Concerts can be organized both independently and with the help of promoters or management. In most cities of Ukraine, there are problems with proper concert halls of various capacities.
“There are very few specialized institutions for performances for 50-100 people. If a musician gathers a small number of people, he is forced to perform in cafes/restaurants (at least in Lviv), where the music plays in the background and people eat. This kills the musicians’ motivation at the very beginning of the project,” explains Ira Lobanok, a member of the Lviv duet Krapka;KOMA.
Almost all artists who make large-scale tours in Ukraine face the problem of equipping larger halls. Often the band and equipment travel by minibuses, so the quality of the roads also affects logistics.
To organize a concert, it is usually necessary to contact the art director of the institution and find out the conditions for renting the hall and which equipment is on site, and which must be installed independently.
Tickets for concerts can be sold through major ticket operators — Karabas.com, Concert.ua, Kasa.in.ua or Kontramarka. Each of them takes its own percentage and also adds an excise tax. Or you can through automated sites (TicketForEvet, 2Events), which take a smaller percentage, but do not help with promos through their own sites.
The main problems
Despite the fact that each of the points of the musician’s journey is generally understandable, building a strategy and road map is a difficult task. Bands without management often find it very difficult to combine creativity with administrative functions. At many stages, it is unclear what to do, where to look for information and acquaintances.
“There is no system, sequence of steps. I understand that everyone has their own way. However, so many people have already gone through it, and so far no one has said how and what to do. Everyone has to go through it as if from scratch every time,” says Anya Petrovska.
Music management courses, which are periodically launched on behalf of various structures, are trying to solve this problem in part: from the Yuri Nikitin Academy to KAMA.
Less than 5% of participants in the music industry earn more than UAH 300,000 per year from their activities. In addition, almost 70% of the income comes from concerts. That is, in 2020, the industry lost its main source of income. At the same time, the royalty payment system in Ukraine is too complicated and ineffective due to problems with collective management organizations. Thus, the music industry remains relatively unattractive from an economic point of view, which leads to an outflow of professionals, and thus to a decrease in the motivation of musicians themselves.
However, such a situation has its advantages. You can launch a music project almost without a budget. Every year the industry changes, new niches appear. Grant funding has increased thanks to the activities of the Ukrainian Cultural Fund and embassies, which has led to the emergence of projects such as EVE8 and InterCity Fest 4.
“In Ukraine, the plus is that now, when our music industry is just emerging, we have the opportunity to directly influence its development,” says Ira Lobanok.
Khrystyna Solovya
This Sunday, September 18, the final of the National Selection for Junior Eurovision 2022 will take place. The audience, together with the jury, will choose who will represent Ukraine at the international song contest in Yerevan. I note that the jury for the National Selection was also chosen by open voting for the first time.
Since the singer and songwriter Khrystyna Solovay received the most votes, she will head the jury of the National Selection. What she expects from the final and whether she has any favorites, Khrystyna told host Anna Zakletskyi on the broadcast of Radio “Promin”.
Winner of many awards, including “YUNA”. The debut single “Hold” was one of the most popular Ukrainian-language music videos on YouTube. She released 4 studio albums, 11 singles. All this is about Khrystyna Solova. It is quite natural that Ukrainians trusted her to evaluate young performers from Ukraine for this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Although judging children is a novelty for her, adults are a different matter: “I already had experience with this. I was in the adult Eurovision Song Contest in 2019. We judged together with Onuka, Vitalik Klimov and several other good people. In such a team it was cool. This year, of course, the situation is completely different and I will be in Zoom. I will have a speech in Krakow that day. And I hope that I will have enough impartiality, attention to hear all these beautiful voices of our children.”
A representative from Ukraine will be chosen for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest live. On September 18, at 18:00, a live broadcast will begin on the Suspilne Kultura TV channel, as well as on the Eurovision Ukraine YouTube channel and the Eurovision Ukraine Facebook page. In total, there will be five performers in the final. They were selected from over half a hundred participants who applied. Khrystyna Solovii assures that she has no favorites: “I want to honestly, impartially, without knowing their stories, evaluate the song, evaluate the number, sincerity and relevance of how much the song will be or the young artist is represented in the world. I say artist because I know that all finalists, all five are girls.”
Which song should represent Ukraine at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Yerevan? According to Khrystyna Solova, the main thing is that it has a very strong emotion and the right message: “This is what is needed at any Eurovision – adult or children’s. Still, I perceive Eurovision as a song contest, not vocalists or fancy numbers . This is a song that everyone will be singing all year long. And I would like the song to win more than anything!”
In addition to Khrystyna Solova, the jury of the National Selection for the Children’s Eurovision Song Contest 2022 also included the co-founder of the children’s folklore studio “Pravitsa”, the teacher of modern vocals with 15 years of experience, Myroslava Saliy, and the honored artist of Ukraine, TV presenter, artist, founder of the art agency “Territory A”. Anzhelika Rudnytska. And the final of the National Selection will be hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko.
As a reminder, the 20th Children’s Eurovision Song Contest will take place on December 11 in Yerevan (Armenia). Public Broadcasting, which is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, organizes and conducts the selection of a song and a representative from Ukraine, as well as ensures his participation in the Children’s Eurovision Song Contest 2022.