Concert producers have no fears over new president’s decree
All the roads for concert organizers in Minsk lead to… the concerts unit at Minsk City Council’s department of culture. This is the body which decides whether any concert in the capital will take place or not.
Uladzimir Valeryevich, the head of the concerts unit, said in an interview with the European Radio for Belarus that a ban for sole entrepreneurs to stage concerts with the audience of over 150 people is the only innovation, under the president’s decree No 259.
“Small-size entrepreneurs are entitled to organizing concerts for not more than 150 people. If you want to stage a concert for a bigger audience, you have to found a concert agency”.
Pavel Kashyryn, the producer for the Belarusian band KRAMA, says that nothing has changed significantly in terms of the organization of concerts.
“I don’t know what has caused frenzy over this decree… There is nothing super new or super terrible. Simply, culture departments will now set up expert commissions in cases when they have questions. They will listen to tapes… That’s something what would happen even before the decree was issued”.
Uladzimir Shablinski, the executive director of the Sound Line concert agency which organized a tour of Belarusian legendary band N.R.M across Belarus recently, told the European Radio for Belarus that “culture commissions” had existed in this country since long ago. There should be no fresh fears of censorship in Belarus.
“Morality commissions do exist indeed. The committee to fight violence and pornography has been in operation for over 10 years. However, it deals mostly with movies and photographs. If they introduced licenses for concerts, it would be serious”.
Uladzimir Shablinski thinks that authorities have loosened the grip on live performances in this country.
“Actually, culture departments across Belarus tend to overlook concert tours of Belarusian bands at the present moment. In a sense, this decree is a good reminder to Ministry of Culture officials that concert activities do take place in Belarus and that they should deal with it”.
In the view of Uladzimir Valeryevich, the head of the concerts department at the Minsk City Hall, “culture commissions” are set up in exceptional cases only. Therefore, artistes should not worry. Moreover, nobody is going to invite aged pop stars to evaluate young musicians.
“For example, an unknown band comes to me. I have never heard what they play. Of course, this is an exceptional case, but I tell them: “Bring your texts and tapes”. Naturally, I need to have them auditioned to make sure they don’t sing about Satan or something. In this case, we gather a special commission, with authoritative showbiz personalities invited. In the latest case, I approached DJs from Belarusian radio stations. Don’t think that only elderly “pillars” of the domestic music are invited to evaluate”.
The bands, recently cleared from the “black lists”, should not worry, either.
“Rumors suggest that bands will be squeezed now…Actually, I have not seen anything special in this new regulation”, Pavel Kashyryn assured the listeners of the European Radio for Belarus.
