Javad Safaee
Independent Researcher
2026
Abstract
The term underground music in Iran is commonly used to describe music produced outside the country’s formal system of cultural licensing. It should not, however, be treated as a single musical genre. Rap, hip-hop, rock, metal, alternative, electronic music, and other forms may all become part of the underground scene when artists operate outside formal structures of authorization and performance.
This research examines the Iranian underground music scene as a cultural, social, and economic ecosystem rather than as a single musical category. It focuses on the people who participate in this ecosystem, the organization of music production, the economic models available to independent artists, recurring themes in musical content, the role of social media and digital platforms, the relationship between underground and official music, and the ways migration and internet distribution have transformed the meaning of being “underground.”
The study combines existing academic research on Iranian music with field experience from an artist active within the underground music environment. Its purpose is descriptive and analytical rather than ideological: it does not seek to defend or condemn either formal or underground music structures, but to examine how this cultural environment functions in practice.
The findings suggest that underground music in Iran is best understood as a position within a cultural and regulatory environment rather than as a fixed genre. Artists may be independent from formal institutions while remaining highly dependent on informal networks, digital platforms, audiences, algorithms, and unstable sources of income. The underground scene therefore represents a complex interaction between artistic autonomy, regulation, social identity, digital economics, and the struggle for attention.
Keywords: Iranian underground music; Persian rap; independent music; music censorship; digital music; music economy; protest music; Iran
1. Introduction: What Does “Underground Music” Mean in Iran?
In the Iranian context, the term underground generally refers less to a specific musical genre than to an artist’s position in relation to the formal system of cultural licensing.
An underground artist may work in rap, rock, metal, electronic music, alternative music, or even within certain areas of popular music. What connects these artists is not necessarily their sound, but their relationship with formal mechanisms of authorization, production, distribution, and performance.
From a field perspective, one of the most significant dimensions of this position is the relationship between music and freedom of expression. Working outside the formal system does not necessarily mean that an artist is simply attempting to sound different. In many cases, the central issue concerns the ability to use particular forms of language, themes, imagery, clothing, or artistic expression that may be restricted within formal cultural structures.
Academic research has similarly suggested that Iranian underground music should be examined in relation to the country’s broader cultural and regulatory structures. Research on Iranian underground rap, for example, has highlighted the importance of do-it-yourself culture, self-organization, and informal communities in the development of the hip-hop scene. It has also documented movement between underground independence and attempts to enter the formal mainstream.
For this reason, underground music should not automatically be equated with rap or political protest. It is more accurately understood as a cultural position produced through the interaction between artistic choices and the formal cultural environment.
2. The Scale of the Scene: How Many Underground Artists Are There?
One of the most difficult questions in studying Iranian underground music is the size of the active scene.
There is no comprehensive official census covering all artists who operate outside Iran’s formal music system. Consequently, any numerical estimate should be treated cautiously and should always be accompanied by an explanation of how the estimate was produced.
The field-based estimate presented in this study places the number of active underground artists in the range of several hundred, while the number of artists who can reasonably be described as professionally and continuously active appears to be substantially smaller. The field participant associated with this research estimates approximately 20 to 30 professional artists, referring to artists who demonstrate continuity of activity, organized production, an established audience, professional relationships, and significant familiarity with music-production processes.
This figure should not be interpreted as an official statistic or generalized to the entire country. Its importance lies primarily in distinguishing between individuals who have released a small number of underground tracks and artists who have built a sustained independent musical career.
Previous ethnographic research has likewise argued against treating the Iranian rap community as a homogeneous population. Some artists are primarily concerned with social, political, and cultural subjects, while others place greater emphasis on fame, entertainment, lifestyle, and financial success. Such distinctions demonstrate that the underground scene contains different motivations, identities, and artistic trajectories.
3. Professionalism Cannot Be Measured by Numbers Alone
In the digital music economy, the most visible indicators of success are often numerical: followers, views, monthly listeners, streams, subscriptions, and engagement.
However, numerical visibility should not automatically be interpreted as artistic influence, cultural importance, or professional credibility.
Artists may accumulate large audiences on Instagram, YouTube, SoundCloud, or other digital platforms without those figures necessarily corresponding to the quality of their music, the depth of their cultural influence, or the strength of their professional identity. At the same time, some artists with relatively small numerical audiences may have strong production quality, artistic consistency, and significant influence on other musicians.
This study therefore suggests that professionalism in the underground scene should be understood as a multidimensional concept.
