An album is not just about the music. Yes, the sounds are without a doubt the most important part of it, but we can’t forget the role that cover art plays in making it a whole. Whether it’s 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 play a big part in how we look at a release.
But one Iranian streaming site, Melovaz, isn’t happy with how some of them look. In fact, they’re censoring these album covers because they’re worried their listeners might be hurt by them. What devil seeds are in these pictures, you ask? women.
Izzi, the Twitter user who spread the word, told Bored Panda that she was casually scrolling through Reddit when a user there posted a photo of Taylor Swift’s new album cover without Swift herself on it, just the album title.
“In the comments section, someone put a link to that Iranian music streaming site, so I went there and found a huge collection of photoshopped music covers that all feature women.”
At first, he was shocked and couldn’t believe it. However, the situation was so ridiculous that Izzi couldn’t help but laugh at some of the terrible jobs they did to remove the female artists from their covers. “That’s when I felt like I should share this on my Twitter.”
The editing of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s song “Shallow” from the movie A Star Is Born was the thing that made me the maddest. They completely censored and took out Lady Gaga, but not Brad, and they did a terrible job of it. That was so not necessary. “
I’d like to add that I know for sure that some Middle Eastern countries censor 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 removing every trace of it, “Izzi said. “I hope this shows the world that some women still face this kind of discrimination even in the 21st century.”
#1 Lady Gaga – Joanne
#2 Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
#3 Lana Del Rey – Nfr!
#4 Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water Cover
#5 Beyoncé – Spirit
#6 Little Mix Ft. Nicki Minaj – Woman Like Me
#7 Céline Dion – Ashes Steve Aoki Deadpool Demix
#8 Mxmtoon – The Masquerade
#9 Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep
#10 Billie Eilish – When I Was Older
#11 Lizzo, Dababy – Truth Hurts
#12 Katy Perry – Small Talk
#13 Pnb Rock, Nicki Minaj, Murda Beatz – Fendi
#14 Dua Lipa – Dua Lipa
#15 Melanie Martinez – K-12
#16 Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next
#17 Ariana Grande – Imagine
#18 Marina – Love Fear
#19 Kygo And Whitney Houston – Higher Love
#20 Afro B – Afrowave 3
#21 Camila Cabello – Liar
#22 Meghan Trainor – Badass Woman
#23 Lana Del Rey – Doin’ Time Album
#24 Ariana Grande – Boyfriend
#25 Celine Dion – Courage
#26 Beyonce – Homecoming
#27 Miley Cyrus – She Is Coming
#28 Bebe Rexha – Last Hurrah
#29 Taylor Swift – Lover
#30 Saweetie – Icy
