
Men are forbidden to shave part of their head. If you remember, they asked a footballer to shave his head before a match hosted in their country else they would disqualify them. Men side of modesty law are more linear, the shortest length your pants can go is a little bit above knee (football pants are well... cause too short) shirt wise is free-for-all, you can go topless.
I didn't realise there were any modesty laws for men. Although not as harsh as the women's laws, it is something to think about, everybody is censured to some extent
I can imagine that these rules are strange and terrifying for people from rest of the world especially women.rules like that you can't wear whatever you want! or our terrible censorship. here women go to jail for disobeying such rules and we have so many women rights activists who fight for simple rights that we had once(40 years ago). It's not easy at all for us. some of them even pay with our life to fight with these conditions. if you like you can read a sad example in this link https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49646879
As a Persian I should say that I'm impressed! At least they put a little effort in their censorship! Most of our censored photos are extremely bad & lazy!!!
Really how old world they are. Just sad
Holy shit I am never going to Iran.
Thanks Islam !
If you're gonna take things out of album covers, at least learn how to fu**ing use photoshop.
The thing that gets me is that the MUSIC in most cases is unbelievably sexy and - often - explicit! I'm guessing the censors are assuming the people listening to it don't understand any English, but that isn't a safe assumption in the world we live in. And besides, even if you don't understand the lyrics, it's clear from the music what it's about. I get why some of these are censored - they are pretty racy. But obliterating the female form altogether is the epitome of misogyny=hate of women. I find this troubling on SO MANY levels.
Iran, making more people disappear than Thanos since 1979.
How can they be allowed to hate 50 % of the world population? Seriously?
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This is not only sad, it also makes me wonder... Aren't they tired and bored as hell watching this womenless world?
Most of Iranians have Internet, they watch Western tv and they even have access to things like music and even porn. It's just a weak try of government to stop the flow of freedom.
Weirdly inconsistent: If you stick to the Books, you will not make any images of creation --- so no cats, dogs, men, nor trees (but yes guitars?); no excuse for just cutting out women.
Showing the shape of a woman's body is considered pornography. Faces and hands are fine, but no more than a whisp of fringe and definitely no cleavage or arched back.
@RJ on the I rise cover? It isn't recognisable as a chest.
Gonna be awsome if all women in Iran simply disappear and only men inhabit it. They should be happy since that's what they want.
This is just the lunatic government. The people are actually very pro-west and they laugh at these stupid censorships as well.
im an iranian.its fuuny also for me because any websit in iran dont do this stuff .it can be just a Exceptions.
wow, are they homosexual and scared of females? Are their females so ugly that they can't stand to see a beautiful woman because they will enter in a masturbatory rage and eventually kill themselves from exhaustion ?
This is funny, but the misogyny behind it is seriously disturbing
Hopefully some day soon this sort of censorship will end.
Sexism 100
All women should be removed from Iran, at least they will learn something.
Hilarious!
We Muslims are fcuked big time, thanks to countries like iran and saudi arabia.
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That's just fucking pitiful
This isn't islamic related is just plain stupid. It's not what actual Muslims would do. We would simply not buy it nor sell it if we don't agree with it. We wouldn't stop something someone else likes. That's just plain stupid Haram police. It's political religion, when someone uses religion to benefit their own ways and bend the meanings to suit them. We've seen Christianity being used that way too, you have the movie book of Eli that proves that same point, the Spanish inquisition, the colonial killings because they didn't want to convert to Christianity, etc. Hatred is not taught in Islam. We are not taught to hate people because they're different, or to destroy or impose our beliefs. That's politics. Not religion. That's culture. That's manipulation of the truth, to move masses to let them be passive, that's a cult.
Why tho?
Some of these Photoshop jobs are crap.
I don't get the point of all this...?
Government should be made up of a diverse population representing all the people. But this type of censorship is deranged. It should be like a smorgasbord, the variety is there and the people can choose what best suits them. One day you will be free to choose whatever you desire! The world is rooting for your people! Stay strong!
They use an islamic veil for music. Radical muslims way of life...
they simply apply an islamic veil on the music. Muslims way of life...
Aren’t the Iranian people who redo the cover art all men? They saw these women. *gasp!* Or do they out source this work?
I'm actually impressed with some of the photoshop work...
These images make me sad 😔
A Few of them can go into the Trendy category as “They Are So Ridiculous for the Original Purpose That They Are Good for New Purpose”！
How silly!!!!!
Sin comentarios...
Why even bother having it at all? are the words censored as well?
I am surprised some of this albums are even on the catalog. Many of those you can't listen to when your mom's around.
All of them are illegal in Iran anyway
this is fully insane
A lot of that music is trash anyway so not so bad! ;-)
CONCLUSION : The money didn't smell... Why is it still being published in this country ? Why do producers, publishers, agree to be on this market ? It only counts the receipts of all.
This is male-controlled religious governance at its purest. If the far-right conservatives in the USA had their way, the USA would turn into this.
Bullshit.
Why are they so scared of women?
They're scared they're going to cheat. If they're kept covered and in the home they can't run off with someone else.
I'm glad I don't live in Iran. I couldn't bear the level of stupidity displayed by this censorship. It doesn't really matter whether the regular people are against these stupid rules or not if they do nothing to overthrow the government.
Oh , and what people can do against one of the most dangerous scary regimes in the world ...?! Do you have any idea what is going on in Iran's prisons, and how many people- activists, teachers, artists... send to jail every week...?? doing "Nothing"...?! people are you are so stupid that don't deserve being in this world. idiot.
