Celebrities and politicians have been banned from Russia due to the ongoing war with Ukraine and the involvement of the U.S. during the international conflict.
While Taylor Swift and other musicians aren't on the list of banned people, their music won't be playable in the Russian Republic of Chechnya thanks to a new ruling.
What Happened: Swift has broken box office records and concert tour records thanks to her popularity and huge fan base.
One country that might see a smaller fan base for Swift is Chechnya as the majority of Swift's songs won't be playable thanks to a new law. The new law has nothing to do with the lyrics or subject matter of Swift's songs, but instead factors in whether the tempo of songs are too fast or too slow.
"From now on all musical, vocal and choreographic works should correspond to a tempo of 80 to 116 beats per minute," the culture ministry of Chechnya said, as reported by the Moscow Times.
Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov said the idea is to "conform to the Chechen mentality" with music in the country. Kadyrov is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Puttin and previously got into a war of words with Elon Musk over a fight challenge between the Russian ruler and billionaire.
According to the report, local artists have until June 1 to change their songs to comply with the new rules. Other global artists aren't likely to change their hits to conform to one country's rules.
Related Link: Taylor Swift Concert Film Hits Streaming: Here’s How To Watch ‘The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)’
Why It's Important: A report from Politico highlights that the new rule will ban the majority of Swift songs with hits like "Shake it Off, "Love Story," "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Bad Blood" too fast at 160, 119, 128 and 170 beats per minute (BPM), respectively. Swift's hit "Lover" ranks on the other side of the spectrum at 69 BPM.
Beyoncé also will see songs like "Single Ladies" and "Run the World" banned with the songs coming in at 193 and 127 BPM, respectively. Some of Beyonce's hits like "Halo," "Crazy in Love" and new hit "Texas Hold ‘Em" all qualify to be played under the new rules.
Other artists who would be most impacted by the ban according to Politico include Drake and Ariana Grande.
Another song that won't be playable under the ban, but perhaps an exception will be made is the Russian national anthem, which is played at 76 BPM.
One song that makes the cut is "Baby Shark," the hit children's song from The Pinkfrog Company. The song, that might be stuck in your head now thanks to this article, is the most watched video on YouTube ever with over 14 billion views and was the first video to pass the 10 billion views milestone on the platform in 2022.
Photos: Shutterstock
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