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Artists remain angry over Russian radio group being taken into state ownership
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 20 August 2015
Controversy continues in Russia over the move to take the Russkaya Media Group, and the music radio stations and TV channel it operates, into state ownership, through an acquisition by state-run concert promoter Goskontsert, which reports into the country’s Ministry Of Culture.
As previously reported, a number of high profile Russian artists hit out at the move, which was seen as part of a plan to promote more patriotic music and musicians, and to develop and support “ideologically correct” pop idols with the goal of ensuring popular support for Russia’s leadership. Critics pointed out that RMG already operated one station that exclusively plays Russian-language songs, and that many prominent Russian musicians are plenty patriotic enough already.
Those critics wanted President Putin to intervene and stop the transfer of ownership, but he said he didn’t have the power to do so, and the transaction has now gone ahead. Though controversy continues. And while some artists have seemingly embraced the deal, those who had criticised the move are now talking about boycotting RMG channels and setting up their own radio station.
Once the Goskontsert acquisition was green-lighted, RMG’s General Director and minority shareholder Sergei Kozhevnikov – who had opposed the acquisition – was quickly replaced by another man called Sergei Arkhipov. But then he quit just days into the job, saying he didn’t have any interest in being caught up in the middle of a war between feuding artists.
A key player in all of this is producer Vladimir Kiselyov, whose company Kremlin Media is closely allied to Goskontsert, and who is seemingly behind the grand plan for encouraging more patriotic music. Rumour has it that his company is also in talks to buy up other Russian media channels, presumably to likewise provide a platform for his personal patriotic music agenda.
And it seems to be a distrust of Kiselyov and that agenda that has made so many artists so angry about the changes at RMG. Certainly resentment towards Kiselyov elsewhere in the Russian music community is clear. According to Billboard, one local music exec, Iosif Prigozhin, told another radio station, Govorit Moskva, “We absolute refuse to have anything to do with Kiselyov. This is a crazy person who needs to be taken to a mental institution”.