Yer I think you have this one a bit wrong. I mean I don't think Iranians are white! So this is just racist, haven't you heard that people of colour don't do wrong things and in the highly unlikely situation they do, it's either down to racisum or it's a white persons fault!!! You keep up with the Transphobia Mr Panda and you won't be bored anymore, coz i'll be suing you for man spreading!!!!
What the actual fuck did I just read
What an idiots!
I know many Iranians, and I assure you the average Iranian's view is not "down with the sin-causing females" but rather "Oh God, not the idiot religious loonies *again*". Although to be fair some of the censored photos actually look artistically better in a minimalist way..,
Every country and society have some form of censorship, depending on that country's and society's values and principles. Even western countries have censorship to degrees which reflect their values. So criticizing a country like Iran because of its censorship laws is silly really. How do Westerners feel when more conservative societies criticize and condemn what are perceived as Western societies' lack of moral values ? You won't like it would you ?
Do western societies photoshop women out like they don’t exist?
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Fortunately, they don't censor the lyrics, as their photoshop way of just 'fuck it i'm erasing everything', lyrics would be 3 words
And these 3 words would be "yeah, lalala and wooooohoooo".
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Even if I tolerate religious statements on naked women ,this is quite disturbing. Even Faces and shilouettes
Poor weak men afraid to loose control by looking at femalshaped drawings. They seem really afraid of female power
this is about religion, not gender................try harder
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NICE ALT ACCOUNT BURK YOU FAGGOT
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New level of discrimination
hardly new
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JESUS WAS A FAGGOT
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GHOSTS
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but BP - all cultures are beautiful. how can you say it's wrong.
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This information is not true. This site is not a legal website in iran and if the police find the owners they will arrest them and also this website is filtered and you should use vpn if you want to visit it. Buying and selling This kind of music is illegal in iran to be bought or to sell legally. What this website did is like you go and rub a stores cash and on your way out you pay for the chocolate bar you took from the store. Selling and buying these musics are illegal no matter they have woman on the cover or not. This site is torent site it says "free download " in persian
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Some of these, I can understand a bit of censorship considering it's most likely a public website. But the rest... whAT?!
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gynophobia level: turns-homo...256709.jpg
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I surely don't support the reason, but some covers do look better without the musician (not referring to women but also men). This shows, how many album covers are not made as a theme for a musical creation, but for marketing of the creator for himself. Still: buuh Iran. You can't just crop out women. They do exist, and they even exist when half naked.
but.........
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I think someone missed the point
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NICE JOB UPVOTING YOURSELF FAGGOT
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Other country, other culture. Thats quite idiotic to think occidental values are universal.. and irreproachable.
You could say the same for Germany in the early 1940s. ♥
One of the arguments I torment myself with on occasion is "should Tahitian women be campaigning for American women's right to show their breasts in public?" Other cultures ways may seem strange an illiberal to us, but they often have an internal logic. I know Iranian women who get angry on western women's behalf that they are expected to dress and perform a particular way because commercial interests told them to. They see the modesty laws as protecting Iranian women from this. I have no answers, just observations of complexity.
You could and many people did. But then Germany went and did this pesky invasion thing and that makes it a little harder to ignore...
@Iag You seem to have missed the point of my analogy. The prohibition in the west against women showing their breasts in public (on pain of legal penalty) is not global. Here it is a widely accepted cultural taboo and a manifest difference between men and women. If a Tahitian artist (for example) were selling her albums in the west, we would expect her to use a photograph without her breasts showing. Is it really such a leap to say that female hair is also taboo? Iranian women have complained to me about an awful lot, but never once about the dress codes. Some have even said they miss the simplicity of a chador when they come to the west and have developed a paranoia about their appearance: "am I fashionable? am I beautiful?" things I think a lot of western women consider natural parts of the female experience. I acknowledge I have no deep access to the experiences of women in either sphere, but I can report those nuances that I have encountered.
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David employs moral relativism and multiculturalism (liberal ideas?) to defend Iranian haram rules (not as liberal ideas). It is almost touching to see how the left and the right find common ground in shared misogyny.
As Iranian girl who lives there, I'd like to mention that according to strange law here listening to female singers is banned and this site is doing illegal and this sort of censorship is a weak try for ditching authorities. by the way 90 percent of people here don't like this kind of rules and don't listen to the government. this actually happened after 1979 Revolution in Iran before that time we had a free country like yours.
It makes more sense now that you've explained the reason why. Religion should never have power in government. I hope you return to having freedoms, stay strong, sister! ✊
Strange enough, listening to none Muslim female singers is not HARAM (banned). Everything is pointed to Muslim males pleasure.
Things may have changed in the last few years, but last time I was in Iran western music of all kinds was banned.
The US are complicit in the conversion of Iran to Theocracy in their support of then-Shah. The US are complicit for the genesis of most of the countries it calls enemies, whether in the Middle East or Central America. The US are like Mickey Mouse in the Sorceror's Apprentice: well-meaning--if self-serving can ever be termed well-meaning--, but woefully ignorant.
I wouldn't romanticize the Shah's era too much. The religious government has made Iran a very hard place to live in, but namy older Iranians will tell you it was worse under the Shah, but for different reasons. Iran is a beautiful country and she deserves better than this,, but nostalgia for a time of freedom that didn't exist won't server her well.
Religious extremists have too much power in the US too. Here, they elected a foreign operative as President.
TRUE
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False! Hillary lost the election.
Huh, thanks. Context is everything. I mean, censorship in general is ridiculous, but it makes sense that people do what they can to circumvent over-bearing laws and regulations.