Concert of Artists Collaborating with Atlantic Records Russia Cancelled

The concert scheduled for October 23 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex, which had sparked significant public protest, has been cancelled. This was confirmed to Tert.am by one of the concert organizers.

“There wasn’t going to be any Azerbaijani singer performing at this concert, but to avoid unnecessary discussions, we decided to cancel the concert. ‘Andro’ and ‘The Limba,’ who have worked with Atlantic Records Russia, were supposed to perform, and this label also collaborates with Azerbaijani artists,” the organizer stated.

When asked about Emin Agalarov, who was once the son-in-law of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and his connection to Atlantic Records Russia, the organizer mentioned: “As far as I know, he is the director. The artists who were supposed to perform in Armenia have previously worked with this label, including some Azerbaijani singers. Moreover, many Armenian artists have also collaborated with this label. In any case, to avoid unnecessary conversations, we decided to cancel the concert,” he said.

It is worth noting that earlier in a conversation with 168.am, the director of the Sports and Concert Complex, Karen Ghazaryan, remarked that he had informed the concert organizers that this group could not perform there: “The hall was not taken just for one concert on October 23; they reserved it to hold a three-day festival-type event. Different groups and participants will be part of the festival. I have just clarified that on the 23rd, there will be a group that has no Azerbaijani members; there are Roma musicians, their producer is Russian, but they work under Agalarov and this label, which also works with many Armenian musicians. However, all this did not prevent us from informing the organizers that we would not accept that group. Considering that, while it's true they don’t have any Azerbaijani members, they collaborate with Azerbaijanis in a way that promotes and develops their culture. Therefore, I told the organizers that this group cannot come to us,” said Karen Ghazaryan.