Kanye West received $20 million for canceled St. Petersburg concerts and is unlikely to return it, Kommersant reports
Rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, received about $20 million for two canceled concerts in St. Petersburg, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
“That’s not his net fee: that money also covers things like paying for his staff,” one of the publication’s sources said. Another source suggested that West would not return the money to the organizers, since his contract does not require it.
Anna Subcheva, head of Say Agency, which organized the shows, told Kommersant that her company had not broken “a single law.” She said that after the concerts were announced, her company, she herself, and West faced a wave of negativity from competitors that also received support in the media.
Asked by journalists whether the concerts might be held on different dates, Subcheva replied, “We’ll see.”
Kanye West was scheduled to perform at Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg on October 10 and 11. After the concerts were announced, lawmakers and pro-war activists began actively voicing discontent over the rapper’s visit to Russia. Whether to hold or cancel the concerts was even discussed in the Kremlin.
A week ago, Say Agency announced it was canceling the shows, and the Russian concerts disappeared from West’s tour schedule. The same day, Kommersant reported that St. Petersburg police had opened a review of Say Agency for fraud. The collected materials would go to the Interior Ministry’s central office in Moscow, which would decide whether there were grounds to open a criminal case.
The review was prompted by a complaint from a St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly member to whom ticket buyers had complained. The organizers claimed that more than 100,000 tickets, priced between 9,000 and 160,000 rubles, were sold in the first two days of sales. After the concerts were canceled, they promised to refund the money.
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