Possible indicators include:
- continuity of artistic activity;
- quality of production;
- musical skill;
- cultural influence;
- artistic originality;
- professional collaboration networks;
- long-term career development;
- and the ability to build a genuine audience.
Digital metrics remain useful as data points, but they should not be transformed automatically into measures of artistic value.
This distinction is particularly important because underground music has historically depended on forms of production and distribution that differ from conventional music-industry structures. Self-organization, informal networks, and community building are therefore important elements in understanding professional development outside the mainstream.
4. How Is an Underground Music Track Produced?
Being underground does not necessarily mean being technically or professionally unorganized.
In many cases, the production process can resemble that of formal music production. A project may begin with a beat maker or producer, followed by songwriting, recording, arrangement, mixing, and mastering. Distribution may then take place directly through digital platforms, sometimes accompanied by a music video produced before or after the audio release.
An artist operating outside formal cultural structures may still work with a network of collaborators, including producers, videographers, graphic designers, cover artists, editors, photographers, promotional teams, writers, and distribution specialists.
This demonstrates an important distinction between independence and isolation.
An underground musician may be independent from formal institutions while remaining deeply embedded in professional and social networks. Friendships, collaborations, producer relationships, and connections to established artists may affect access to resources and opportunities for visibility.
The underground scene can therefore be understood as a relatively small, networked ecosystem in which social capital and professional relationships play an important role.
5. The Economics of Underground Music
The economic dimension of underground music is one of the least visible aspects of the scene.
Within formal music systems, live performance can represent an important source of income. Artists who cannot legally access formal performance channels, however, may lose or significantly reduce access to this revenue stream.
The field experience described in this study suggests that underground artists may rely on several alternative revenue sources, including:
- streaming-platform revenue;
- paid collaborations and features;
- advertising;
- commercial partnerships;
- music-production projects;
- and other audience-related activities.
These sources are often unstable. Audiences may be located inside Iran while depending on international digital services whose accessibility is affected by filtering, VPN usage, algorithmic changes, advertising markets, and platform policies. As a result, an artist’s income may vary considerably from one month to another.
A field estimate included in the study suggests that approximately 35–40 percent of artists considered within the observed environment may have meaningful income from music-related activity, while others may earn less. This figure is explicitly presented as a field estimate rather than an independently verified economic statistic and should not be interpreted as representative of Iran’s entire underground music population.
The economic difference between underground and formal musicians is therefore not simply a matter of popularity. It is also a question of access to revenue channels.
6. Musical Content: Iranian Society in the Mirror of Underground Music
Iranian underground music does not have a single thematic language.
Within the field experience considered in this study, recurring themes include love, romantic relationships, betrayal, loneliness, poverty, substance use, family, money, unhealthy relationships, and the everyday experiences of young people. Persian rap and related forms, however, cannot be reduced to these categories. Across different periods, Iranian rap has addressed political issues, social conditions, identity, culture, everyday life, relationships, fame, wealth, and other subjects.
Academic research also points to differences between artists who primarily engage with social, political, and cultural issues and those who emphasize fame, entertainment, or lifestyle.
This raises an important methodological question: rather than asking whether underground music is inherently “social” or “non-social,” researchers may need to investigate what proportion of musical production addresses particular social or cultural subjects at specific moments in time.
That approach would allow qualitative observations to be complemented by measurable evidence. A future study could, for example, examine a defined corpus of underground songs and systematically measure the frequency of recurring themes rather than relying primarily on impressionistic descriptions.
7. Conflict, Controversy, and the Attention Economy
Digital music exists within an economy of attention.
In the Iranian underground scene, disputes between artists, diss tracks, personal conflicts, political controversies, social issues, and events outside music itself can generate significant attention. This phenomenon is not unique to underground music, but its importance may be heightened in an environment where visibility on digital platforms strongly influences an artist’s social and economic position.
Field observations associated with this research suggest that some artists may deliberately enter controversies or conflicts that have limited artistic significance but generate substantial public attention. This observation should not be generalized to the entire community. Many artists instead focus primarily on music production, artistic identity, and long-term creative development.
The broader analytical question is whether social media has transformed music into a competition for attention, or whether artists are simply adapting to the incentives of the digital environment.
The evidence considered here suggests that both explanations may be relevant.
8. Why Does Part of Iranian Music Remain Outside the Formal System?
Understanding why some music remains outside formal structures requires avoiding overly simple explanations.
Iran’s formal music environment includes mechanisms of licensing, supervision, and authorization for different forms of production and performance. Public musical performances, for example, operate within a regulatory framework involving the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Academic research has also shown that the relationship between the state and music in post-revolutionary Iran has changed over time. Policies toward music have not remained constant, and the boundaries of permissible cultural expression have shifted across different historical periods.
