WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.980 Welcome to the deep dive. We are so glad you're 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:05.500 here because you know when you think of massive 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.460 music festivals Your mind probably jumps straight 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:10.640 to the slow burn right the traditional ones. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.779 Yeah, exactly like you picture the sprawling 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:17.379 sunbaked polo fields of Coachella or maybe the 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:20.800 The endless muddy campsites of Glastonbury classic 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.480 visual. Yeah, it really is and we're basically 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.339 conditioned to think of these entrenched legendary 00:00:26.339 --> 00:00:30.710 events as institutions that took I mean, decades 00:00:30.710 --> 00:00:32.549 to build their reputation. Oh, absolutely. They 00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:34.250 don't just happen. Right. They usually start 00:00:34.250 --> 00:00:37.310 out in some obscure field run by a skeleton crew 00:00:37.310 --> 00:00:40.810 before slowly and agonizingly growing into global 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:43.530 destinations over the course of... 20 or 30 years. 00:00:43.670 --> 00:00:45.649 Yeah, because the traditional model requires 00:00:45.649 --> 00:00:47.850 a massive incubation period. I mean, it takes 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:50.149 years to build the physical infrastructure, the 00:00:50.149 --> 00:00:52.750 brand trust to exactly the brand trust and just 00:00:52.750 --> 00:00:55.829 developing the sheer logistical muscle to safely 00:00:55.829 --> 00:00:58.969 pull off a multi -day event for, you know, tens 00:00:58.969 --> 00:01:01.570 of thousands of people. It's not easy. But today 00:01:01.570 --> 00:01:04.329 we are unpacking a festival that completely ignored 00:01:04.329 --> 00:01:06.359 that playbook. Threw it right out the window. 00:01:06.780 --> 00:01:09.120 Literally. Today we are taking a deep dive into 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:11.739 the Zara International Music Festival. We've 00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:14.599 got a stack of notes and a fascinating Wikipedia 00:01:14.599 --> 00:01:17.459 article as our source material today. It's a 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:20.239 really interesting read. It is. And our mission 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:24.120 for this deep dive is to figure out how a colossal 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:27.510 pop -up behemoth basically materialized overnight 00:01:27.510 --> 00:01:30.469 on the Caspian Sea. Right out of thin air. Yeah. 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:32.870 We're going to look at how it pulls in 10 ,000 00:01:32.870 --> 00:01:35.829 attendees a year, how it rapidly transformed 00:01:35.829 --> 00:01:37.969 into one of the most prominent cultural exports 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:42.310 of the CIS, and why its guest list looks like 00:01:42.310 --> 00:01:44.670 a randomly generated simulation. That guest list 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:46.790 is something else. But you know, what makes this 00:01:46.790 --> 00:01:49.069 deep dive worthwhile isn't just the pop music 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:51.799 itself. What do you mean? Well, it is the rapid, 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:54.359 almost unprecedented international scaling of 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:57.219 this event. We are looking at a highly unusual, 00:01:57.560 --> 00:01:59.719 eclectic mix of people brought together in a 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:02.459 way that frankly challenges our very definition 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:04.519 of what a music festival is supposed to be. Oh, 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:06.780 for sure. And perhaps more importantly, who it 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.300 is actually built for. OK, let's unpack this. 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:11.539 Because to understand where this behemoth is 00:02:11.539 --> 00:02:13.580 today, we really have to start at the foundation. 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:15.919 Right. And by foundation, I mean the ancient 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.639 history of 2016. Yeah, way back then. Right. 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:21.620 That is when the Zara Festival was first held 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:25.520 in Baku, Azerbaijan. July 9th, to be exact. Which, 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:27.419 I mean, in the grand scheme of music history 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:29.960 and festival branding, is essentially yesterday. 00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:32.599 It really is. And it wasn't some small indie 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.759 gathering just testing the waters. Not at all. 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:37.939 It was founded by Grigori Leps, Sergey Kazevnikov, 00:02:37.979 --> 00:02:40.620 and Emina Galerov. And right out of the gate, 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:43.699 they launched an annual five -day pop music festival. 