Songs by foreign artists to be screened before concerts in Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan will change the rules for organizing tours by foreign artists. From now on, before ticket sales begin, promoters will have to sign a contract and start coordination with local authorities (akimats), Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Yevgeny Kochetov said.

What happened

The Senate approved a law titled “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts on supporting and developing the creative industries”. The document introduces changes to four laws: “On Culture,” “On Cinematography,” “On State Youth Policy,” and “On State Property.”

The new law sets out the rights of creative industry workers, expands the powers of the authorized body and akimats, and introduces a requirement for organizers to coordinate cultural and mass events featuring foreign artists no later than 30 working days in advance — with the possibility of a ban or suspension if prohibited content is found.

In the film industry, the review period for applications for a distribution certificate will increase from 7 to 30 working days. A pre-release review will be introduced, along with a procedure for assigning an age rating to films.

Details

Speaking to reporters in the Senate corridors, Kochetov said that previously promoters could start selling tickets without a contract, while akimats sometimes learned about tours only after sales had already begun — and occasionally even from social media.

“Now the mechanism will be as follows: as soon as a particular city is being planned as part of a tour, the first priority must be a contract, and accordingly, work with the local akimat must begin. From our side, we will pay attention to these documents,” Kochetov said.

He clarified that contracts will include the artist’s obligations, including requirements regarding the songs performed.

“These obligations are primarily related to the compositions they perform: so that they do not undermine our country’s national system, so that they do not promote pornography, do not promote drug use, and other unlawful content,” he said.

Asked whether artists will still be able to come to Kazakhstan if their work includes prohibited themes, Kochetov replied that the ministry would recommend not performing such songs.