This article examines musical change in Iranian classical music during the fourteenth century of the Solar Hijri calendar in relation to the transformation of media and communication technologies. Although numerous studies have explored the history, structure, acoustic characteristics, performance practices, and stylistic features of Iranian classical music, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role of media, technological change, and broader social transformations in reshaping the field of Iranian classical music. Existing scholarship has primarily focused either on the historical development of musical styles or on technical and aesthetic aspects of the musical tradition, while the changing relationship between media and the organization of the musical field has remained largely unexplored. This study seeks to address this gap by examining how successive transformations in media have influenced the relationships among musicians, audiences, cultural institutions, educational systems, and mechanisms of artistic legitimacy.

The research adopts a descriptive-analytical method with a sociological approach. Its theoretical framework draws upon the concepts of Mediatization and Mediamorphosis, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of the cultural field, and John Blacking’s concept of musical change. Rather than treating media merely as channels for the transmission of music, the study considers them as active social forces capable of influencing the structure of cultural production and the distribution of symbolic and cultural capital. Within this framework, changes in media technologies are examined not only as technological developments but also as factors capable of altering the internal logic of the musical field.

To provide a historical interpretation of these developments, the article divides the evolution of Iranian classical music into four major periods. The first period is identified as the Constitutional Art discourse, represented primarily by the Vaziri School and the Golhā radio programme, which established a modern institutional framework for Iranian classical music and contributed significantly to the formation of its cultural legitimacy. The second period is described as the authenticity-oriented discourse, centred on the Center for the Preservation and Dissemination of Iranian Music, where musical legitimacy became closely associated with the preservation of tradition, the master–apprentice relationship, and the authenticity of the radif tradition. Together, these two discourses shaped and reproduced the dominant logic of the field of Iranian classical music throughout most of the twentieth century in Iran.

The third period examines the transformation of the musical field following the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Political, social, and cultural changes, together with the Iran–Iraq War, profoundly reshaped the institutional environment of Iranian classical music. Rather than focusing solely on technological developments, this period is characterized by the contraction of institutional opportunities, restrictions on musical activities, and delayed interaction with emerging media technologies. These conditions substantially affected cultural production, music education, public performance, and the mechanisms through which artistic legitimacy was constructed.

The fourth period focuses on the emergence of the Internet, digital communication, and social media. Unlike earlier periods, in which media primarily functioned to consolidate and reproduce the existing structure of the field, digital media gradually became an influential force in transforming its internal organization. The findings indicate that media increasingly shaped the relationships among musicians, audiences, educational institutions, artistic legitimacy, and the distribution of cultural capital. In this new environment, media became more than instruments for disseminating music; they evolved into structural elements influencing visibility, professional recognition, communication with audiences, and the circulation of symbolic value.

The article further argues that the transformation of media in Iran has not followed the same trajectory observed in many other countries. Instead, the development of digital media has been accompanied by forms of institutional delay and asynchronous adaptation resulting from specific political, cultural, and historical conditions. Consequently, the interaction between Iranian classical music and new media has developed through a distinctive process that differs from dominant international patterns of media transformation.

By integrating media theory with the sociology of music, this study proposes an analytical framework for understanding the historical transformation of Iranian classical music beyond stylistic or technological explanations. It demonstrates that media should not be understood merely as channels for transmitting musical content, but as structural forces that influence cultural authority, institutional practices, symbolic legitimacy, and the relationships among the principal actors of the musical field.



The study concludes that recent developments in Iranian classical music should not be interpreted merely as the consequences of technological innovation. Rather, they should be understood as part of a broader process of reconfiguring the field of Iranian classical music, in which changing media environments have gradually altered the distribution of cultural authority, symbolic legitimacy, and relationships among the principal actors of the field. By combining media theory with the sociology of culture, this article offers a new analytical perspective on the historical evolution of Iranian classical music and highlights the significance of media transformation as a central factor in understanding its contemporary configuration.