Last year, when the Swedish pop group Ace of Base ruled the Russian airwaves with a hegemony once reserved for Soviet propagandists, many radio listeners must have surmised that if Russia had a Billboard Top 40, Nos. 1 through 5 would be "All She Wants is Another Baby."
They weren't far wrong. The Smirnoff CD Top 40, billed as Russia's first Western-style weekly popular music chart based on sales volume rather than airplay or audience polls, will air for the second time Friday night on Radio 7 -- and it's the Swedes all the way.
In the No. 1 slot is E-Type, an Ace of Base imitator, with an album titled -- what else? -- Made in Sweden.
Close behind at No. 2 is ABBA Gold, by ABBA, the two long-haired married couples who ignited the Russian passion for bland Swedish pop back in the 1970s, when their sheer inoffensiveness made them one of a handful of groups sanctioned by the Soviet authorities.
The Gipsy Kings, Joe Cocker and Sting elbow their way into the next three positions, but ABBA shows up again at No. 8 with More Abba Gold and Ace of Base clocks in at No. 17. As this is an album chart, there is no way of measuring how many rubles were plunked down for the relentless beat of their single "All She Wants is Another Baby."
The chart is sponsored by the Smirnoff vodka company and based on sales of non-pirated compact discs at 50 Moscow stores, according to Chris Lewis of DMC, a Moscow-based market research firm that dreamed up and compiles the chart. He said DMC hopes eventually to sample stores nationwide.
The Smirnoff CD Top 40 is actually divided into the top 20 albums by foreign musicians and the top 20 by Russians -- "so there won't be any nationalism," said Lewis, who is British.
Russian leaders are Leonid Agutin, whose song "Black-Skinned Guy" was recently condemned in the State Duma as racist; Natalya Velitskaya, a chirpy ex-model; Mikhail Shufutinsky, an emigr? who sings at a Brighton Beach nightclub in New York; and the rock dinosaurs of Mashina Vremeni, or Time Machine.
Radio 7 first aired a show based on the chart last Friday, and will play it every Friday from 9 P.M. to 10 P.M. on 73.4 FM. The station's 104.7 FM band for now will stick to its English-language program from 6 P.M. to 10 P.M., a station spokesman said.
The chart will be played on Evropa Plus in Novosibirsk, Omsk and Samara and on Radio Maximum in Perm, Lewis said. He said he is negotiating with other Moscow stations.
Smirnoff spokesman Andrei Rukavishnikov said other recently launched pop charts rely on audience surveys, which are often slanted toward very young listeners, and airplay, which is often influenced by deals between disc jockeys and producers.
"Some producers simply pay for their clients to win," he said. "We are guaranteeing objective information because we don't need any money -- to the contrary we are spending money to create the chart and advertise our firm."
"It will be good to have a chart based on the Russian market," said Stepan Stroyev, a DJ at Radio Roks, when asked about the Smirnoff concept.
However, Lewis, 24, said the chart's focus on CDs means it measures the tastes of a population richer and older than average, which he believes skews the results.
"We're always getting Julio Iglesias in there," he said. "I always think, 'Who's buying this stuff?'"
Stroyev agreed when he was read this week's top 20. "This is not an altogether objective hit-parade," he said.
The chart is based only on original, store-bought CDs because many tapes and many CDs sold in kiosks are pirated copies.
"It's no secret that many CDs and tapes for sale in Moscow are illegally made," said Rukaveshnikov. "We are trying to fight for a civilized market in the music business, just as we fought against fake brand-name vodkas to create a civilized vodka business."
There is another motive, too. Smirnoff put up $500,000 toward three years of top-40 charts, Lewis said. If the charts take off, he said, the company will be getting a lot of advertising bang for its buck.
He envisions repeated mentions of Smirnoff on weekly top-40 shows across the country -- and anyone familiar with Casey Kasem's American Top 40 knows just how repetitive they can be -- as well as Smirnoff logo hanging in participant record stores and top-40 nights at dance clubs.
The American company has already bombarded Russia with its international ad campaign -- according to which, if viewed through a bottle of Smirnoff, black cats become snarling panthers and the Statue of Liberty coquettishly twirls her skirt. Billboards loom over central Moscow spots like Triumfalnaya Ploshchad and television ads are frequent.
