Lena Katina Solo Project - part 2

[Joopy]

If Lightning Strikes responds:

Hey guys,
As I am sure you can imagine, we were really shocked and saddened by the most recent vlog placed on Lena's site yesterday.
We do not feel it is professional to air our differences in public, but feel we are now being forced to do so. Having said that, let me just start by saying that we have never refused to provide Lena's team with any reports or a list of the VIP members. These accusations are completely untrue and simply absurd. As a matter in fact, I personally discussed the VIP situation with Sven just last week and we agreed to get together to go over the list and make a smooth transition to passing the whole thing over to Lena's team. Unfortunately, as we both have very busy schedules, we have run into some scheduling conflicts. I am pleased however to tell you that he did assure me all of the benefits of the VIP status would be honored by Lena and her team.
For the last several weeks we have been working very hard behind the scenes to come to a fair resolution to the situation for all parties involved, but I am sorry to say that our efforts have not proven to be successful. We have lost a great deal of money that we invested in Lena's merchandise and the creation of Lena's Boutique and are now only seeking to recover some of what we lost by selling the remaining merchandise that we made at our own expense. We have offered several times to sell all of the remaining merchandise to Lena's team for our actual cost of the goods and reasonable expenses. These offers have all been refused.
Having been left with no other choice, It is now our intent to liquidate the remaining inventory of Lena Katina merchandise at a substantial discount in an attempt to recover our investment, at which time we will permanently close Lena's Boutique. If you feel that this is unreasonable and we are not entitled to recover our losses, then we ask that you do not purchase anything from the shop. For those who do choose to purchase from the shop, we guarantee that all orders will be shipped in a timely manner, as have all orders placed in the past. Furthermore, we have made no attempt to hurt Lena in any way, nor do we have any interest in doing so, we are just simply trying to sell off the merchandise. Rest assured, any profits earned beyond our break even point will be split with Lena as per our original agreement.
We would like to thank everyone who purchased VIP memberships and other items from the shop. To show our appreciation to all of the fans, we are pleased to announce that we will be conducting a raffle and giving away a ton of very rare t.A.T.u. items, some of which are one of a kind. Please watch http://www.iflightningstrikes.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/iflightningstrikes for further details.
We would like to emphasize that we have no ill feelings towards Lena and would like to take this opportunity to wish her all the best for the future and we wish her much success.
Kind regards,
Bruce Ball
If Lightning Strikes
(This message was sent to all those who bought the VIP package, there is proof what Bruce wrote here is true!)

[AshMcAuliffe]

erm...

[Argos]

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

Nobody gives a shit about Troy leaving other than (like I said before) the 10 or 15 t.A.T.u. fans who are probably the only ones who even know that he is.

So you are one of the 10-15, because you know it? Congrats!

Originally Posted by Joopy

If Lightning Strikes responds:
...

Somehow pretty much every business deal between Renskij and another party comes to a mess. I've already lost count how many people feel ripped off by him.

[Joopy]

Zhenya Voevodina (PR Manager) responds to fan comments:

On the Russian side I commented quite an ugly post of Snegopadi.
Summery of his post was “Everything about this project f*cking sucks.” Google translator can help you understand the essence of his post.
http://www.tatu.ru/forum/viewtopic.p...106023#1106023
“I’m not going to answer you in your nasty manner, but it is not the first time we have the feeling that no matter what we do, you’ll pour a wagon of sh*t on us. Songs – sucks. Webpage – trash. Management – crap. Artist – zero. Dear girls and boys, what are you writing about?
There is so much work ahead. Lena – and us – need your support. We DO need criric too, but why are you trying to constantly hurt us, hurt more and more (we are not deleting any of that because it doesn’t formally violate forum rules – so all your sadism stays)
Yes, Lena reads you. And on her own site her most loyal fans are letting her down so hurshly – and the most funny part is – with no legitimate reason. This is just not right, my friends...
We really want you to give her good energy. The good energy she is giving to you.
Consider this post as a call to be more human. If you don’t want to… well, stay spiteful. Nobody will ban you here for this".
P.S. I separately would like to thank argos for his mature comments.

