Melodiya ( rus, links=no, Мелодия, t=Melody) is a Russian (formerly Soviet)

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

. It was the state-owned major record company of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

History

Melodiya was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya". It utilized numerous recording studios and manufacturing facilities throughout the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

as well as powerful centres of distribution and promotional strategies. The best selling format at the time was 33⅓ and 78 rpm

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

records. By 1973, Melodiya released some 1,200 gramophone records with a total circulation of 190-200 million per year, in addition to 1 million

compact cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

s per year, was exporting its production to more than 70 countries.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

, 3rd edition, volume 16, p. 54, Moscow, Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya publisher, 1974 The label's production was dominated by

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, music by Soviet composers and musicians, performances by Soviet theatre actors, and

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

s for children. For example, Melodiya notably released performances of works by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

and

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

. Melodiya also released some of the most successful western pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

records, including albums by

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Boney M. Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...

Dave Grusin Robert David "Dave" Grusin (born June 26, 1934) is an American composer, arranger, producer, jazz pianist, and band leader. He has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record w ...

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

, and

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

. Melodiya also regularly released records by popular Soviet singers, among whom were

Alla Pugacheva Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, ) (born 15 April 1949), is а Soviet and Russian musical performer. Her career started in 1965 and continues to this day, even though she has retired from performing. For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display of ...

Vladimir Vysotsky Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky ( rus, links=no, Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor ...

Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musici ...

Sofia Rotaru Sofiia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru (born 7 August 1947), known as Sofia Rotaru ( uk, Софія Михайлівна Ротару ; russian: link=no, Софи́я Миха́йловна Рота́ру; ro, Sofia Rotaru), is a former Ukrainia ...

Mikhail Boyarsky Mikhail Sergeyevich Boyarsky (russian: Михаи́л Серге́евич Боя́рский; born 26 December 1949 in Leningrad) is a Soviet and Russian actor and singer. He is best known for playing swashbucklers in historical adventure films; ...

Valery Leontiev Valery Yakovlevich Leontiev (russian: link=no, Валерий Яковлевич Леонтьев; born 19 March 1949) is a Soviet and Russian pop singer, sometimes songwriter and actor whose popularity peaked in the early 1980s. He was titled a ...

Alexander Barykin Aleksander Aleksandrovich Barykin (Byrykin) (russian: Александр Александрович Барыкин (Бырыкин); February 18, 1952 — March 26, 2011) was a Soviet and Russian singer and songwriter. Biography Alexander Baryki ...

Vladimir Kuzmin Vladimir Borisovich Kuzmin (russian: Влади́мир Борисович Кузьмин born 31 May 1955) is a Russian rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Biography Kuzmin is the son of Boris Kuzmin, a naval officer, and Natalya Kuzmin ...

, as well as Soviet rock groups

Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

Mashina Vremeni Mashina Vremeni () is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and b ...

, and

Cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

In other countries, Melodiya recordings imported from the USSR were often sold under the label MK, which stood for ''Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga'' ("International Book",

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Μеждународная Книга). Being state owned until April 1989, the Soviet recording industry was able to apply a single numbering system to all its releases from 1933 onwards regardless of origin or place of manufacture. The number sequences for 78s and LPs are strictly chronological, from which it is possible to date many, though not all, releases using only the catalogue number Since 2008, some Melodiya records have been available to North American listeners through the Canadian classical label

Analekta Analekta is Canada's largest independent classical music recording label. The label, which takes its name from the Greek word ''analekta'' ("a collection of the finest works"), was founded in 1988 by the Canadian music industry manager and entre ...

which is distributed by

Entertainment One Distribution Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...

in the USAAudio News for July 11, 2008
and

Distribution Select Distribution Select (formerly Distribution Musicor, Distribution GAM and Distribution Trans-Canada) was a Canadian music distribution company based in Montréal, Quebec, originally founded in 1965 as Disques Select. It was owned by Quebecor. On Dece ...

in Canada.

Notable artists

Thousands of artists have appeared on the Melodiya label. For a partial list, see List of Melodiya artists.

References

External links

Official site (in English)

Collection of the first Soviet CDs (in Russian)
{{Authority control Russian record labels Record labels established in 1964 Russian brands Soviet brands Soviet music Mass media companies of the Soviet Union Classical music record labels Pop record labels Jazz record labels Rock record labels 1964 establishments in the Soviet Union Folk record labels Companies based in Moscow State-owned record labels Mass media companies of Russia

History

Notable artists

See also

References

External links