Lewis said the biggest challenge was getting wary store managers to share sales information. "People don't understand the concept of a chart," he said.
Top-selling Russian compact discs
T P Group Album
1 1 Compilation Silver Disk 1994
2 2 Leonid Agutin
Bosonogy Malchik
3 3 Natalya Vetlitskaya Playboy
4 5 Mikhail Shufutinsky
Gulai, Dusha
5 6 Andrei Makarevich
Ya Tebya Risuyu
6 4 Mashina Vremeni
Greatest Hits 1979-83
7 7 Tatyana Bulanova Izmena
8 13 Lyube Best Songs, Best Years
9 12 Natalya Vetlitskaya
Posmotri v Glaza
10 11 Igor Talkov Ya Vernus
11 17 Dyuna Veteyu
12 8 Anzhelika Varum Lya-Lya-Fa
13 14 Igor Talkov Moya Lyubov
14 N Bravo Moskovsky Beat
15 N DDT Aktrisa Vesna
16 9 Irina Allegrova Suzheny Moi
17 10 Compilation
Radio 101 Russian Collection
18 N Mikhail Shufutinsky
Greatest Hits II
19 N Mikhail Shufutinsky
Greatest Hits I
20 N Akvarium Peski Peterburga
Top-selling foreign compact discs
T P Group Album
1 1 E-Type Made in Sweden
2 5 ABBA ABBA Gold
3 2 Gipsy Kings Greatest Hits
4 3 Joe Cocker Have a Little Faith
5 14 Sting The Fields of Gold
6 6 Yello Zebra
7 9 Queen Greatest Hits
8 4 ABBA More ABBA Gold
9 8 Ardis Love Addict
10 7 Sade The Best of Sade
11 11 Queen Innuendo
12 10 Julio Iglesias Crazy
13 19 Madonna Bedtime Stories
14 N Aerosmith Get a Grip
15 13 Queen Greatest Hits II
16 16 Smokie The Collection
17 12 Ace of Base Happy Nation
18 15 Chris DeBurgh This Way Up
19 20 Pink Floyd The Division Bell
20 17 Bryan Adams So Far So Good
T -- This week's position
P -- Previous week's position
N -- New top-20 entry
Results based on sales of non-pirated compact discs in more than 50 Moscow retail outlets.
They weren't far wrong. The Smirnoff CD Top 40, billed as Russia's first Western-style weekly popular music chart based on sales volume rather than airplay or audience polls, will air for the second time Friday night on Radio 7 -- and it's the Swedes all the way.
In the No. 1 slot is E-Type, an Ace of Base imitator, with an album titled -- what else? -- Made in Sweden.
Close behind at No. 2 is ABBA Gold, by ABBA, the two long-haired married couples who ignited the Russian passion for bland Swedish pop back in the 1970s, when their sheer inoffensiveness made them one of a handful of groups sanctioned by the Soviet authorities.
The Gipsy Kings, Joe Cocker and Sting elbow their way into the next three positions, but ABBA shows up again at No. 8 with More Abba Gold and Ace of Base clocks in at No. 17. As this is an album chart, there is no way of measuring how many rubles were plunked down for the relentless beat of their single "All She Wants is Another Baby."
The chart is sponsored by the Smirnoff vodka company and based on sales of non-pirated compact discs at 50 Moscow stores, according to Chris Lewis of DMC, a Moscow-based market research firm that dreamed up and compiles the chart. He said DMC hopes eventually to sample stores nationwide.
The Smirnoff CD Top 40 is actually divided into the top 20 albums by foreign musicians and the top 20 by Russians -- "so there won't be any nationalism," said Lewis, who is British.
Russian leaders are Leonid Agutin, whose song "Black-Skinned Guy" was recently condemned in the State Duma as racist; Natalya Velitskaya, a chirpy ex-model; Mikhail Shufutinsky, an emigr? who sings at a Brighton Beach nightclub in New York; and the rock dinosaurs of Mashina Vremeni, or Time Machine.
Radio 7 first aired a show based on the chart last Friday, and will play it every Friday from 9 P.M. to 10 P.M. on 73.4 FM. The station's 104.7 FM band for now will stick to its English-language program from 6 P.M. to 10 P.M., a station spokesman said.
