The artist’s “iceberg” when performing for Russian oligarchs

Share with Rolling Stones, Tommy Stinson – the famous bass guitar player born in 1966 of Replacements and then Guns N’ Roses admits that he has performed in many “strange” venues. In 2010, he played with Guns N’ Roses at a festival of a Russian energy company, located in Moscow.

“I can’t even believe I’m playing here. The question ‘What the hell are we doing?’ is always on my mind,” he said.

In the context of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, the country’s famous brands or corporations, as well as its famous financial tycoons, have been boycotted by the West. Artists are also beginning to have to revisit the lucrative “piece of cake” they previously enjoyed with ease.

The “huge” revenue source of great artists

For several decades, pop, rock and now hip-hop artists have pocketed huge sums of money performing in secret at corporate and private parties in America. Since the 2000s, a similar service has existed in Russia or on foreign properties owned by Russian businessmen.

Seven-figure salaries from Russian tycoons. Big artists, not only GN’R but also Elton John, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Killers, Jennifer Lopez, Sting, Prince, Robbie Williams and Amy Winehouse were hired to perform at the company’s wedding, public event company and gala dinners.

Before the conflict, such shows were considered only a “sink” of a popular artist’s revenue stream. “Artists know about such underground services. It’s a money-making industry,” a source specializing in connecting artists and the tycoon told. Rolling Stones.

Now, however, the money from those sources is in trouble. New scrutiny from the West is being imposed on these hugely wealthy oligarchs who built or maintained their financial fortunes under Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Bank accounts are being frozen, yachts are being seized, even their real estate is sealed. Several governments, including the US, have set up task forces to track down the ringleaders. The idea was to block the retreat of some of Russia’s wealthiest people, and then they would strangle the Kremlin to prevent war.

With successive sanctions targeting the Russian oligarchs, public attention is also focused on the artist’s secret gigs, which “no one mentioned before”. All major Russian artists and oligarchs involved, declined to comment Rolling Stones.

Even if no one was willing to discuss the matter, there was still a lot to be said. In 2005, Christina Aguilera is said to have pocketed $ 2 million to sing at the wedding of Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Recent European Union sanctions have confiscated his yacht worth half a billion dollars, as the coal and fertilizer magnate belongs to the most influential group of Russian businessmen. A group recently reportedly met with Putin to discuss the economic impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the EU’s March 2022 designation.

Two years later, George Michael is said to have been paid $3 million to participate in a New Year’s Eve art show run by Russian tycoon Vladimir Potanin, who is said to be the country’s richest man.

Unlike a lot of his billionaire peers, Potanin has yet to be sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, or the European Union. In 2008, Tina Turner and Deep Purple participated in a performance to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding of Gazprom, a Russian energy corporation. The unit was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department earlier this year.

The performance of Guns N ‘ Roses in 2010, held at the Mosfilm studio complex in Moscow, was performed by Alexander Chistyakov, then Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Grid Company, a transmission grid company. Russia’s largest state load, paid. “It couldn’t have been more awkward,” Stinson said. “They were a bunch of partygoers who were happy to hear us play.”

Even after Russia’s first conflict into Ukraine in 2014, these covert displays continued. In 2016, Sting and Jennifer Lopez played music at the Moscow wedding of Said Gutseriev, son of Russian oil billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev. That wedding, which cost an estimated $1 billion, included a three-foot-tall wedding cake and a flower-covered ballroom ceiling. Party guests were given jewelry boxes as parting gifts. Singer Jennifer Lopez half-jokingly said that “the hardest thing I had to do today” was learning how to pronounce the names of the bride and groom.

A year later, Elton John and Mariah Carey were performers for the wedding of the niece of Russian billionaire Valery Kogan, who co-owns Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

War in Ukraine puts an end to Russian oligarchs’ parties

Since the war began, a number of musicians have acknowledged their participation in private parties. “There’s no tycoon in the UK, Russia, or anywhere else who can sign up for a gig, a wedding or a party. Those days are over,” singer Sting recently said. speak.

