Melodiya

Melodiya (Russian Мелодия, English transcription Melodiya ) is a Russian record label and was founded in 1964. It was owned by the state of the former Soviet Union and was their biggest record companies.

History during the time of the USSR

From its foundation until about the mid-1980s, Melodiya was not only the only official record label of the USSR but also the monopoly companies for record production and trading records. Melodija entertained recording studios, record factories and record actions throughout the Soviet Union. The information to be published titles were also selected by ideological points of view. What did not reflect the official position, had the alternative pathway of the so-called Magnitisdat go: live concerts or performances in the inner circle were recorded by tape and then spread as a copy. During the Soviet era, Melodiya had 120,000 employees, including 40,000 alone in the record shops of the state labels. The production facility of Melodiya Records was located in the city Aprelewka in Moscow.

After the USSR

After the end of the Soviet Union it initially looked like, as would collapse the former monopolist, but he escaped with his core business, the publication of phonograms, prior to complete collapse. From 1991 to 2003, Melodiya worked in cooperation with the Western major label BMG.

Melodiya was known mainly late 80s because of the collection of samplers Western artist for the Soviet market, such as Led Zeppelin and The Doors, which were not available as in other states. In the international headlines the label also came through the controversial marketing of the label's own classical music catalog by a U.S. company.

Current Situation

Melodija today ( as of 2006) about 60 employees. In terms of the local branches of international record label, Melodiya is a rather small businesses today. Melodiya is still, however, organized privately owned by the state and lives without government subsidies.

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