Russian creator Dmitry Stepanov has proposed that American rapper Kanye West perform his viral artificial intelligence cover of the Soviet pop classic Sedaya Noch at an upcoming concert in Saint Petersburg.
Stepanov, who releases music under the stage name August Septemberov, is asking between 200,000 and 300,000 rubles for the performance rights to the track, according to the Russian Telegram news channel Mash.
The rights to the original composition are owned jointly by the family of the late singer Yuri Shatunov and by Stepanov himself.
Stepanov stated that Russian pop star Dima Bilan currently performs Sedaya Noch under the exact same financial terms, with royalty payments transferred to Septemberov once every quarter.
Royalties and parliamentary reaction
The offer follows comments from State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova regarding the prospect of West singing the hit song live in Russia. Zhurova noted that the neural network cover had gained widespread popularity online and suggested it could reach the American artist, encouraging him to perform it during a visit to Russia.
Sedaya Noch, which translates as Gray Night, was originally recorded in the late 1980s by Yuri Shatunov as the frontman of the Soviet boy band Laskovyi Mai. The track became one of the most famous hits of the late Soviet era and remains a staple of Russian pop culture following Shatunov's death in 2022.
Background on the performers
Kanye West, a 24-time Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer from the United States, has drawn significant public attention in Russia over potential concert dates in the country. Dima Bilan, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Russia in 2008, regularly performs modern adaptations of classic Russian hits in his live stage shows.
Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, frequently hosts major entertainment events. The State Duma serves as the lower house of the Russian parliament. In recent years, AI-generated covers synthesized using neural networks have become a widespread viral trend across Russian social media platforms.