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:47.340 Five days. Five days, drawing 10 ,000 attendees 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:50.580 to the coast of the Caspian Sea. And the year 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:52.620 one lineup they pulled together is absolutely 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:54.939 staggering for a debut event. Let me check the 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:57.319 source here. It's a long list. Yeah, OK, we're 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:02.599 talking 99 Plagio, Adessa, Katyalel, Zofia Kambabayeva, 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:06.300 Philip Kirkorov. names. Alexander Reva, Vlad 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:09.419 Sokolowski, Tomas Nevergreen, and Plina Gagarin. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:11.960 Like, I mean, these are major heavy hitters in 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.340 that region's pop scene. What's fascinating here 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:16.719 is the sheer ambition of that launch. That's 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.780 what really stands out to me. Oh, totally. Because 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:22.319 most festivals, even those backed by major promoters, 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.719 they start as a single day or maybe, you know, 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:26.939 a two day weekend if they are feeling incredibly 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:29.439 bold. Right. A Saturday, Sunday thing. Exactly. 00:03:29.819 --> 00:03:32.520 But committing to five full days of programming, 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:35.879 securing a massive venue right by the Caspian 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:39.039 Sea and locking in that caliber of talent for 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:43.629 an unproven first year brand. That requires an 00:03:43.629 --> 00:03:46.750 immense amount of upfront capital and supreme 00:03:46.750 --> 00:03:48.909 confidence. I do have to push back on the sheer 00:03:48.909 --> 00:03:51.430 logistics of this, though, because launching 00:03:51.430 --> 00:03:54.250 a five -day festival for 10 ,000 people in its 00:03:54.250 --> 00:03:57.490 very first year is a massive, almost reckless 00:03:57.490 --> 00:03:59.250 gamble if you don't have the infrastructure. 00:03:59.430 --> 00:04:01.830 Oh, it's huge risk. It is. It is literally like 00:04:01.830 --> 00:04:04.050 trying to build a small pop -up city on the beach 00:04:04.050 --> 00:04:05.889 overnight. Well, let's map that out for a second. 00:04:05.990 --> 00:04:07.590 Yeah, think about what it takes. You have to 00:04:07.590 --> 00:04:10.669 handle sanitation for 10 ,000 people. You need 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:13.729 heavy duty security protocols, especially for 00:04:13.729 --> 00:04:16.689 high profile artists. You need massive staging, 00:04:17.250 --> 00:04:20.310 complex lighting rigs, sound engineering that 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:22.509 can handle the acoustic nightmare of a windy 00:04:22.509 --> 00:04:25.629 beach. Wind is brutal for live sound. Exactly. 00:04:26.129 --> 00:04:28.970 Then there's the hospitality for the VIPs and 00:04:28.970 --> 00:04:31.230 food and beverage for small towns worth of attendees. 00:04:31.649 --> 00:04:33.790 And artists of the tier we just listed, they 00:04:33.790 --> 00:04:36.110 don't usually sign on to a first year festival 00:04:36.110 --> 00:04:39.720 unless they have absolute iron -clad faith in 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:41.600 the organizers. Right. So the industry pulled 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.160 those founders, Leps, Kozavdikov, and Agalarov 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.439 must have had to secure such a heavy -hitting 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:50.060 roster instantly. It's just wild to think about. 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:52.779 It is. But that industry cloud is really the 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:54.879 hidden mechanism here. When you look at the founders, 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:56.759 you aren't just looking at musicians deciding 00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:58.660 to throw a party. What are we looking at then? 00:04:58.829 --> 00:05:01.310 You were looking at a fusion of massive media 00:05:01.310 --> 00:05:04.329 influence and real estate capability. They had 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:06.589 the ability to bypass the usual grassroots phase 00:05:06.589 --> 00:05:08.269 because they already possessed the networking 00:05:08.269 --> 00:05:10.509 power and the capital to conjure the necessary 00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:13.560 infrastructure out of thin air. And establishing 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.699 this massive event in Baku is a highly strategic 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:20.060 geographic play. How so? Well, the source material 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:23.199 notes that Baku is already home to the Baku International 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:25.560 Jazz Festival and the International World of 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.319 Muggum Festival. Oh, right. Which means the city's 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.959 government and local infrastructure are already 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:34.379 well versed in hosting major international musical 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:36.540 events. Exactly. So they aren't starting from 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.759 zero when it comes to permitting or crowd control 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.339 or hotel capacity. Precisely. And for you listening 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:44.879 who might not be familiar with Mogum, it is a 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:48.199 deeply complex traditional style of Azerbaijani 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.180 folk music. It has ancient roots, highly intricate 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:54.040 acoustic compositions, and it carries immense 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:56.100 cultural prestige. I see where this is going. 