The Fate of Yas, Yani, and Shajarian; 'There Are No Banned Artists in the Ministry of Culture'

The Director General of the Music Office of the Ministry of Culture stated that, from the ministry's perspective, there are no banned artists, and that inquiries are made for issuing permits from relevant authorities. Pirouz Arjmand, the director of the Music Office, on Saturday, May 5, in an interview with Mehr News Agency regarding the ban on the activities of some musicians, announced: 'From the perspective of the Music Office, no artist is banned from working. All artists are active, and any artist can submit their work to the Music Office for review.' Mr. Arjmand spoke about the existence of certain restrictions for some artists, saying: 'The limitations on the activities of artists with judicial, security, and disciplinary files are issues that exist everywhere in the world. If you want to have a continuous job in any profession, the relevant authority will ask for your criminal record and similar documents.' The director of the Music Office emphasized that the term 'banned artist' does not exist in the Ministry of Culture, stating, 'We need to obtain information from judicial and disciplinary authorities regarding individuals.' Previously, Hossein Nooshabadi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture, in an interview with the newspaper 'Mardom Emruz', identified political and security issues as the main reasons for the bans on some artists, such as Mohammad Reza Shajarian in Iran, stating: 'We are not an institution that examines such conditions, and we inquire from other institutions for issuing permits.' According to the spokesman, 'If Mr. Shajarian himself works to resolve the existing issues, this ministry welcomes his presence.' In this context, the director of the Music Office also announced that some artists cannot obtain permits until the obstacles identified by the relevant authorities are removed, saying: 'The final permits for some artists will not be issued until the bans are lifted; I emphasize this point because many media outlets have interpreted that the Ministry of Culture has not allowed a certain artist to work.' Mr. Arjmand continued, referring to Mohammad Reza Shajarian's activities, stating: 'Is Master Shajarian not producing albums now? Has he not held concerts in recent years? We have repeatedly stated that if he wants to hold a concert in Iran or produce an album, we will carry out all the necessary procedures related to the Music Office, and certainly, if the obstacles I mentioned are removed, we will issue the permit.' Although officials from the Ministry of Culture have repeatedly discussed the necessity of inquiries from certain relevant authorities for issuing permits for some artists, no names of these authorities have been mentioned so far, and no one has spoken about the criteria of these authorities. Regarding the issuance of permits for some unlicensed singers like 'Yas' and the fate of holding a concert by Yani in Iran, Mr. Arjmand stated about the issue that some singers like 'Yas' must wait until 2017 to obtain an official permit, saying: 'This is absolutely not the case; from our perspective, any artist can submit their work to the Music Office today, and we will take it to the council for review tomorrow, and there are no restrictions in this regard.' According to the director of the Music Office, 'If Yas brings his work to the Music Office of the Ministry of Culture, his work will also be reviewed by the council.' The final part of Pirouz Arjmand's statements was dedicated to Yani's concert in Iran. He announced: 'The technical and managerial representative of this artist traveled to Iran recently and visited all the venues that could host Yani's concert; the final result of the negotiations will be announced soon, whether the parties reach an agreement or not.' Last year, Kitaro, the famous Japanese composer and musician, traveled to Iran for a few days and performed. After that, the possibility of a concert by Yani became more serious, as it was announced that his manager had traveled to Iran.