Pop Stars Made Millions From Russian Oligarchs. Now Some Have Regrets
Before the #conflict, such shows were considered just another part of a high-profile act’s revenue stream. “We knew about them then,” says one source in the #business, who estimates that about “two or three” oligarch-funded shows took place each year. “We knew the background and the wealth. It’s a take-the-money #industry.”
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Even after #Russia’s initial invasion of #Ukraine in 2014, these secretive performances didn’t let up. In 2016, #Sting and #Lopez played separate sets at the #Moscow wedding of Said Gutseriev, the son of sanctioned Russian billionaire oilman Mikhail #Gutseriev. That #wedding, which cost a reported roughly a billion dollars to put on, included a 12-feet-high wedding cake and a ballroom ceiling covered in flowers; as parting gifts, guests were given jewelry-encrusted boxes. During her set, Lopez half-joked that “the hardest thing I had to do today” was learn how to pronounce the names of the bride and groom.
#music #economy #money #news #ethics #moral #party #entertainment
