RAO Demands Rakhmaninov Museum Money for Rachmaninov Music

Museum staff at one of the events

Alexander Yermakov, director of the museum-estate of Sergei Rakhmaninov, said that the Russian Authors' Society (RAO) demanded to pay for concerts of the International Rachmaninov Festival, "Lilac Night in Ivanovka" and other concerts that took place on the territory of the museum-estate this year. The museum itself is located in the village of Ivanovka, Tambov region.

The head of the museum says that the agents of the RAO branch from Voronezh demand about 300 thousand rubles from the museum as royalties for using classical music at concerts in the museum. The concerts themselves are free, they are organized to attract tourists. Tourists pay only for the right to visit the museum.

According to the director, claims of RAO jeopardize the concert activity of the composer’s estate. One concert, which was scheduled for this week, has already been canceled . It is about holding the so-called "Starry Night" on July 16 of this year.
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Well-known musicians often take part in concerts that are held in Ivanovka.

The estate museum was founded in 1982 in the village of Ivanovka, Uvarovsky district of the Tambov region. Fans of Russian classical music and culture come here.

RAO is a non-profit organization that was created for the collective management of copyright. Its employees are engaged in the collection, distribution and payment of royalties for the use of works. In 2014, RAO managed to collect 4.6 billion rubles.

At the end of last month , searches were conducted in the main office of RAO in Moscow and in the apartment of the company's director Sergey Fedotov. Militiamen said that these actions are related to the identification of a fraudulent scheme that contributed to the transfer of property belonging to RW to third parties. Director Nikita Mikhalkov then defended the director of RAO, expressing concern that the case against Fedotov threatens the existence of a market for the collection and distribution of royalties.