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:58.800 Right. So by placing Zara in that specific city, 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:01.620 the founders are taking a location already globally 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:04.480 respected for jazz and complex traditional Mogum, 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.319 and they're loudly adding mainstream, high budget, 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.560 pyrotechnic pop to its resume. That's fascinating. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.439 It essentially centralizes the CIS pop music 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:16.000 industry in Azerbaijan for that week. OK, let's 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.959 actually define that term for the listener, because 00:06:17.959 --> 00:06:20.660 it's going to come up a lot. When we say CIS, 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:22.699 we are talking about the Commonwealth of Independent 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:25.160 States. Right. Essentially a coalition of post 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:27.540 -Soviet states. Yeah. And from an entertainment 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:31.779 perspective, the CIS represents a massive, unified 00:06:31.779 --> 00:06:34.519 cultural market. Huge market. Even though there 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:36.240 are different countries and borders involved, 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:39.360 there is a heavily shared linguistic and media 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:43.459 backdrop. Like, a pop star who is massive in 00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:46.519 Russia is likely also pulling huge numbers in 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.980 Belarus, Kazakhstan, or Azerbaijan. It's a very 00:06:49.980 --> 00:06:52.439 interconnected ecosystem. Which is why centralizing 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:55.660 that ecosystem in Baku for five days is such 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:58.040 a power move. Oh, absolutely. Okay, so they pull 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.259 off this miraculous pop -up city in 2016. They 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.560 prove the concept the infrastructure holds and 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.699 the artists show up. But here's where it gets 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:07.769 really interesting. because the festival doesn't 00:07:07.769 --> 00:07:10.269 just coast on its initial success. No, it ramps 00:07:10.269 --> 00:07:13.790 up. Big time. The attendee list evolves in 2017 00:07:13.790 --> 00:07:17.009 and 2018 into something totally unexpected. The 00:07:17.009 --> 00:07:19.449 gravity of the event increases exponentially, 00:07:19.490 --> 00:07:22.129 I'd say. It really does. In 2017, the second 00:07:22.129 --> 00:07:24.629 festival hits on July 27th, and they just double 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:26.879 down on the talent. they pull even more massive 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:29.899 CIS stars. More big names. Yeah, the Sourcelists, 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:34.360 Valerio, Loboda, Sergey Lazarev, the band Grodusi, 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:37.519 and Timur Rodriguez joining the fray. So it's 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:39.920 cementing its status as the absolute place to 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.500 be for regional pop royalty. Right. But then 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:46.379 we hit 2018, the third festival, and the guest 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.459 list takes a hard left turn into the surreal. 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:51.980 Yeah, the 2018 iteration is where Zara basically 00:07:51.980 --> 00:07:54.740 transforms from a music festival into a geopolitical 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:56.699 and cultural phenomenon. Just listen to this 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:59.620 lineup. In 2018, special guest Steven Seagal 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:02.259 attends. The 90s Hollywood action star. The very 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:04.839 same. Wow. And he doesn't just attend to, like, 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:07.379 wave from a VIP balcony. He actually gets on 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:09.939 stage and sings a duet with one of the festival 00:08:09.939 --> 00:08:12.899 founders, Emina Galerov. Just consider the implications 00:08:12.899 --> 00:08:14.639 of that visual for a moment. I mean, I cannot 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.779 even begin to imagine the acoustics on that, 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:19.839 let alone the sheer absurdity of the image. A 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.199 90s martial arts action hero belting out a duet 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:25.519 on the Caspian Sea with a prominent CIS pop star. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.240 It's definitely a choice. But wait, it gets stranger. 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:31.480 You have Siegel singing. You have other special 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:34.740 guests like Baskov. You have singers from the 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:38.190 Black Star, Inc. label which just for context 00:08:38.190 --> 00:08:41.730 for you listening is a massive highly influential 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:44.950 mainstream hip hop and urban pop label in that 00:08:44.950 --> 00:08:47.309 region. Bringing them in shifts the demographic 00:08:47.309 --> 00:08:50.169 entirely. Totally. It pulls in massive youth 00:08:50.169 --> 00:08:53.450 culture and lifestyle branding. And then crucially 00:08:53.450 --> 00:08:56.649 the source notes that Dmitry Peskov was one of 00:08:56.649 --> 00:08:58.690 the festival's main guests. Right. The press 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:00.629 secretary of the Russian Federation's president. 00:09:00.789 --> 00:09:03.409 Yes. Now just to be completely clear for you 00:09:03.409 --> 00:09:05.669 listening we're just reporting the facts on the 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:07.889 Wikipedia source here. We aren't endorsing or 00:09:07.889 --> 00:09:09.950 taking any political stance on his presence at 00:09:09.950 --> 00:09:11.870 all. We're just looking at the data point as 00:09:11.870 --> 00:09:14.049 it's written. the source exactly we are remaining 00:09:14.049 --> 00:09:17.110 strictly impartial here right but looking at 00:09:17.110 --> 00:09:19.950 this purely as a logistical and cultural data 00:09:19.950 --> 00:09:23.700 point his presence completely rewrites the DNA 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:25.899 of what this event is. It adds an incredibly 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:28.200 dense layer of political gravity to the room. 00:09:28.419 --> 00:09:31.179 Because it is so bizarre. I mean, map out that 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:34.519 room in your head. You've got massive youth culture 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.480 hip hop idols, a 90s Hollywood action star fresh 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.779 off a duet, billionaire developers and a high 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:44.120 ranking national press secretary all rubbing 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:46.139 shoulders. Almost quite the mix. If you tried 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:48.080 to write a movie script with that party scene, 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:50.409 A producer would tell you it's too unrealistic. 00:09:50.570 --> 00:09:54.090 They throw it out. Yeah. It sounds like a randomly 00:09:54.090 --> 00:09:56.470 generated guest list from a game of Mad Libs. 00:09:56.850 --> 00:10:00.889 It is this wild, surreal contrast of completely 00:10:00.889 --> 00:10:04.690 disparate worlds colliding in one VIP tent on 00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:07.250 a beach. It is a fascinating collision of spheres. 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:09.720 I'll give you that. But if we analyze the mechanics 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.259 of that collision, it tells us exactly what Zara 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:14.820 had achieved by his third year. Which is? The 00:10:14.820 --> 00:10:17.299 music, while prominent, is no longer the sole 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:20.100 driving force. The festival has basically morphed 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:22.659 into a high -level networking nexus for the region's 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:24.360 elite. Okay, so you're saying it's less about 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:26.500 the fans and the crowd, more about creating a 00:10:26.500 --> 00:10:28.840 closed -door velvet -rope environment for the 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.399 people backstage. Well... Think about the different 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:34.539 types of power represented in that 2018 list. 00:10:34.820 --> 00:10:37.740 You have cultural power with the pop stars and 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:40.200 the massive lifestyle influence of the Black 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.980 Star Ink artists. Right. You have international 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:46.039 celebrity cachet, however unconventional, with 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:48.840 Steven Seagal. Very unconventional. Yeah. You 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:51.259 have the immense economic power of the Festool 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:54.139 founders and you have high level political influence 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:56.659 represented by someone like Peskov. Right, right. 