The content we consume has a direct impact on our worldview and, unfortunately, on the financing of the aggressor's military machine. Here's how the statistics of listening on streaming platforms have changed and how many people have already given up russian-language content

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Ukrainians are increasingly rejecting russian music, according to a recent social survey by Gradus Research. Although certain categories of Ukrainians continue to prefer russian artists, their number is gradually decreasing. 

How has the consumption of music by russian artists changed since 24.02.2022? Why haven't all Ukrainians refused to listen to the aggressor's content? And how does this affect the war? Let's explore together. 

How many Ukrainians have rejected russian performers?

The eighth wave of research on sociopolitical and migration processes in Ukraine during the war shows that 45% of Ukrainians have completely abandoned russian music, and 21% have started listening to it less than before. At the same time, 20% of our fellow citizens have never listened to russian music. Only 8% of Ukrainians continue to consume russian-language content. 

It is important to note that the older generation of Ukrainians, many of whom were raised on russian culture, are also severing ties with the aggressor country. The highest percentage of rejection is among Ukrainians in the 45-60 and 35-44 age groups. 

On the other hand, more than 12% of Ukrainians aged 18 to 24 have started listening to russian music, although they did not listen to it before or listen to it more often than before. 

It is worth noting that no survey was conducted among citizens under the age of 18, but a large percentage of children continue to follow trending artists on social media and listen to their songs, many of which, unfortunately, are russian. Therefore, parents should pay more attention to this issue and explain to their children why they should switch to domestic content. 

Residents of the southern, eastern and central regions of Ukraine are more loyal to russian music artists. On average, 85% of Ukrainians here do not listen to russian artists, with the highest rejection rate in Sumy and Chernihiv regions at almost 93%. In Kyiv, almost 20% of Ukrainians continue to listen to russian songs. 

Listening statistics on streaming platforms

The year 2022 was a turning point in the repertoire of Ukrainian pop music. russian songs disappeared from the airwaves, and were replaced by new Ukrainian-language hits. Many of them immediately won over the domestic audience and went viral on all digital platforms.

In August 2022, every fourth song in the Apple Music Top 100 was in russian, but the top ten most popular songs were exclusively Ukrainian. This was the first time in history. 

russian content has not completely disappeared from the Ukrainian ratings, but even if 25% of Ukrainians listen to russian songs, this is a good indicator, because before the war, there were 7 Russian songs in the Apple Music Top 10, and there were no Ukrainian-language hits in the Top 100.

In the Apple Music Top 100 Ukraine ranking in April 2023, songs by russian rappers once again took the top spot. The situation is similar in the Spotify rankings. In the Top 50 Trends of Ukraine chart, a song by a russian artist also took the top spot. This trend suggests that many Ukrainians continue to pay attention to popular hits, particularly on social media, perhaps not realizing how this affects the war.

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How does listening to russian songs affect the war?

The main argument is that by listening to songs by artists from the aggressor country, Ukrainians are sponsoring the occupying army. To understand, the artist receives monetization money for listening to songs on streaming platforms. With each listening, the amount becomes more and more. In turn, the artist, who is a citizen of the russian federation, pays taxes for his activities to the budget of the occupying country. The russian leadership uses the funds received in the war against Ukraine and spends them on numerous missiles that are flying at our land every day. 

Downloading popular hits from pirate sites is also not a good option, as listening to songs promotes the artists. For example, you play a song in your car and a random passerby likes it and downloads it to his phone. The same situation can happen if you use russian songs to create your own short videos on social media. 

The promotion of russian content has a bad effect on Ukrainian culture. We should also be more attentive to the values that russian artists promote in their songs. Quite often, they are not close to the majority of Ukrainians. 

Prospects for popularizing Ukrainian songs 

A large percentage of Ukrainians have already found arguments to refuse russian content. Another important step in reducing the popularity of russian content was the legislative restriction by the Verkhovna Rada on the public use of russian music content. 

Ukraine is rich in talented performers who create more and more real hits every day. Most Ukrainian artists also conduct charity tours to raise money for the Armed Forces and support Ukrainians affected by the war and fighting the enemy on their home front. 

Every Ukrainian should be more attentive to their personal musical preferences.

We remind you! Every day, the world witnesses putin's terrible war crimes against Ukraine. Thus, in a poll, Ukrainians almost unanimously agreed that putin is a modern-day Hitler. You can read more about the course and results of the survey in our article here.

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