"The boom is over, and there are fewer new artists." Alexey Bondarenko discusses Ukrainianization, the Ministry of Culture, and the phenomenon of Klavdia Petrovna.

How the War Affects Ukrainian Music

In my opinion, any upheavals that have occurred in Ukraine have significantly benefitted Ukrainian music. In 2004, there was a major wave of Ukrainization in music that has yet to conclude. In 2014, there was another substantial wave of Ukrainization in Ukrainian music, which similarly remains unfinished. And in 2022, we witnessed an even larger wave, marked by a total Ukrainization that finally completed the process for Ukrainian artists.

Almost all Ukrainian artists now perform in Ukrainian, write in Ukrainian or English, and if you start writing or singing in Russian, you quickly marginalize yourself—no one takes you seriously. A recent example is LUNA. Even in Ukraine, you hardly perform, except at some closed corporate events. You perform in Poland, in Europe, possibly in Kazakhstan, where there are more Russians.

It is a reality that at the concerts of our artists performing in Europe, there are Russian attendees. They cannot be prohibited from doing so. But one must look at who primarily attends your concerts. This is where the significant difference begins.

Our pop elite has completely changed. The people who were once the main artists have shifted dramatically — only a few have remained. MONATIK, Tina Karol are still around. Artem Pivovarov has remained as well, but he is one of the few artists who had top hits on the radio in Ukrainian before 2022. This whole situation has propelled him to greater heights. There is a demand for this kind of music; people need a major pop artist. And "Okean Elzy," in principle, also remains at their level.

However, we are now seeing artists who previously could only dream of performing in venues of 100-200 people rising to prominence. Their numbers are increasing, and it's exciting to watch them. They now confidently aim for venues of a thousand people, sometimes even two venues of a thousand. KOLA is trying to fill the Sports Palace. Artists like her never had such an opportunity before. Latexfauna is feeling very confident right now. The same goes for Tember Blanche, which I consider a notable case. YAKTAK, for example, is a very big artist today. Shumei is also making waves. All these artists are filling niches because certain Ukrainian pop stars have left and Russian artists have stopped coming.

They create quality music, which is refreshing. Because "bayraktarism" did not survive. But it wanted to. Everyone thought they had found the perfect formula: write a song about the dog Patron or the "bayraktar" — and that's it, you'll be on all radio stations. The public turned out to be smarter than everyone thought, and it turned out they want to listen to something genuine.

The scene has been renewed. But I feel that as of 2024, unfortunately, we are experiencing processes similar to those in 2016 when everything started to decline. The boom has ended, and now fewer new artists are emerging, while those who once filled large venues can’t afford it anymore. We are witnessing a wave of concert cancellations, a wave of tour cancellations. TCK? If it were related to TCK, then after the first concert, no one would have shown up for "Okean Elzy." But no, they filled five Sports Palaces, despite everything.

How Many of the Bands That Have Emerged Will Survive

Most Ukrainian bands are quietly fading away. Nobody writes a post saying, "We are done as a band," unless it's some super big project. Maybe they hope to regroup, to play something. But if we start counting from the years 2000-2010, we will realize that most Ukrainian bands are no longer active. Unless they are big names making a living from music. If you earn from music, you are forced to keep creating.

I believe that of all the bands currently on the scene, less than 10% will endure. Possibly even less than 5%. People simply do not realize the number of these bands. It seems like there are 100-200. But there are thousands. We compile a table of releases and look at no less than 300 clips that come out each month. Albums count in the thousands. Many do not even break through a thousand listens.

About Klavdiya Petrovna

In fact, Klavdiya Petrovna is almost an independent artist. They have the NEBO MUSIC label, which includes only her and OSTY. It's hard to call this an institution when there is only one person on the label. This is not the scenario where Misha Yasyinsky took Klavdiya Petrovna and promoted her, having the experience of Max Barskih and Olya Polyakova. This is a completely different case.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds now that everyone knows it's Solomiya. Essentially, this leaked into the media about six months or eight months before. People really do not care whether it's Solomiya or not. They were interested in the performance itself. And she played this role excellently, that’s true.

I really enjoyed Klavdiya Petrovna's concert. I was there, and then I debated with people who said it was bad, that she sang poorly, and so on. Everything was great, especially for the level of an artist giving her first concert — and immediately for 8,000 people. There was a show, a production, and it was clear they put in the effort. You always appreciate such things when you see that people didn’t just perform after rehearsing yesterday in a garage but created a real show.

About TikTok

TikTok has worked and continues to do so. The issue is that not everyone understands what needs to be done on TikTok, not everyone has the stamina for it. And not everyone actually needs it. It's not a cure-all. TikTok is not something you will die without. No. You can have a successful band without TikTok.

The thing is, it’s very hard to get people to watch what you want in TikTok. You can record a video of yourself yelling at a sausage in a store — and that will gather 4 million views. Then you post your song — and it gets three views. Because everyone wants to see you yelling at a sausage, not your creativity. And that’s a significant problem. No one has managed to break these algorithms. Either you work systematically, or you go viral with some incomprehensible content that just takes off.

About the Ministry of Culture and Artists Who Have Left

They criticize artists who are already having a hard time. And this criticism spills over not only to those who are abroad but also to those who are here. It affects everyone who goes abroad with tours. The Ministry of Culture is not helping us at all; on the contrary, they tighten the screws on everything possible. The last time the Ministry of Culture changed the rules for leaving was when Shchegel became known for leaving. Therefore, the state only reacts in the case of some public scandals.

I was very surprised by the new Minister of Culture’s statement that every fifth artist does not return. He also said: I do not know 90% of the names that are brought to me. All the well-known artists we know who tour Europe are coming back. Those who left did so two years ago or last year. And we know they are not coming back and will not seek any permissions from the Ministry of Culture. Those who leave — "Druha Rika," "Okean Elzy," "Antitela" — are constantly going back and forth.

Those I know left in 2022. Possibly through the Ministry of Culture, it’s not out of the question. But I do not think Mr. Tochitsky is currently talking about permissions that were issued in 2022. That would be super surprising. Therefore, it is likely that he is referring to some other groups — not the people we usually identify as artists. And then the question is more for the Ministry of Culture: why do they allow them to leave and not check what kind of artists they are and how it happens.

Which Artists Who Have Left Will Return

Serhiy Babkin. Oh, it will be tough for Babkin, but he will come back. He really wants to, he’s trying. His position is that he sings solo all in Ukrainian. And in Russian — only with 5'nizza. In my opinion, that’s a very clever position that doesn’t match reality. On the other hand, he wants to earn money, and 5'nizza clearly brings him much more than the project "Serhiy Babkin." Therefore, I think he will return, he will be accepted, but he will never regain the level of popularity he once had.

SunSay. I think he will not return. He is currently writing an English-language album, and he has even released it, it seems. I believe that even if SunSay does come back, he won’t be giving large concerts. He might go to some jam session somewhere, as he has done before. I think he is very unhappy as an artist today. Because he hasn’t been able to find any