The local part is performed by Kommersant Newspaper No. 35 (7480) dated 03/01/2023

The departure of Warner Music, Universal Music and Sony Music from the Russian Federation provoked an active launch of new music labels. VK, MTS and Riki Group have already entered the segment, now the independent label Lotus Music is being created by the former head of Warner Music Atlantic Records Russia, Bakhtiyar Aliyev. Artists who collaborated with Atlantic are partially transferred to the project – Lotus Music will be able to release their new releases. Experts note that the project team has good connections in the industry, but success will depend on the ability to offer advances to artists, and this requires access to capital.

The ex-head of Atlantic Records Russia (owned by Warner Music) Bakhtiyar Aliyev (musician, performs under the pseudonym Bahh Tee) told Kommersant that he was launching the Lotus Music label on March 1.

According to him, about 25-30 people who were previously employed at Atlantic Records Russia will work on the new project: “Many artists are moving with us, the label will release new releases by artists who have no obligations to Atlantic.”

Atlantic Records Russia included such artists as HammAli & Navai, Emin, Bahh Tee, Rauf & Faik, Jony, LSP, Dava, Slava Marlow, Morgenstern (included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign agents), The Limba, Band’Eros, etc. Warner Music declined to comment.

Investments in the new project will amount to $1 million of own funds per year, excluding the purchase of catalogs, Mr. Aliyev specified. The new project will focus on the development of artists who will join the label, as well as the search for new talent, Bakhtiyar Aliyev added. The label’s partner in terms of digital distribution to streaming platforms, he specified, will be S&P Digital (JV Digital LLC was registered in April 2022, 90% belongs to Tatyana Belyaeva, 10% belongs to Roman Lukyanov, who previously worked in Warner Music structures) .

In 2017, Mr. Aliyev already launched the Siyah Music label (HammAli & Navai, Zomb, DJ Smash, Ellai, Elbrus Janmirzoev, etc.), which in 2018, in partnership with Emin Agalarov, moved to Zhara Music (among the artists were Morgenshtern, Slava Marlow, Idris & Leos, Asammuell, Jony and others). In 2021, Warner Music Group bought Zhara Music with the entire catalog, after which the label changed its name to Atlantic Records Russia. It was assumed that Atlantic Records would promote Russian artists abroad.

After the shutdown of Warner Music, Universal Music and Sony Music in the Russian Federation a year ago due to military operations in Ukraine, large Russian companies began to launch their own music labels.

So, in September, VK Records, which will create their own labels, launched VK. The holding also plans to distribute content. In January, the creator of Smeshariki and Fixiki, the Riki group of companies, created Riki Music, which will publish music and produce artists whose target audience is children and teenagers. MTS, whose structures are already engaged in promotional, concert and ticketing activities, plans to launch its own music label in the spring (see “Kommersant” dated January 9).

In the current situation, Bakhtiyar Aliyev’s project looks like a rather “logical and pragmatic step,” says Nadezhda Boychevsky, Director of Digital Distribution and Label Services at MTS: “This is the final closure of all assets associated with majors and their transfer to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, to local management.” Considering that the distribution partner in the new label does not change, and the catalog is predominantly local or focused on the Russian market, then the working conditions for artists are unlikely to change, if you do not take into account changes in income from the departure of foreign streaming, Ms. Boychevski believes.

InterMedia Editor-in-Chief Yevgeny Safronov assesses the prospects of the new label as “not bad”: “This is an experienced and authoritative team that has long-standing ties with a number of artists.” The only question is the amount of free capital that a label can advance to an artist, while knowing that the money will be paid off very soon, the expert emphasizes: “Leading artists seek labels that have the ability to pay advances, that is, which are components of global corporations. An ordinary label with no access to capital, as a rule, cannot pay advances and exists only due to energetic and professional management. As Kommersant reported on February 6the labels remaining in Russia began to offer artists less profitable contracts.

Julia Silence