Kazakhstan in Talks with Meta to Restore Local Music on Instagram and Facebook

The Ministry of Digital Development is negotiating with Meta to restore access to Kazakh music on Instagram and Facebook. Vice Minister of Culture and Information Yevgeny Kochetov confirmed this at a government briefing, Orda.kz reports.

We monitor, we know what is happening, we communicate with artists. As far as this is possible in terms of our interaction with online platforms — with Meta — we, of course, help to build this dialogue. But first of all, this is the interaction of two economic entities. This is how our legislation is structured at the moment, where authors are represented by the author community, on the other hand, there is an online platform in the person of Meta, which puts forward its demands. At the moment, we play the most intermediary role, as far as possible within the framework of the legislation,  said Kochetov.

When asked about the financial losses suffered by Kazakhstan's performers due to the absence of their music on Meta platforms, Kochetov said he could not provide an estimate, reiterating that it remains a matter of negotiations between two business entities.

He also did not specify a timeframe for resolving the issue.

The artists don't have an alternative not because the stars aligned that way. But there were such peculiarities of the legislation. Now the Ministry of Justice together with the deputies and with us, among others, are working to ensure that an alternative appears. We ourselves are waiting very much. I myself am sitting and constantly updating the pages on those posts on Instagram that were deleted because the music was blocked. We hope that in the near future (it will return — editor's note),added the vice minister. 

Kazakhstani users of Meta services, particularly Instagram, previously lost access to music from local artists.

The matter was first raised by representatives of the music industry, who discovered that their works had suddenly disappeared from the platform.

Meta’s response was vague, stating that its representatives had been unable to reach an agreement with KazAK, the country’s author rights society. As a result, all music listed in KazAK's catalog was disabled on Instagram and Facebook. The situation sparked strong criticism from industry professionals, who directed their frustration at KazAK.

Negotiations continue as artists and users alike await a resolution.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov