David Junk

Gebundenes Buch

Rockin' the Kremlin

My Incredible True Story of Gangsters, Oligarchs, and Pop Stars in Putin's Russia

Beschreibung

Read the true story of Universal Music Russia's first CEO and his quest to bring Western popular music to post-Soviet Russia in an account that Publishers Weekly calls "an exciting and colorful look at a dynamic period in Russia's cultural history" and Library Journal calls an "absorbing illustration of the mutuality of music and politics." When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia opened its borders, and Russian audiences were hungry for Western popular music and the values it espoused. David Junk was one of the first idealistic, young Americans to seize this opportunity. Rockin' the Kremlin is the thrilling true story of how David became the first CEO of Universal Music Russia and built impactful cultural bridges with music-but also how that would all shatter with the rise of Vladimir Putin and invasions of Ukraine. There was no proper music industry in the USSR, and creating a modern music industry in Russia would be far more challenging than anyone had anticipated. David assembled a team of young and talented Russians, and they navigated a terrain filled with political chaos, organized crime, powerful oligarchs, bombings, and violence-with cultural clashes tinting many aspects. They captivated millions by bringing superstar acts to Russia for the first time ever, including Metallica, Mariah Carey, Sting, Eminem, and Enrique Iglesias, while developing local talent such as Alsou and t.A.T.u.-Russia's greatest selling pop act of all time. Eventually, David would even build a music industry in Ukraine and other countries in Eastern Europe. While Russia's descent into authoritarianism and two invasions of Ukraine have tarnished this, the industry that David shepherded has birthed a newer generation of Russian musicians who are speaking out against the war and Putin. Filled with unique insights as well as gripping-and sometimes humorous-stories, this book reveals how it all happened.

Autor

David Junk

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Seitenzahl: 294
• Erscheinungstermin: 2. Juli 2024
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 232mm x 157mm x 24mm
• Gewicht: 598g
• ISBN-13: 9781538178751
• ISBN-10: 1538178753
• Artikelnr.: 69243720

Rezensionen

Music industry veteran Junk debuts with an energetic chronicle of his crusade to bring popular Western music to post-Soviet Russia. Inspired by the end of the Cold War, the author moved to Moscow in the early 1990s aiming to topple 'the old Soviet music industry' in favor of one befitting the 'new Russia.' At Polygram Records and then Universal Music Russia (where he eventually became CEO), Junk dealt with 'gangster capitalism'; rampant music piracy; powerful oligarchs; and the Russian Orthodox Church's antagonism toward pro-LGBTQ musical acts, most notably the Russian girl group t.A.T.u. Along the way, he scoured the radio, music competitions, and MTV Russia to discover top-selling talent including Alsou and Smash!! (Russia's boy band answer to Wham!).... It's an exciting and colorful look at a dynamic period in Russia's cultural history.