[regigigas1505]

I do agree with Zhenya about sending good energies to Lena... She, in fact, IS giving it to us. The prokect is not perfect because her management sucks, but Lena -- she's giving all of her best. It's obvious she's trying really hard and I'm pretty sure it hurts when negative feedback, without valid points, happens.

[Talyubittu]

Professional management should refrain from blatantly telling fans that they are "shitting" upon Lena. - I have an idea. Why don't you get your act together at T.A. Music and do something of quality, something professional and something in a timely manner? That's not shitting on the project, that's expecting moderate professionalism. I think she forgets that despite being unhappy, many people are still waiting after all of this time. There has been more than enough time to have what...five v logs? We have no material other than live footage, and very little live footage at that. That, is a problem.

@Argos, possibly. The only difference is, I really am not interested in the Lena Katina project because Troy is the guitarist. Things happen. Find a new guitarist, and the show must go on. I think you could more than agree that despite my constant unhappiness with this project, I am indeed still around and among very few who still are.

[regigigas1505]

Talyubittu, her Facebook account tells us we're 10.000 + still around! gotta mean something, right?

... Right.

[Talyubittu]

Originally Posted by regigigas1505

Talyubittu, her Facebook account tells us we're 10.000 + still around! gotta mean something, right?

... Right.

No. It does not. Because Facebook is not music, and the number of followers you have on Facebook holds no significance into ones work or work ethic.

[Joopy]

Insider responds:

A little excursion into the history of t.A.T.u., which contains a lot of allusions to today's Lena Katina evolutions.
Almost two years passed in between the birth of t.A.T.u. and the YSSU's hitting the MTV.
We had several demos and one finalized product - YSSU (Ya Soshla S Uma, Russian version of All The Things She Said). We tried to place the song onto FM waves, way before Ivan shot the video.
For Moscow show-biz society Shapovalov and I were aliens with no connections, and we were not professionals.
Ivan had voyaged all of the music radio stations in Moscow (a few existed those days) with YSSU, he met the very same reaction everywhere: dull & unprofessional & non-format.
(How do you fans like it - the song "Ya Soshla S Uma" in its exact final version as it was eventually released did not blow anybody's mind in professional world, it was welcomed nowhere and was believed to be boring shit.)
I had a childhood friend - one of the Russkoe Radio (Russian Radio - huge FM radio) founders. I offered him 25% of t.A.T.u. for his support - he refused, he believed the project to be futureless.
Then I went desperate, but Shapovalov talked me (yes, talked me, not convinced me) into financing a video - after all the money spent to the moment.
Another round of camping-on-the-doorsteps started when the video was made. Again, we used to be met with one-finger-salute everywhere.
I distinctly remember I was told by one young lady I knew, a credible promoter those days, that "the product is interesting and promising but me and Shapovalov are half-a-loafs of the show-biz and we'll ruin it all".
That's how it was. It lacked only a t.A.T.u.'s forum to make our hands thrown up, and to make us die of shame and frustration. Happily, there was no forum those days, otherwise you guys would have had no chance of seeing any t.A.T.u. whatsoever.
Later, Ivan came to MTV for the n-th time round.
A guy (sorry about forgetting his name, he deserves a monument) who was in charge of local programs took the video with words like this: "...the video is cool, I like it, but I don't believe it has a future... I'll give it a basic air..."
You know the consequences.
I do not mean this story to be interpreted as a script for "Lena Katina" future progress. Do not think we are just sitting here waiting for "the MTV guy". We are not waiting, we are doing our best. This project is ours. Neither Universal nor Sony would do our work for us.
Those who rely on this are merely naive children. Those who maliciously propagate this possibility are evil children.
Words of wisdom:
Sometimes it is hard for the art to pave itself the way. Sometimes it takes a chance, sometimes it doesn't happen at all. Home-made crafts share the very same destiny.
The difference is good things stay living in history, become iconic, while bad ones are being ruthlessly erased with time leaving no trace.
Miscellaneous:
- At last, we have got a professional manager with significant abilities and significant belief in Lena. This will be officially announced later on. (To the deepest regret of many, this fact is not accompanied by my retirement. I am keeping my regular position of the executive producer.)
- Lena and the band are going to perform a one hour set in Dallas (Texas) on the 3d of February. More details to come.
- It is a pity, Troy literally "selling out his whole life" out of despair, putting things that used to connect him with t.A.T.u. up for sale. But nobody is going to erase his contribution to "Lena Katina" as it was suggested by some smart-ass. Nobody is going to delete his photos, interviews or obvious co-writing rights in songs. We surely are the Department Of Control, but not the Department Of Truth, please do not mix both up!
- Steve has not gone anywhere, he did only skip one concert because of his project, and this is it. Spitters, do not defame!
Yours,
He who's name shall not be spoken

