DSPs including Spotify India have reportedly removed “all” Pakistani music in response to a related government advisory. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued that advisory eight days ago. Without diving too far into the underlying conflict – India and Pakistan have reportedly extended their ceasefire until May 18th – the notice compelled streaming platforms […]
Connaught Place, New Delhi. Photo Credit: Kabi1990
DSPs including Spotify India have reportedly removed “all” Pakistani music in response to a related government advisory.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued that advisory eight days ago. Without diving too far into the underlying conflict – India and Pakistan have reportedly extended their ceasefire until May 18th – the notice compelled streaming platforms to boot content “having its origins in Pakistan.”
“In the interest of national security,” the agency wrote, “all OTT platforms, media streaming platforms and intermediaries operating in India are advised to discontinue the web-series, films, songs, podcasts and other streaming media content, whether made available on a subscription based model or otherwise, having its origins in Pakistan with immediate effect.”
Despite the “immediate effect” requirement, evidence suggests that Spotify India didn’t complete the multifaceted removals at once.
“Not renewing my subscription until Spotify India bans these Pakistani artists,” one individual wrote on X after the advisory’s issuance. “No platform for them while tensions with India continue.”
“Gonna cancel my membership withing [sic] 24 hours if you continue to show pakistani artists on the app even after the government’s ban,” another account penned.
But as initially mentioned, the relevant works were ultimately rendered unavailable on YouTube, Spotify, and different platforms in the nation of 1.4 billion.
The “all” descriptor and several removal examples come from outlets including New Delhi Television (NDTV). Furthermore, the same source indicated that the undertaking spans beyond straight takedowns.
“Pakistani actors have been removed from the posters of their Hindi films,” NDTV relayed. On the music side, the outlet pointed as well to the soundtrack album for Indian film Sanam Teri Kasam. One of the 2016 movie’s two leads, Karachi-born Mawra Hocane, has been nixed from the cover image on Spotify and YouTube, per the report.
Of course, the original cover is unaltered on Spotify in the States and elsewhere; on the other hand, Hocane is no longer part of the image as displayed on India’s JioSaavn.
It remains to be seen when – and whether – the streaming situation will change. Just for reference, it’s worth reiterating that the Indian government was early to the TikTok ban party, having outlawed the app way back in 2020 and stuck to the position since then.
In any event, the development underscores the many moving parts factoring into international streaming operations. Suffice to say that the removal of music from DSPs won’t improve the subscription situation in India, where some self-described paid users are lamenting the takedowns on X.
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