Banning songs from the airwaves is one thing, but some nations have outlawed music entirely.

Music’s power to provoke and unite has long been a double-edged sword. Whether for religious, political, or moral reasons, songs that challenge the status quo are often silenced. The BBC refused to play the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” the United States banned tracks by The Beatles, China outlawed K-Pop fearing its global influence, Nazi Germany forbade jazz music, and Brazil’s military government censored 500 songs between 1964 and 1985.

Some bans, however, have been more sweeping. When the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, they reinstated their previous ban on music. Yet despite these restrictions, music’s ability to defy suppression continues to echo around the world.