Source: http://blog.tatu.ru/Insider/2010/11/...271980000.html

[Talyubittu]

What a load of garbage, I'm not sure what this "evil children" trash bin talk is about; but what they're clearly forgetting is that as an established company now, there should not be a two year wait between the development of a group and the marketing of said group. Everything about this allusion is completely backwards. To start with, t.A.T.u. at least had a provocative image that helped propel their success. What does Lena Katina have? Nothing spectacular short of a former member of t.A.T.u. to say the least. There is nothing flashy. Nothing attention getting. Nothing exciting or new. And in addition, there is "ok" work we've heard only in low quality recordings. Rensky's words of wisdom are nothing more than meaningless justification for the complete lack of professionalism both in regards to t.A.T.u.'s decline and Lena's failure to transcend. Lena does not even have a fanbase in L.A., so why are they going to spend time and money jumping to Dallas (congrats on another show), but why not focus on SoCal for now? That would make more sense. Moving on, I'm going to assume that I'm the "smart-ass" in question since I'm the only one who's spoken of replacing Troy - and I'd like to elaborate that nowhere did I say anything remotely similar to "erasing his contributions to Lena Katina" - I spoke of replacing him, because in order for the group to progress, it has to be done. This entire charade is getting old, and as I've said numerous times - it's extremely unprofessional for the management to make nasty comments like this towards fans. Especially people who are indeed still interested in the project. I have no use for Boris Rensky or anyone who defends that a complete lack of progress is art. That is not the case. To quote the insider when news of t.A.T.u. splitting was announced...

Originally Posted by Insider

The first single/video is to be released in the second half of 2009 (it's impossible to tell more precisely).
Album - at the end of 2009 - beginning of 2010.

It's been nearly two years and we have V logs and what, five shows? Less than impressive, and I do not feel bad about constantly expressing my dissatisfaction. I understand that things do not always work out as planned, but an independent release could have been more than possible at this point in time. I would like nothing more than to watch Lena succeed and to be able to listen to her music and watch her grow as an artist. And I'm aware she reads things that are posted, and my intention is not to be negative. But things are not working out this way for a reason, and it's the exact same story we had with VU and WM. Delay, delay. Justification, justification. Nasty things said to fans, rant, rant, rant and finally - the same independent release that would have been possible initially and years sooner. Hopefully this new manager will understand these concepts and Rensky will be able to sit in the shadows as the Insider, nursing us with his pleas of art and time and assuming that none of us have a drop of intelligence. I would not be here if I did not support Lena Katina, despite my lack of excitement. That is a fan.

[little_polar_bear]

Joopy, thank you. My, I thought Insider was dead? Wow! And another thing - why do they always want to hear pity from the fans?
Well, good if Lena has a professional manager (there are enough of that kind in L.A., I guess) believing in her, maybe we'll get to see some improvements soon. And cheer up, Mr. copycat-irony. (Even though his tone was ueber-optimistic actually...)

[Argos]

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

What a load of garbage, I'm not sure what this "evil children" trash bin talk is about...

He can't live without the 'lyudi invalidy'. He created them, he has to keep them alive and healthy.

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

... but what they're clearly forgetting is that as an established company now, there should not be a two year wait between the development of a group and the marketing of said group.

They are standing at the beginning. When they decided to go to the west, there were no major contacts there, except the record company they left. Everything has to be built from scratch, with the difference that they are not working in their own country, with people who don't trust them, simply because they are Russians (and Russians have made it nowhere outside their surroundings). It takes so long, maybe even longer. Alone they are completely helpless.

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

To start with, t.A.T.u. at least had a provocative image that helped propel their success. What does Lena Katina have? Nothing spectacular short of a former member of t.A.T.u. to say the least. There is nothing flashy. Nothing attention getting. Nothing exciting or new. And in addition, there is "ok" work we've heard only in low quality recordings.

