West Records

Last updated
West Records
Founded1996 (1996)
FounderSiarhiej Jasiučenia [1]
Statusinactive
Genrevarious
Country of origin Belarus
Location Minsk
Official websitewestrecords.by

West Records is a record label in the Republic of Belarus. [2]

Contents

Activity

The company is engaged in production and promotion of the releases of Belarusian bands and performers. Many of the most popular Belarusian records of the 2000s, including the domestic tribute to Depeche Mode, albums of J:морс, Тяни-Толкай, Atlantica, Alexey Khlestov  [ ru ], Нестандартный вариант  [ ru ], IQ48  [ be-x-old ], N.R.M., Krambambula, beZ bileta, Hair Peace Salon with Jitters, [3] [4] Open Space, and many others, were released on the label. At the same time, the label aims to present the widest possible range of Belarusian music, from ska to opera, in its catalogue. [5] [6]

West Records is also a distributor of world-famous labels, such as Sony BMG, Universal, [7] EMI, across the territory of Belarus. The company distributes the licensed products of all major Russian companies, including Мистерия звука  [ ru ], Монолит  [ ru ], Мегалайнер, CD Land  [ ru ], Никитин, and many others.

As Belorusskaya Gazeta’s Jeliena Ankudo reported in 2003, the State Control Committee of the Republic of Belarus imposed a fine of more than $600000 on the company for violations in its financial and economic activities. [8]

In 2010 the label together with the portal TUT.BY produced the show «Russian : Шоу Лауринаса и Мусиэгле» with the participation of Belarusian show business personalities. [9] [10]

Recognition

According to the presented results of the editorial awards by the music portal Experty.by, West Records was named the best record label of the year three times in a row (in 2008, 2009 and 2010). [11] [12] [13]

In 2010 Oleg Klimov, ex-chief editor of Muzykalnaya Gazeta, as a columnist over at naviny.by named the label, in whose catalogue mediocre albums are rare, “outstanding.” [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pick Me Up (EP)</span> 2006 EP by Jitters

Pick Me Up is an EP by the Belarusian rock band Jitters recorded at Vyacheslav Bankevich's studio in Baranavichy and self-released on June 1, 2006. All songs were written by Konstantin Karman in the English language. The presentation of the mini-album was held on October 25, 2006, at the Minsk club “Russian: ЁЁ.” In 2007, the EP was re-released as part of the split-album Split Before, Together Now by the bands Hair Peace Salon and Jitters.

References

  1. Оакли, Александр (2008-09-25). "Белорусская звукозапись не страдает из-за Интернета". Компьютерные Вести (in Russian) (37). Archived from the original on 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  2. Замировская, Татьяна; Иващенко, Максим (2005). "СЕМЬ ДНЕЙ ИСТОРИИ БЕЛОРУССКОГО РОК-Н-РОЛЛА". Muzykalnaya Gazeta (in Russian) (44). Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  3. Соболевская, E. (2007). "Hair Peace Salon/Jitters Split Before, Together Now" [Hair Peace Salon/Jitters Split Before, Together Now]. Muzykalnaya Gazeta (in Russian) (41). Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  4. "Split Before, Together Now" [Split Before, Together Now] (in Russian). West Records. 2007-10-28. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
  5. Скопинов, Артем (2007-12-30). "West Records подводит итоги года" (in Russian). puls.by. Archived from the original on 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  6. Подберезский, Дмитрий. "West Records" (in Russian). ej.by. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  7. "Компания West Records заключила беспрецедентную для белорусского музыкального рынка сделку". Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta (in Russian). Агентство финансовых новостей. 2003-03-04. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  8. Анкудо, Елена (2003-08-23). "ЭТУ ПЕСНЮ НЕ ЗАДУШИШЬ, НЕ УБЬЕШЬ". Belorusskaya Gazeta (in Russian). 32 (399). Archived from the original on 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  9. 1 2 Климов, Олег (2010-08-28). "Олег Климов. НАВIНКI ШОУ-БИЗА. С креативом под юбку" (in Russian). naviny.by. Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  10. "Шоу Лауринаса и Мусиэгле" (in Russian). TUT.BY. Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  11. "Лучшие альбомы 2008" (in Russian). Experty.by. 2009-02-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  12. "Лепшыя альбомы 2009" (in Belarusian). Experty.by. 2010-02-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  13. "Лучшие альбомы 2010 (+аудио)" (in Russian). Experty.by. 2011-03-02. Archived from the original on 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-04-08.