For that reason, underground music should not be described simply through the binary formula of “legal pop versus illegal underground music.”
The relationship is more complicated.
Different genres and artists may encounter different levels of regulatory pressure depending on musical style, lyrics, subject matter, visual identity, public history, and institutional perceptions. The transition from underground activity to formal recognition may require changes not only in musical style, but also in content, public presentation, artistic expression, and the artist’s relationship with official structures.
Research on Iranian hip-hop has similarly documented movement from underground culture toward mainstream legitimacy, sometimes accompanied by the reduction or transformation of some of the scene’s earlier radical characteristics. Research on Iranian metal has also explored how certain forms have encountered religious labeling and accusations related to blasphemy or apostasy, influencing musicians’ lived experiences and underground identities.
The relevant distinction is therefore not simply whether a genre is “allowed” or “forbidden,” but how different artists and musical forms interact with the country’s licensing system and content-related restrictions.
9. The Internet: Where Is the New Underground?
Before the rise of the internet, underground music depended more heavily on hidden studios, informal circulation systems, physical networks, and limited performances.
Digitalization changed this geography.
Today, an artist can produce music in Iran, release it online, produce a video, reach audiences outside the country, and potentially receive income from international platforms without depending on every stage of the process on the domestic formal music industry. Previous research has also emphasized the role of the internet in distributing underground music and video content and in creating new networks of audiences.
The internet has therefore provided at least four major advantages to underground musicians:
- It has made distribution easier.
- It has increased access to audiences.
- It has created new opportunities for income.
- It has reduced dependence on some traditional official channels.
Yet digital independence is not absolute.
Artists remain dependent on platform algorithms, access restrictions, changing revenue structures, digital competition, social-media visibility, and the need to maintain a continuous online presence. The internet has reduced some historical barriers while simultaneously creating new forms of dependency.
The underground has therefore not disappeared. Its physical geography has changed.
10. Migration: Leaving the Underground or Changing the Playing Field?
For some underground musicians, migration represents a major turning point in their professional development.
Relocation outside Iran can alter restrictions surrounding live performance, music-video production, political and social themes, visual presentation, and artistic choices. However, migration does not guarantee success.
Artists who leave Iran may encounter new costs, unfamiliar markets, cultural differences, loss of part of their domestic audience, stronger international competition, and the need to rebuild professional networks.
From the field perspective considered in this study, some artists have been able to produce work after migration that they would not have been able to create under their previous circumstances.
Migration can therefore be understood not simply as geographic movement, but as a transition from one cultural structure to another.
The “underground” does not necessarily disappear when an artist leaves Iran. Instead, the conditions defining independence, visibility, regulation, and opportunity may change.
11. An Artist’s Perspective from Within the Ecosystem
Personal experience provides a particularly important dimension of this study.
Javad Safaee describes entering the underground music environment through an interest in the scene and a desire to express personal perspectives through music. His involvement became more significant after the release of the track Vatan, an artistic work that was interpreted within a political context.
This experience challenged some of his earlier assumptions about the lives of highly visible Iranian rappers.
Public visibility can create the appearance of freedom, success, and independence. Yet the lived reality of an artist may involve a combination of legal uncertainty, social pressure, economic instability, the permanent need for visibility, and the possibility of professional or personal consequences.
One of the most significant observations arising from this experience concerns the distance between numbers and influence.
Some artists appear extremely successful when measured through social-media metrics, while those numbers may provide only a limited picture of actual cultural influence. Conversely, artists with smaller audiences may produce stronger work, maintain clearer artistic identities, or exert greater influence on other musicians.
This observation leads to a broader research question:
Are existing digital metrics adequate for measuring the success of underground musicians?
And a more ambitious question follows:
Can a new index be developed to measure cultural influence rather than numerical popularity?
This question may provide the basis for future empirical research.
12. Discussion
The findings of this study suggest that Iranian underground music should not be approached as a unified genre, a fixed social group, or simply an alternative version of mainstream music.
It is better understood as an ecosystem shaped by several interacting forces:
Artistic autonomy.
Artists seek control over language, subject matter, identity, and creative decisions outside formal cultural institutions.
Regulatory structures.
Licensing and institutional oversight influence which forms of music, performance, and public presentation can enter the formal system.
Informal networks.
Professional relationships, collaborations, friendship networks, producers, visual artists, and other participants provide the infrastructure necessary for independent production.