Here is the core of the problem. It may attract Lena fans, but it won't go further. You have to be different from other acts, and you have to be interesting. There is nothing in the concept that gives you the impression of something unusual, exciting etc. Her success would throw every philosophy of the business upside down, the triumph of the grain of sand over the diamond.

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

Lena does not even have a fanbase in L.A., so why are they going to spend time and money jumping to Dallas (congrats on another show), but why not focus on SoCal for now? That would make more sense.

I guess it's again an invitation of former tatu fans in the business as the other performances were. I wouldn't reject it. The problem for Lena is that she is not a local act which is just developing right now. She stays there with a team in a foreign country, which costs money, and she has expensive musicians. If she trots from small gig to small gig around LA with very low salary there would only be huge costs. It's a hard decision whether to invest the money for this or to try to pick better paid bigger events. She needs recognition from people in the business more than from a random audience in California. A local band works from a growing fan base upwards, a foreign act usually works from the support of the industry down to the people. Lena is somewhere between.

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

I'm going to assume that I'm the "smart-ass" in question

Too much honour for you. There are dozens of people Renskij has in the field of vision of his scope.

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

Delay, delay. Justification, justification. Nasty things said to fans, rant, rant, rant and finally -

Well, the delay part is the Russian way of life, but the rest maybe helped TA Music's projects keep alive. Most of the forum postings are related to this!

Originally Posted by Talyubittu

Rensky will be able to sit in the shadows as the Insider, nursing us with his pleas of art and time and assuming that none of us have a drop of intelligence.

Wanna bet on the compatibility of the new manager with Renskij? He will return back like this famous barbecued chicken - Phoenix - out of the ashes!

[Talyubittu]

Originally Posted by Argos

He can't live without the 'lyudi invalidy'. He created them, he has to keep them alive and healthy

Which only adds to my argument that the Lena Katina project is nothing but a continuation of the failed attempt t.A.T.u. turned into.

Originally Posted by Argos

They are standing at the beginning. When they decided to go to the west, there were no major contacts there, except the record company they left. Everything has to be built from scratch, with the difference that they are not working in their own country, with people who don't trust them, simply because they are Russians (and Russians have made it nowhere outside their surroundings). It takes so long, maybe even longer. Alone they are completely helpless.

Exactly. Which why I said what I said about VU and WM. These albums could have been released when they were initially given release dates, as an independent release for the most part is what T.A. Music ended up relying on in the end. Lena Katina's album is going to be no different, release it to generate SOME excitement, or something to sell at shows other than t-shirts.

The Phoenix comment by far was the best analogy I've ever read by the way.

[Winkie]

I've been reading in this thread for quite some time now. I found very different opinions about Lena's voice and the quality of her songs. But thing is, I'd like to judge them myself. Does anyone have a link or something towards her songs? I just can't seem to find anything. Thanks in advance.

[RowerB]

Originally Posted by Winkie

Does anyone have a link or something towards her songs?

All my love posted two youtube links on tatu.ru forum, here:
http://www.tatu.ru/forum/viewtopic.p...106650#1106650

[Winkie]

Thank you! I'll check them out as soon as I get home.

[Starrgurl]

You could also check youtube. These are her current solo songs that we have:

Lost In This Dance
World
IRS
Just A Day
So Not Cool
Stay

Just type in Lena Katina and any of those song titles, you will find a few versions of each.

[regigigas1505]

Lena posted on Facebook:

Hey, guys!!!! Just had another amazing writing & recording session with Australian singer&songwriter Vassy!!! Good stuff!!!! :-)))
Cant wait to share those songs with you!!!!

About the Vassy person:

http://www.facebook.com/VassyFans

She's got a label! AND a voice, actually.

http://www.youtube.com/user/vassymus.../1/BUtuP_K65Io

I think it sounds promising.

[manatsu103]

New December V LOG! (With of course no new info about music. )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00obWPkudkM&feature=sub

[Talyubittu]

Originally Posted by manatsu103

New December V LOG! (With of course no new info about music. )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00obWPkudkM&feature=sub

Who are they releasing these for? With no music, who is listening? Even I'm not going to watch it.