Kazakhstan's social media users and artists are facing an unexpected issue: songs by Kazakhstani performers can no longer be found or used in Stories and Reels on Instagram. The music catalog from Kazakhstan has vanished from the platform's search system, making tracks unavailable for addition to posts. Tengri Life investigated the situation.
What happened?
Bakhtiyar Aliyev, known as Bahh Tee, a producer and musician, shared the reason for the disappearance of the music on his Telegram channel. He noted that the issue is linked to the Kazakhstani copyright society KazAK. According to him, Instagram has temporarily removed the entire music catalog for which rights are held by KazAK, due to the company's inability to renew its partnership agreement with the platform.
"In response to our inquiry, we received a detailed reply. I won't provide the entire content, but here are the key points: unfortunately, we were unable to renew our partnership agreement with KazAK. We are temporarily removing any catalog for which KazAK retains rights. Any songs represented by KazAK are currently unavailable for use in Reels and Stories on Facebook and Instagram, and user-generated content that includes songs represented by KazAK may be disabled or blocked by KazAK.
We have launched a feature that simplifies updating music in Reels if the track is no longer available. The video creator will receive a notification that they can replace the audio in Reels while retaining views and other statistics," the producer stated in his post.
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What do representatives of the music industry say?
The founder of the label õzen, Aizatulla Khussein, expressed concern over the current situation. He emphasized that the label is currently investigating the matter while actively engaging with international companies. Aizatulla pointed out that issues with copyright societies in Kazakhstan have been known for a long time.
"There are problems with copyright societies that collect money for our artists but do not pay them. This has been going on for decades. KazAK represents our music internationally, but instead of helping artists, it creates new difficulties. They do not provide any benefits for artists and music rights holders; on the contrary, they create obstacles and do not pay out, even though they collect money for it. So, there are many issues here," he commented.
The situation regarding the disappearance of Kazakh music from Instagram was addressed by Yrysdaulat Slambek, label manager of AgainGame WorldWide, which distributes tracks from artists like Shiza, Sary, Qiyal Darian, Vegas, and others. He stated that the disappearance of the music was a complete surprise.
"We noticed this on Friday around noon. Complaints started coming in from artists that their tracks had disappeared from Instagram. We reached out to our partners and the platform's support, but so far, we haven't received a specific answer," he shared.
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The chairman of the republican public association "Copyright Society 'Abiroy'," composer Mars Sulenov, stated that the platform has intensified control over copyright compliance.
"Digital platforms have tightened requirements for content. Now, to use music, it is necessary to provide a license or prove authorship (YouTube). This is encouraging, as order is finally being established in the digital sphere," the head noted.
However, Sulenov disagrees with the assertion that all Kazakh music has disappeared, believing that it is a matter of partial blocking.
We also attempted to obtain a comment from representatives of the Kazakh copyright society KazAK, but it proved to be challenging. For several hours, we called the contacts listed on their website, but none of the phones answered. After that, we sent a request through a messenger, but received a standard automated response.
"Thank you for your message! We cannot respond at the moment. We will contact you during working hours from Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (except holidays)," the message stated.
Later, one of the representatives of KazAK did respond, specifically asking to send an official request from the editorial office to their email.
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What does the ministry say?
We also reached out to the press service of the Ministry of Justice for a comment, where it was noted that authors and copyright holders have the right to prohibit the use of their works on the internet, including social networks.
"According to Articles 16, 37, and 38 of the RK Law 'On Copyright and Related Rights,' authors, performers, and producers of phonograms hold exclusive rights to use the objects they create. For lawful use of works, performances, and phonograms, users must obtain permission from the authors, performers, producers of phonograms, or organizations managing property rights on a collective basis.
Authors and copyright holders may prohibit the use of their objects, including on the internet and social networks. For clarification on details, we recommend contacting the administration of social networks," they responded to our inquiry.
What’s next?
We spoke with representatives of Kazakh artists, who stated that they are already working on returning the songs to the platform. During the conversation, one of the managers noted that they had not received any warnings about the removal of music from Instagram.
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Yrysdaulat Slambek, in turn, emphasized that despite AgainGame WorldWide collaborating with another copyright organization, their music also disappeared from Instagram.
"We sent inquiries to both Meta and partners, but it remains unclear why the tracks disappeared. Some say the issue is related to KazAK, but in my opinion, it is not, since a contract with KazAK is not mandatory for tracks to be on Instagram. They are not an exclusive society. Perhaps all Kazakh tracks are affected, regardless of the distributor," he said.
Yrysdaulat emphasized that the problem has a more global nature.
"This is not just a local problem; it concerns the entire Kazakh industry. We continue to investigate to return the tracks to the platform," he concluded.
AgainGame WorldWide, like others, is actively working on resolving the issue and is already negotiating with international partners and distributors. However, as Yrysdaulat noted, the return of music to Instagram remains uncertain at this time.
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How does distribution work?
Yrysdaulat Slambek explained how the process of placing music on platforms is organized.
"When a track is ready, we sign a contract with the author, outlining the terms of use and promotion of the music. We then pass the track to distributors. In Kazakhstan, there are no direct distributors that cover all platforms, so we collaborate with a European company. They are responsible for delivering tracks to all digital platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others, as well as for tracking royalties," he explained.
The label manager noted that there are no large international music companies in Kazakhstan, such as Sony, Universal, or Warner, that could solve the problem directly.
"We are forced to work with local and foreign companies. In our situation, we do not collaborate with KazAK, but use the services of another company registered in Kazakhstan. It helps resolve issues related to copyright and royalty collection. Such companies collaborate with all platforms worldwide where music can appear, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and so on," Yrysdaulat noted.
Previously, music from famous artists disappeared from TikTok. Users report that the removal of tracks is linked to a conflict between the Universal Music Group label and the social network. UMG is one of the largest music companies in the world, holding rights to songs by many well-known artists, including Taylor Swift, Elton John, Billie Eilish, Drake, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, and many others. More details can be found in the article.