Major Music Companies Suspend Their Business in Russia


The music world’s most powerful companies – three of the biggest labels and touring giant Live Nation – are breaking ties with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and artists such as Green Day and AJR have canceled concerts in Russia.

Thursday, Sony and Warner Music – within minutes – announced they were suspending their operations in Russia. His comments came two days after Universal Music, the largest holding company, said it had closed its offices in Russia and stopped doing business there.

Last week, Live Nation “We will not promote shows in Russia and we will not do business with Russia. We are in the process of reviewing our suppliers so that we can stop working with all suppliers based in Russia.”

owned by Apple paused He said that he disabled some features of the map application in order to protect the sale of its products in Russia and the citizens of Ukraine. Spotify’s chief financial officer Paul Vogel said at an investor conference Wednesday that the company is suspending the premium or the streaming service’s payment tier there, which would result in the loss of around 1.5 million paying accounts.

But Vogel said it will continue to operate its free service in Russia to become an outlet for “non-propaganda information” through Spotify’s hosted podcasts. “We think it’s really important that the information is still flowing out there,” he said. Spotify last week closed The Russian office and Kremlin-backed news outlets said it removed the content of RT and Sputnik. Facebook, TikTok and other technology platforms.

Institutional moves followed a series of announcements by artists canceling their planned tour dates in Russia and Ukraine. Green Day He was due to play at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium on May 29, but wrote on Instagram that he would not be traveling “in light of current events”. My Chemical Romance, björk, iron girl, Louis Tomlinson, The Killers, Iggy Pop, AJR and Franz Ferdinand all withdrew from the shows.

Russia, despite its size, is a small market for music. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a global trade group, Russia generated just under $200 million in recorded music revenue in 2020, making it the 16th most valuable region in the world after Mexico and Sweden. But it is a major growth area and is increasingly seen as a destination for tours.





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