Turkish music collective calls on gov't to remove ban on music past midnight

Duvar English

The Music Interpreters Professional Union (MÜYORBİR), a copyright collective for musicians in Turkey, has called on the government to lift the ban on music past midnight.

As part of coronavirus restrictions, in July 2021, Turkey imposed a ban on music, live or broadcast, after midnight. The announcement was made by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the time who had said: “Take no offense but no one has the right to disturb others at night.”

In a statement on March 17, MÜYORBİR said that musicians and workers of the entertainment industry are in a very difficult situation economically. The union said that although the government lifted all of the bans imposed as part of the pandemic measures, the ban on music past midnight is still in effect. It emphasized that this ban will also deal a blow to the tourism sector in the upcoming months.

“Hundreds of thousands of people working in sound-light systems, performance halls, live music venues, catering companies, security companies, as well as hundreds of thousands of musicians in the music industry, which has come to a standstill or even collapse for about two years, are struggling with the problem of bringing bread to their homes,” the statement said.

The statement called on Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, and Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy to come to an agreement and lift the ban.

The statement was signed by renowned musicians who make up the MÜYORBİR Board of Directors -- Burhan Şeşen, Belkıs Akkale, Edip Akbayram, Fettah Can, Hüseyin Turan, Mehmet Gümüş, Mustafa Özarslan and Onur Akın.