Digital platforms.
The internet has enabled distribution, audience development, international reach, and new sources of revenue while also introducing algorithms, unstable monetization, and competition for attention.
Cultural identity.
Underground music provides a space in which questions of youth identity, relationships, loneliness, social conditions, politics, and everyday life can be expressed in forms that may not always fit formal cultural structures.
Economic uncertainty.
The absence or limitation of conventional revenue sources forces many independent musicians to rely on a fragmented combination of streams, collaborations, advertising, commercial work, and audience-based activities.
Migration.
Moving across borders can transform the conditions under which artists produce and distribute their work, but it does not eliminate competition or uncertainty.
Taken together, these elements suggest that the underground music scene should be examined not simply as a cultural margin, but as a space in which broader social relationships can be observed.
It is a site where artistic expression, regulation, digital economics, identity, technology, and social networks intersect.
13. Limitations of the Study
This research should be interpreted within several important limitations.
First, there is no comprehensive official dataset covering all underground musicians in Iran. Numerical estimates presented in the study therefore represent field-based observations rather than nationally representative statistics.
Second, some of the economic and population figures discussed in the paper are explicitly presented as estimates and should not be interpreted as independently verified statistical measurements.
Third, the study combines existing academic literature with the experience and observations of an artist active in the scene. This makes the research valuable as a field-informed analytical account, but it does not transform the personal observations into statistically generalizable findings.
Fourth, several questions raised by the study require additional empirical research. In particular, measuring the themes present in underground music, establishing reliable population estimates, and developing a cultural-influence index would require systematic datasets and defined sampling methods.
These limitations are not weaknesses to be concealed; they define the boundaries of what the current research can reasonably claim.
14. Directions for Future Research
The present study opens several opportunities for further research.
A future study could construct a dataset of underground songs and systematically classify lyrical themes across different periods. Such a project could examine the changing prevalence of subjects such as politics, relationships, identity, money, social conditions, and everyday life.
A second line of research could investigate the professionalization of underground musicians by defining measurable criteria for continuity, production quality, collaboration, audience development, and long-term artistic identity.
A third possibility concerns digital influence.
The discrepancy between audience size and perceived cultural impact suggests the need for a research framework that distinguishes visibility, popularity, engagement, and cultural influence rather than treating them as interchangeable concepts.
Such a framework could ultimately produce an alternative model for evaluating the significance of independent musicians in digital environments.
15. Conclusion
Iranian underground music is not a single genre and should not be understood simply as music that exists outside an official system.
It is a diverse ecosystem containing artists with different genres, motivations, artistic identities, professional ambitions, and relationships with society and institutions.
What connects many of these artists is not necessarily musical style, but their distance from formal systems of production, licensing, and performance. That distance is not permanent: some musicians remain outside the mainstream, while others attempt to enter formal structures or move into new cultural environments through migration.
Digitalization has also fundamentally transformed the meaning of the underground.
The underground is no longer necessarily a physical place. An artist may create music in a bedroom, studio, or home while simultaneously reaching audiences in multiple countries. Yet digital independence creates new forms of dependence on algorithms, platforms, audience attention, and unstable digital economics.
For this reason, the most important question may not be:
Who is the most famous underground artist?
A more meaningful question is:
What does underground music reveal about the society in which it is created?
Answering that question requires looking beyond views and followers.
It requires examining artists, lyrics, production methods, social networks, revenue models, migration, legal restrictions, relationships between musicians, and the lived experiences of those who participate in the scene.
Iranian underground music may therefore be understood not merely as a musical margin, but as a cultural laboratory in which art, freedom of expression, digital economics, youth identity, regulation, and society can be observed simultaneously.
Author Note
Javad Safaee is an independent artist and researcher whose work examines music, digital culture, artistic identity, and the relationship between independent cultural production and society.
This paper represents an independent research effort and combines existing academic literature with field-based experience from within the Iranian underground music environment.
Research Status
Type: Independent Research Paper
Field: Music Studies / Cultural Studies / Sociology of Music / Digital Culture
Primary Region of Study: Iran
Research Perspective: Qualitative, field-informed analysis
Author: Javad Safaee
Year: 2026
Suggested Citation
Safaee, J. (2026). The Underground Music Scene in Iran: Structure, Economy, Content, and the Boundaries of Music Outside the Formal System. Independent Research Paper.
Research Note
This paper is intended as an independent research publication. Numerical estimates and field observations should be interpreted within the methodological limitations described above and should not be treated as nationally representative statistical findings.