Authorities in the Russian republic of Chechnya have decided to reportedly banned music that they consider to be “too fast or too slow.” According to CNN, Minister of Culture Musa Dadayev said: “(I) have announced the final decision, agreed with the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov, that from now on all musical, vocal and choreographic works must correspond to a tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute.”
Dadayev added that the decision will ensure that Chechen musical and dance creations align with the “Chechen mentality and musical rhythm,” which aims to bring “the people and to the future of our children the cultural heritage of the Chechen people.”
The tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute is relatively slow, unlike the majority of today’s modern day pop music. This decision will ban many western genres of music from being played in public. Rave and techno music, which tend to have higher BPM, will also be removed from being played publicly under the new rule.
According to Sky News, the music ban was announced after a meeting between the republic’s ministry and local and regional artists. It was confirmed that artists have been given until June 1 to rewrite their music that does not comply with the criteria.