On Thursday, Mehwish Hayat took to Twitter to draw attention to the fact that Coke Studio Pakistan songs are mislabeled as “Indian Pop” in the app. In the screenshots, we can see that Atif Aslam’s CS cover of Tajdar-e-Haram is one of many entries in the Indian Pop genre.
The ‘Worldwide’ and ‘Asia’ sections of the same screenshots also feature listings for Coke Studio Sessions, Coke Studio Season 8, and Coke Studio Season 14. “Just noticed how iTunes/Apple Music—the music portal—classifies our Coke Studio Pakistan as ‘Indian Pop,'” Mehwish Hayat wrote on Twitter. Everything else is titled “Worldwide,” “Asia,” or “anything but Pakistani.”
Just noticed iTunes/Apple music – music portal classifies our Coke Studio Pakistan as “Indian Pop”. Other episodes are ‘Worldwide’ or ‘Asia’- anything but ‘Pakistani’. Come on @AppleMusic give us this one at least! Coke Studio is a Pakistani success & we deserve to be recognised. pic.twitter.com/Kd3yfrgXkU
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) March 10, 2023
Mehwish called out the company, saying, “Come on, Apple Music, give us this one at least!” Coke Studio is a huge accomplishment for Pakistan, and we should be honored for it.
Many people have since praised Mehwish for criticizing the site. Mehwish was the only one who spoke up, and she had to yell. Of course, the Coke Studio in Pakistan is in a league of its own. “It should be singled out for special recognition,” one user said. The point you made is very compelling. And another person chimed in, “You’re the first person I’ve heard of who thinks Pakistani music deserves its own label.
In contrast, one commenter noted, “If it’s Indian, it will sell. To attract more customers, Pakistanis in the United States often give their eateries Indian names. As a group, we are universally disliked. We’re famous for our firearms, torture, and totalitarianism. To put it simply, we are that. ” A contract killer.” Another contributor noted, “It’s an issue in many regions. To put it bluntly, “Pakistan” is a terrible marketing slogan that turns off potential buyers.
However, the majority of users thought that misleading advertising should be addressed. The business community needs to speak out. A fan was held up to signify protest and change.