After canceling an upcoming concert in Russia, bass guitarist Roger Glover of the hard rock band Deep Purple also announced: “Like many other performers, we occasionally do private concerts. for fans in different countries”.

No different from the rest of Russia’s oligarchs, billionaire Roman Abramovich used many “tricks” to make money and became the richest man in post-Soviet Russia.

According to British and European Union authorities, Abramovich was able to keep his fortune and enrich himself, due to his close relationship with President Putin. EU sanctions describe him as “a Russian oligarch with long and close ties” and “privileged access” to Putin, and his “connection with the Russian leader helped him. maintain its considerable wealth”.

Long before the Ukraine conflict, Abramovich spent a lot of money getting pop stars to perform at his events. In 2009, he allegedly paid Amy Winehouse $2 million for a show at the Garage, a Moscow art gallery owned by then-partner Dasha Zuchova.

The following year, Abramovich spent $90 million on a massive mansion on the island of St. Barts, French Caribbean. Soon after, he started hosting oversized New Year’s Eve parties, with fireworks and tours of the Eclipse yacht, which has multiple swimming pools, a helipad, and a submarine.

Starting in the late 2000s, he offered Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Killers for at least six figures. When Abramovich rented the Black Eyed Peas for New Year’s Eve 2010, he took over the entire coastline of the beautiful white sand Gouverneur beach. At the party the Chili Peppers played, on New Year’s Eve 2012, guests were asked to dress up in fancy clothes and munched on caviar and pancakes made with vodka and passion fruit sauce.

One of Prince’s last concerts, just months before his death, took place at Abramovich’s estate on New Year’s Eve 2015. For about $1 million, Prince and 3rd Eye Girl were played a series of long-running hits for crowds, which included actors Leonardo DiCaprio and George Lucas. Patrice Abderrahman, a local chef whose company Chef D’or St. Barth, having done many luxurious events still remembered Prince that night. Abderrahman said: “Abramovich throws parties very happily. He is very generous.”

In 2014, Abramovich also organized for Robbie Williams a private concert in Moscow, this is information that hackers released in 2016 when they broke into the email of that Russian deputy prime minister. Vladislav Surkov served as Putin’s deputy prime minister and was a close adviser to Putin on issues like Ukraine before the Russian President fired him in February 2020.

According to Rolling Stone, leaked emails show an invitation from Abramovich to invite Surkov and his family to a private New Year’s Eve party in Moscow in 2015. Robbie Williams, and other artists, will perform for an audience. intimate fake including 100 people. After news of the show leaked, Robbie Williams released a single about Russian oligarchs called Party Like a Russian.

The piece of cake is no longer appetizing to the artist

According to a source in the event business, the appeal of Abramovich’s generous offers is not difficult to demonstrate. “In this industry, a lot of times you waste your time on billionaire offers and then they take their word for it. But with Abramovich, you know it’s going to be a big offer and that he makes a big deal,” the person said. It’s worth the money. Easy and professional, a good deal for everyone involved.”

The source points to how much money Abramovich has pumped into countries where he owns businesses and properties: “If you look at artists and ask, ‘Why are you performing for him?” then know for yourself, ‘why not? That’s a ton of money.” I can’t guarantee that the privacy service industry will be back anytime soon, but if the war ends and everyone forgets about it in five years’ time, it’ll probably be just fine. Just the usual”.

Currently, artists have lost a huge source of revenue from private performances. The Ukraine war has made the idea of ​​concert cooperation for Russian oligarchs unpalatable. “We’ve received requests for big names from a number of tycoons, but they all declined. That’s not something to say right now. Now, I wouldn’t advise any of my clients to do it. concerts in Russia. No matter how much money will be, it will be a thing that is not full of risks, “said a leading event planning expert in the US.