# Melodiya

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Russian record label

Record label

Melodiya Parent company Formax JSC Founded 1964 Founder Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union Distributor Zvonko Digital (since 2015) Genre Various Country of origin Soviet Union Official website melody.su/en/

**Melodiya** (Russian: Мелодия, lit. 'Melody') is a Russian [record label](/source/Record_label). It was the state-owned major record company of the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union).

## History

Melodiya was established in 1964[1] as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya" in accordance with a [resolution](/source/Order_of_the_Government_of_Russia) issued by the [Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union](/source/Council_of_Ministers_of_the_Soviet_Union). It utilized numerous recording studios and manufacturing facilities throughout the USSR as well as powerful centres of distribution and promotional strategies. The best selling format at the time was 33⅓ and 78 rpm [vinyl records](/source/Vinyl_record). By 1973, Melodiya released some 1,200 gramophone records with a total circulation of 190–200 million per year,[2] in addition to 1 million [compact cassettes](/source/Compact_cassette) per year, was exporting its production to more than 70 countries.[3]

The label's production was dominated by classical music, music by Soviet composers and musicians, performances by Soviet theatre actors, and fairy tales for children. For example, Melodiya notably released performances of works by [Tchaikovsky](/source/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky) and [Shostakovich](/source/Dmitri_Shostakovich). Melodiya also released some of the most successful western pop, jazz and rock records, including albums by [ABBA](/source/ABBA), [Paul McCartney](/source/Paul_McCartney), [Boney M.](/source/Boney_M.), [Dave Grusin](/source/Dave_Grusin), [Dalida](/source/Dalida), [Amanda Lear](/source/Amanda_Lear), and [Bon Jovi](/source/Bon_Jovi). Melodiya also regularly released records by popular Soviet singers, among whom were [Alla Pugacheva](/source/Alla_Pugacheva), [Vladimir Vysotsky](/source/Vladimir_Vysotsky), [Bulat Okudzhava](/source/Bulat_Okudzhava), [Sofia Rotaru](/source/Sofia_Rotaru), [Mikhail Boyarsky](/source/Mikhail_Boyarsky), [Valery Leontiev](/source/Valery_Leontiev), [Alexander Barykin](/source/Alexander_Barykin), [Vladimir Kuzmin](/source/Vladimir_Kuzmin), as well as Soviet rock groups [Autograph](/source/Autograph_(Russian_band)), [Mashina Vremeni](/source/Mashina_Vremeni), [Bravo](/source/Bravo_(band)) and [Cruise](/source/Cruise_(band)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Soviet 7-inch record of [The Beatles](/source/The_Beatles)'s songs "[Octopus's Garden](/source/Octopus's_Garden)" and "[Something](/source/Something_(The_Beatles_song))", with "[Come Together](/source/Come_Together)" on the reverse.

In other countries, Melodiya recordings imported from the USSR were often sold under the label MK, which stood for *Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga* (Μеждународная книга, 'International Book').

Being state owned until April 1989, the Soviet recording industry was able to apply a single numbering system to all its releases from 1933 onwards regardless of origin or place of manufacture. The number sequences for 78s and LPs are strictly chronological, from which it is possible to date many, though not all, releases using only the catalogue number [4]

Since 2008, some Melodiya records have been available to North American listeners through the Canadian classical label [Analekta](/source/Analekta) which is distributed by [Entertainment One Distribution](/source/Entertainment_One_Distribution) in the US[5] and [Distribution Select](/source/Distribution_Select) in Canada.

Melodiya is working with the archive.[6] As of 2023, more than 80% of the archive has been digitized and 2,400 digital albums have been published; since 2014, more than 100 vinyl records have been published.[2]

## Notable artists

Thousands of artists have appeared on the Melodiya label. For a partial list, see [List of Melodiya artists](/source/List_of_Melodiya_artists).

## See also

- [List of record labels](/source/List_of_record_labels)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Винил 60-летней выдержки"](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6689588). *Коммерсантъ* (in Russian). 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2025-03-26.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-stereo60_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-stereo60_2-1) bluesevich (2024-04-23). ["60 лет «Мелодии»: от главного лейбла СССР до частной компании"](https://stereo.ru/p/7xkzi-60-let-melodii-ot-glavnogo-leybla-sssr-do-chastnoy-kompanii). *Stereo.ru* (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-03-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GSE_3-0)** [Great Soviet Encyclopedia](/source/Great_Soviet_Encyclopedia), 3rd edition, volume 16, p. 54, Moscow, Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya publisher, 1974

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Melodiya: a brief history and explanation of the numbering system for shellac, vinyl and compact discs"](https://www.medtner.org.uk/melodiya_frameset.html). *www.medtner.org.uk*. Retrieved 2025-03-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Audio News for July 11, 2008](http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4477) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110718023541/http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4477) July 18, 2011, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["«Мелодия» нашей жизни | Музыкальная жизнь"](https://muzlifemagazine.ru/melodiya-nashey-zhizni/). *Критико-публицистический журнал «Музыкальная жизнь»* (in Russian). 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2025-03-26.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Melodiya](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Melodiya).

- [Official site (in English)](http://www.melody.su/en/)

- [Collection of the first Soviet CDs (in Russian)](http://melodycd.su/catalogue-sucd/)

v t e Eastern Bloc state-owned record labels Primary (ALB) RTSH (PRB) Balkanton (TCH) Supraphon (GDR) Amiga (HUN) Hungaroton (PRL) Polskie Nagrania (RSR) Electrecord (URS) Melodiya (YUG) PGP-RTB / PGP-RTS Secondary (TCH) Opus (TCH) Panton (PRL) Polton (PRL) Pronit (YUG) Diskos (YUG) Diskoton (YUG) Jugodisk (YUG) Jugoton (YUG) Suzy (YUG) ZKP RTLJ

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National United States France 2 BnF data 2 Spain Latvia Poland Other MusicBrainz label 2 3 Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Melodiya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodiya) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodiya?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.