The chart will be played on Evropa Plus in Novosibirsk, Omsk and Samara and on Radio Maximum in Perm, Lewis said. He said he is negotiating with other Moscow stations.
Smirnoff spokesman Andrei Rukavishnikov said other recently launched pop charts rely on audience surveys, which are often slanted toward very young listeners, and airplay, which is often influenced by deals between disc jockeys and producers.
"Some producers simply pay for their clients to win," he said. "We are guaranteeing objective information because we don't need any money -- to the contrary we are spending money to create the chart and advertise our firm."
"It will be good to have a chart based on the Russian market," said Stepan Stroyev, a DJ at Radio Roks, when asked about the Smirnoff concept.
However, Lewis, 24, said the chart's focus on CDs means it measures the tastes of a population richer and older than average, which he believes skews the results.
"We're always getting Julio Iglesias in there," he said. "I always think, 'Who's buying this stuff?'"
Stroyev agreed when he was read this week's top 20. "This is not an altogether objective hit-parade," he said.
The chart is based only on original, store-bought CDs because many tapes and many CDs sold in kiosks are pirated copies.
"It's no secret that many CDs and tapes for sale in Moscow are illegally made," said Rukaveshnikov. "We are trying to fight for a civilized market in the music business, just as we fought against fake brand-name vodkas to create a civilized vodka business."
There is another motive, too. Smirnoff put up $500,000 toward three years of top-40 charts, Lewis said. If the charts take off, he said, the company will be getting a lot of advertising bang for its buck.
He envisions repeated mentions of Smirnoff on weekly top-40 shows across the country -- and anyone familiar with Casey Kasem's American Top 40 knows just how repetitive they can be -- as well as Smirnoff logo hanging in participant record stores and top-40 nights at dance clubs.
The American company has already bombarded Russia with its international ad campaign -- according to which, if viewed through a bottle of Smirnoff, black cats become snarling panthers and the Statue of Liberty coquettishly twirls her skirt. Billboards loom over central Moscow spots like Triumfalnaya Ploshchad and television ads are frequent.
Lewis said the biggest challenge was getting wary store managers to share sales information. "People don't understand the concept of a chart," he said.
Top-selling Russian compact discs
T P Group Album
1 1 Compilation Silver Disk 1994
2 2 Leonid Agutin
Bosonogy Malchik
3 3 Natalya Vetlitskaya Playboy
4 5 Mikhail Shufutinsky
Gulai, Dusha
5 6 Andrei Makarevich
Ya Tebya Risuyu
6 4 Mashina Vremeni
Greatest Hits 1979-83
7 7 Tatyana Bulanova Izmena
8 13 Lyube Best Songs, Best Years
9 12 Natalya Vetlitskaya
Posmotri v Glaza
10 11 Igor Talkov Ya Vernus
11 17 Dyuna Veteyu
12 8 Anzhelika Varum Lya-Lya-Fa
13 14 Igor Talkov Moya Lyubov
14 N Bravo Moskovsky Beat
15 N DDT Aktrisa Vesna
16 9 Irina Allegrova Suzheny Moi
17 10 Compilation
Radio 101 Russian Collection
18 N Mikhail Shufutinsky
Greatest Hits II
19 N Mikhail Shufutinsky
Greatest Hits I
20 N Akvarium Peski Peterburga
Top-selling foreign compact discs
T P Group Album
1 1 E-Type Made in Sweden
2 5 ABBA ABBA Gold
3 2 Gipsy Kings Greatest Hits
4 3 Joe Cocker Have a Little Faith
5 14 Sting The Fields of Gold
6 6 Yello Zebra
7 9 Queen Greatest Hits
8 4 ABBA More ABBA Gold
9 8 Ardis Love Addict
10 7 Sade The Best of Sade
11 11 Queen Innuendo
12 10 Julio Iglesias Crazy
13 19 Madonna Bedtime Stories
14 N Aerosmith Get a Grip
15 13 Queen Greatest Hits II
16 16 Smokie The Collection
17 12 Ace of Base Happy Nation
18 15 Chris DeBurgh This Way Up
19 20 Pink Floyd The Division Bell
20 17 Bryan Adams So Far So Good
T -- This week's position
P -- Previous week's position
N -- New top-20 entry
Results based on sales of non-pirated compact discs in more than 50 Moscow retail outlets.
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