Saladuha bought “Hello, other’s love” for $3000 from Hanok
Who are the richest Belarusians – businessmen, politicians or sportsmen? They are not artists and composers, that’s for sure. The majority of them have to look for jobs not connected with show business and to count every rouble. It is difficult to recall that 30 years ago the richest Belarusian was a composer of songs. Edward Hanok is not involved in the profession anymore. The author of “Robin”, “Snowstorm” and “I will lie down” lives in Moscow off something else rather than author's emoluments. He recalls the Soviet epoch with pleasure:
Edward Hanok: “It used to be one of the most lucrative jobs in the country at that time - a composer of songs. It even made members of the Union of Composers envious, etc.
Now it is not worth anything. You also have to be a producer and have bands to write for… I am happy about not having to do it”.
The main modern sources of author’s emoluments – radio and TV – did not pay anything to poets, composers and singers even if they decided to broadcast their songs. For example, Henadz Buraukin, the author of the Belarusian “Lullaby” Soviet Belarusian children used to fall asleep to every evening, received…
Henadz Buraukin: “…about 100 roubles. We wrote that “Lullaby” together with Rainchyk and they accepted it and then paid for it. We did not receive anything for singing. And we have started getting some peanuts recently”.
According to Edward Hanok, you had to compose a hit to earn a lot. That hit was supposed to be ordered in restaurants and cafes all over the country. For example, “Pesnyary”’s “Vologda”. “A hit maker” could expect to get a fee that was 50 times bigger that Henadz Buraukin’s!
Edward Hanok: I used to make from 2 to 5 thousands a month. It was crazy money! People like Antonau and Dabrynin used to make from 10 to 30 thousands! I can say that I used to be the officially richest Belarusian!
Now you cannot make much on author’s emoluments as they are very small”.
Meanwhile, Edward Hanok wrote the song “Hello, other’s love” that became the first national hit of Alyaksandr Saladuha. It happened in the roaring 1990s… Alyaksandr Saladuha says:
Alyaksandr Saladuha: “I only know that the song was immediately bought at the price Hanok charged 16 years ago. It was bought by a friend of mine, a businessman. Three thousand dollars… It happened somewhere in 1992 or 1993”.
Rock musicians also managed to write national hits from time to time. The best example is the mocking “Hey” by “Lyapis Trubetskoi”. But did the popularity bring the musicians anything else besides financial success? The producer of the band “Lyapis Trubetskoi” Yauhen Kalmykou says:
Yauhen Kalmykou: “I can tell you that Mihalok did not get any crazy money at all, and this song did not make him rich either. But it did help us a lot when we traveled across former Soviet territories and gave concerts for 100 dollars – it happened thanks to that song. The first ordered concerts given by “the Lyapises” were also organized thanks to it”.
Composers have one more alterative – they can try writing music for films. Yuahen Kalmykou promoted Vitalik from “beZ bileta” and the musician has already written several sound tracks for Russian films and movie serials. Yauhen Kalmykou:
Yauhen Kalmykou: “A composer of movie sound tracks has two ways of getting their fee. The first one – they can get paid for their work. The second way is waiting for the film to be out and getting yuor dividends.
To tell you the truth, it is a lie. It cannot make you rich. What is film making? It is six months of your life. What about the money? It can be 5 thousands or 50 thousands. How can we think about being rich?”
The profession of composers is unlikely to become as respected as it used to be nowadays as the stage resembles a yard with a through-passage.
Edward Hanok: “It used to be one of the most lucrative jobs in the country at that time - a composer of songs. It even made members of the Union of Composers envious, etc.
Now it is not worth anything. You also have to be a producer and have bands to write for… I am happy about not having to do it”.
The main modern sources of author’s emoluments – radio and TV – did not pay anything to poets, composers and singers even if they decided to broadcast their songs. For example, Henadz Buraukin, the author of the Belarusian “Lullaby” Soviet Belarusian children used to fall asleep to every evening, received…
Henadz Buraukin: “…about 100 roubles. We wrote that “Lullaby” together with Rainchyk and they accepted it and then paid for it. We did not receive anything for singing. And we have started getting some peanuts recently”.
According to Edward Hanok, you had to compose a hit to earn a lot. That hit was supposed to be ordered in restaurants and cafes all over the country. For example, “Pesnyary”’s “Vologda”. “A hit maker” could expect to get a fee that was 50 times bigger that Henadz Buraukin’s!
Edward Hanok: I used to make from 2 to 5 thousands a month. It was crazy money! People like Antonau and Dabrynin used to make from 10 to 30 thousands! I can say that I used to be the officially richest Belarusian!
Now you cannot make much on author’s emoluments as they are very small”.
Meanwhile, Edward Hanok wrote the song “Hello, other’s love” that became the first national hit of Alyaksandr Saladuha. It happened in the roaring 1990s… Alyaksandr Saladuha says:
Alyaksandr Saladuha: “I only know that the song was immediately bought at the price Hanok charged 16 years ago. It was bought by a friend of mine, a businessman. Three thousand dollars… It happened somewhere in 1992 or 1993”.
Rock musicians also managed to write national hits from time to time. The best example is the mocking “Hey” by “Lyapis Trubetskoi”. But did the popularity bring the musicians anything else besides financial success? The producer of the band “Lyapis Trubetskoi” Yauhen Kalmykou says:
Yauhen Kalmykou: “I can tell you that Mihalok did not get any crazy money at all, and this song did not make him rich either. But it did help us a lot when we traveled across former Soviet territories and gave concerts for 100 dollars – it happened thanks to that song. The first ordered concerts given by “the Lyapises” were also organized thanks to it”.
Composers have one more alterative – they can try writing music for films. Yuahen Kalmykou promoted Vitalik from “beZ bileta” and the musician has already written several sound tracks for Russian films and movie serials. Yauhen Kalmykou:
Yauhen Kalmykou: “A composer of movie sound tracks has two ways of getting their fee. The first one – they can get paid for their work. The second way is waiting for the film to be out and getting yuor dividends.
To tell you the truth, it is a lie. It cannot make you rich. What is film making? It is six months of your life. What about the money? It can be 5 thousands or 50 thousands. How can we think about being rich?”
The profession of composers is unlikely to become as respected as it used to be nowadays as the stage resembles a yard with a through-passage.
