Elton John
performs in
Rostov-on-Don
in 2007.
Amy Winehouse
serenades a billionaire
in Moscow this summer.

In June, while beset with allegations of crack abuse, apologizing for singing a nursery rhyme laden with racial slurs, and lamenting an incarcerated husband, Amy Winehouse found time to give a private concert in Moscow. Hired by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to perform for ³⁰⁰ guests at his socialite girlfriend’s new art gallery, Winehouse reportedly arrived looking characteristically disheveled (and apparently sans underwear), took the stage two hours late, and played a brief, wobbly set with a full backing band. For this she is said to have made ² million.

With the record business in turmoil, many artists have found a new way to subsidize their luxe lifestyle: playing private gigs for filthy-rich Russian oligarchs. Christina Aguilera demonstrated the earning potential in ²⁰⁰⁵ when she was paid ² million to sing at the wedding of Andrey Melnichenko (No. ¹⁵⁸ on Forbes’ list of billionaires). George Michael upped the ante a year later, earning ³ million to perform at a New Year’s Eve party hosted by mining tycoon Vladimir Potanin (No. ²⁵ on Forbes’ list). Jennifer Lopez received ¹.⁵ million to sing at the ²⁰⁰⁶ birthday party of developer Telman Ismailov, a certified pop-star sugar daddy who earlier that year threw an all-star bash featuring Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, and Robbie Williams. And Rihanna pocketed half a mil to ring in ²⁰⁰⁸ with aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska (Forbes rank: No. ⁹).

Cashing in on private concerts isn’t new for pop stars, but what makes this noteworthy is the wild east locale, the particular businessmen involved, and the number of zeros attached to the performers’ fees. “It’s almost obscene that people could waste that much money on a private show,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar. “It’s what the industry calls ‘stupid

money.’ It’s so much it’s impossible to refuse.” According to him, a private gig is more lucrative than a public concert because the overhead is so low. When Tom Petty played Madison Square Garden in June, he grossed ¹.⁵ million before paying his road crew, his band, and travel and production costs. J.Lo earned the same amount and reportedly received another ⁸⁰⁰,⁰⁰⁰ to cover expenses. It doesn’t matter if J.Lo isn’t hurting for cash. Ricky Martin’s business manager Bruno Del Ganado says artists play these shows “for the same reason oil companies charge more for oil—because they can.”

The motivation for the oligarchs isn’t much more complicated. The concerts are a display of wealth in a country overflowing with newly minted millionaires. But according to Artemy Troitsky, a former Russian radio DJ who’s considered the country’s preeminent music critic, ignorance is one of the main reasons the businessmen foot such big bills. “The parties are organized by Russian promoters who dupe the oligarchs,” Troitsky says, explaining

ARTIST

George Michael
Amy Winehouse
Christina Aguilera
Robbie Williams
Jennifer Lopez
Rihanna

PAY DAY

$3 million
$2 million
$2 million
$2 million
$1.5 million
$500,000

*BASEDONREPORTEDFIGURES

that promoters obtain an artist’s price
quote, inflate the number, and skim
off the top. “The oligarchs have no
idea how much the artists cost.”

Several classic-rock acts have also begun playing corporate concerts in Russia, notably Elton John, who performed at the opening of a metallurgy factory last summer. Many of the oligarchs grew up in the ’⁷⁰s and ’⁸⁰s—a period when getting caught listening to Western rock could, if not warrant a one-way ticket to a Siberian gulag, at least stunt a career. Now in the ruling class, they want to see the bands that never toured Russia, pre-glasnost.

It’s well known that Russia’s new
president, Dmitry Medvedev, is a hard-

rock fan, which is how Deep Purple came to play a concert in Moscow in February for the ¹⁵th anniversary of Gazprom, the state-owned energy giant that Medvedev ran before his presidency. “It was sort of strange,” the band’s drummer, Ian Paice, says of the concert, for which they earned a “ridiculous” paycheck. “We were driven into the Kremlin and played in a small theater that, years earlier, was probably used for political rallies.”

Paice recalls hearing Medvedev tell stories backstage about furtively cuing up Deep Purple records in the bad old days. “We knew he liked the Made in Japan and Machine Head albums,” Paice says, “so we laced the show with plenty of tunes from that era.”

Absent from Paice’s account is any angst about banging out the hits for a figure who many allege came to power amid widespread election fraud. “We were playing for a Deep Purple fan, not the head of Russia,” Paice says. Artists get grief for doing private shows, he adds, “but if you’re between tours when they ask you, you might as well go. It’s financially very lucrative.”

Of course, there are some private
shows Paice would turn down. “If Pol
Pot was still around and asked,” he
says, “you probably wouldn’t do it.”
WESTERN ACTS RAKE IN CASH, BUT RUSSIA HAS ITS OWN SUPERSTARS TOO

Dima Bilan
The 26-year-old
Bilan won this year’s
Eurovision song contest
with his Timbaland-
produced hit “Believe.”
The victory has already
yielded a No. 1 hit for
the singer, as well as
gushing praise from
Prime Minister Putin
himself.

Mashina Vremeni
(Time Machine)
Together since 1969,
these rockers suffered
varying degrees of
Communist Party
disapproval. But they
outlasted the Man, and
in 1994, they performed
in Red Square to 50,000
fans to mark their
25th anniversary.

Alsou
With her sultry looks
and hip collaborations
(Enrique Iglesias!), Alsou
is set to be the first
female international
breakout star from
Russia since…well,
okay, since t.A. T.u. Like
a cleaner, tamer Xtina,
and with a billionaire
oil-mogul pop to boot.

Detsl
He’s the Russian hip-hop
kingpin with dreadlocks
and a badass (but in a
cuddly way) attitude—
think the Fresh Prince
of Belarus. He won
an MTV Worldwide
Viewers Choice Award
back in 2000.

Zhanna Aguzarova
As the colorful singer
for the late-’80s
power-pop stars Bravo,
she was as known for
anti-Soviet tirades as
she was for over-the-top
kookiness, including
repeated claims that
she had “internal
connections” with
Martians. SEAN YEATON

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