Music Business lags in Georgia

After he won the TV music contest Star Academy last year, nothing changed in the career of 20-year-old singer Dito Lagvilava. He entered the competition to test his ability to prepare performances in a short period of time and sing live on television.                                                                                   

He wanted to do his best and he did, winning out over 13 other competitors on a nationwide television show with a large audience. His prize for winning the contest was a car and an apartment in Tbilisi. He hoped that if he won, promoters would give him the chance to record songs and present concerts.

“My dreams about recording songs and holding concerts did not come true,” said Lagvilava.

He did use his own money to record a song, but he could not promote the recording.

“Although these contests help young, inexperienced singers to grow up as a real singer, after finishing the contests, nothing new happens. You have no chance to realize yourself as a singer,” said Lagvilava.

Practically no CDs are recorded and few concerts are held in Georgia. There are few music producers, record labels or concert promoters today, because it’s an expensive business with no guarantee of return. So the music business in Georgia is small and undeveloped.

Marina Beridze, a musical producer, thinks that poor quality, bad taste and unprofessional singers, who lip-synch to recordings, have prevented the music business from developing here.

 “After about 2004, when listeners understood that practically all Georgian singers were performing to recorded music, they lost interest in singers and their songs, businessmen stopped financing and producers stopped promoting in this field,” she said. But since 2004, televised music competitions have become popular in Georgia, as they are elsewhere in the world.

The first music contest, Nutsa’s School, was broadcast on TV Imedi in 2004. In The same year, TV Company Mze produced music contest Geostar, which since 2007 has been produced annually by Rustavi-2.

Last year Rustavi 2 added another music competition, Star Academy. Rustavi 2 also presents the children’s music contest Ana-Bana.

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research Company, which tracks television viewership, Star Academy attracted a 20.43 share of the television audience, meaning that 20.43 percent of all those watching television during that time period were tuned to Star Academy.

Despite the drawbacks of trying to make a living as a singer, many young singers see televised music contests as a way to launch a career.

For Star Academy 2, which will start in March 2009, the jury auditioned 8,000 singers, and selected 14.

“We listened to 8,000 people wishing to enter the show. It was really exhausting. For about a week we had the first tour and selected 50 of them for the second tour, now we have already selected these 14, who will participate in the Star Academy 2. All of them have good potential to be good singers,” said Manana Morchiladze, a member of the Star Academy jury.  

Nato Metonidze, a well-known singer of Georgian songs, says that it is impossible to earn a living as a music performer. She receives some income by teaching singing to children.

“The market for singers is not big enough to absorb all the contestants from the television music competitions. I don’t see any logic to producing so many music contests when show business practically is dead in Georgia,” she said, adding, “I don’t mean the projects which are qualified and which really care about real professional growth of contestants and their tastes, for example, Geostar.”

She thinks that those who produce music contests should be concerned about contestants not only during the program, but afterward. ”With the help of producers and producing centers, contestants should continue their professional development even after finishing these contests, only in this case they will have more chances to develop,” she said.

Marina Beridze, who is musical producer for both Geostar and Star Academy, said the job of those who produce music contests is to help the contestants during the program. After that, it’s up to independent producers.

“We take the responsibility to prepare good singers during the projects. After finishing them they should continue their career with independent producers. Our projects prepare a basis and hope that will be a stimulus for establishing music producing centers,” she said.

Keti Ordjonikidze, a finalist in Star Academy, also has had no professional opportunities to perform or record since the contest ended. Now she wants to try to make her career abroad. As a prize for being a finalist, Rustavi 2 sent her to London in July 2008. She studied there for two months at the University of Contemporary Music Performance.

“It was really very good experience for me. Every day I had classes in rock vocal, pop vocal, I had also piano classes and music literature. This diversity was really interesting for me, it was great,” she said.

She thinks that if contestants prepare well and work hard during the TV competitions, they will have a chance to go abroad and sing in the European market. 

“The only way for young singers today is to go abroad,” she said.

Step Records is an independent musical label established in 2005.  The goal of people working there is to promote young and talented singers in Georgia as well as abroad. 

Achiko Guledani, art director of Step Records, named several reasons why the music business is undeveloped in Georgia.

 “The main reason is that the music business is really expensive,” he said.

He often watches TV music contests and thinks that the quality of Georgian song contests has improved since 2004 when they began.

“Contestants are being really well-trained, but unfortunately at this time after finishing the competition, the best way for young singers to succeed is to send them abroad,” he said.

He thinks that the only way to improve show business in Georgia is to establish many independent recording labels that will promote singers.

“These labels should work on promotion of new and talented singers. Some of them should be sold here, some of them abroad, according to their musical directions,” he said.

However, the winner of Geostar 2008, Giorgi Sukhitashvili, 23, does not want to live and work abroad right now.

He is a jazz singer with a live band in the Tbilisi club Marjanov Express once a week. He continues looking for other places to sing.

His goal in entering Geostar last year was to show his talent to the people who later could help him to develop his career and find a job.

 “When you became popular, you have more offers from the bars and clubs, which at this moment are the only income for me. Singing is not only my hobby, it is my profession,” he said.

 After Sukhitashvili won the contest, he had new offers from different clubs. Geocell, permanent sponsor of song contest Geostar, financed him and he’s currently recording a CD and is planning to shoot a video. He thinks that at this time in Georgia, television music contests are the only way to get ahead as a professional singer.

Beridze, the musical producer, believes that TV music contests are the best way to develop young singers and get them used to singing live.

 “We have already discovered many gifted young singers. I am sure these projects will raise their number. Now it is time for businessmen to wake up and finance really talented young singers,” she said.

Meanwhile, the red-haired Georgian rock star Keti Ordjonikidze is going to have a little break after exhausting rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Georgia.

“Every day I had rehearsals from 11 in the morning till 1 in the night and I am really exhausted. After the break I am planning to go abroad and hope to be discovered by foreign producers,” she said.

 

 

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