00:10:57.059 --> 00:11:00.360 When a single event can attract all those disparate 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.440 pillars of influence to the same geographic location 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:07.000 for five days, it transcends entertainment. That 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.539 makes a lot of sense. The music essentially becomes 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:12.419 the background score for high level socializing, 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:14.919 deal making, and relationship building among 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:17.659 the CIS elite. So the stage is almost an excuse 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:20.620 for the VIP tent to exist. Exactly. It provides 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:23.600 a safe, exclusive, highly curated environment 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:26.360 where cultural, economic, and political figures 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:28.980 can interact informally away from boardrooms, 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:31.450 or press podiums. That's a great point. That 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:34.269 informal access is a remarkably powerful draw. 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:37.710 It explains why the festival became so prominent 00:11:37.710 --> 00:11:41.809 so quickly. It filled a vacuum, providing a centralized 00:11:41.809 --> 00:11:44.090 meeting ground that previously might not have 00:11:44.090 --> 00:11:47.409 existed in quite this specific glamorous format. 00:11:47.730 --> 00:11:50.289 That completely reframes how we look at the success 00:11:50.289 --> 00:11:52.850 of this event. It's not just about selling tickets 00:11:52.850 --> 00:11:56.299 to 10 ,000 people. It's about who occupies the 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:59.379 top 1 % of that footprint. Precisely. So what 00:11:59.379 --> 00:12:01.100 does this all mean for the future of the festival? 00:12:02.059 --> 00:12:05.100 Because a party this big with that much concentrated 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.179 influence apparently couldn't stay contained 00:12:07.179 --> 00:12:09.860 to just one country. No, it could not. And this 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:12.120 brings us to the franchise expansion. This is 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:15.200 the pivot where Zara completely breaks the traditional 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:17.720 music industry mold. Because usually a music 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:19.899 festival is inherently tied to its geography. 00:12:20.019 --> 00:12:23.379 Always. The dirt. the weather, the local town, 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:25.860 that is part of the brand's DNA. You can't just 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:28.080 pack Coachella into a suitcase and move it to 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:30.519 Germany. Right, you can't. You don't take Glastonbury 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:32.659 out of the English mud and drop it in the desert. 00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:35.779 The location is the pilgrimage. Yeah, people 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:38.500 go for the place as much as the music. But Zara, 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.799 the source material tells us that just three 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.580 years after its creation, so we're talking 2019, 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:47.399 the festival expanded to Dubai in the United 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:50.429 Arab Emirates. Which is a logistical leap of 00:12:50.429 --> 00:12:52.509 staggering proportions. It is mind -boggling. 00:12:53.049 --> 00:12:55.350 And it didn't stop there. The Wikipedia article 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:57.850 lists its locations as expanding to include not 00:12:57.850 --> 00:13:00.330 just Azerbaijan and Dubai, but also Düsseldorf 00:13:00.330 --> 00:13:03.529 in Germany, Monaco, Sochi in Russia, and Bodrum 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:07.549 in Turkey. Zara operates more like a massive 00:13:07.549 --> 00:13:10.529 touring pop -up franchise than a traditional 00:13:10.529 --> 00:13:13.259 site -specific music festival. If you're listening 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:15.299 to this and trying to imagine unbolting a five 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:18.519 -day festival, the stages, the VIP tents, the 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:21.259 security apparatus, the artists, and just shipping 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:24.179 it to Monaco, it almost defies logic. It defies 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.620 traditional festival logic, yes. But if we connect 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:29.259 this to the bigger picture, the underlying business 00:13:29.259 --> 00:13:31.759 model we just discussed. The VIP networking nexus. 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:34.259 Right, exactly. If we look at that, this expansion 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:36.740 strategy is incredibly shrewd. How do you mean? 00:13:36.889 --> 00:13:39.269 It tells us exactly who their target demographic 00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:41.750 is. And they aren't just randomly throwing darts 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:45.429 at a map. Look at the specific cities they chose. 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:50.509 Dubai, Monaco, Bodrum, Dusseldorf, Sochi. Well, 00:13:50.590 --> 00:13:53.129 Dusseldorf is a massive international business 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:56.450 and trade hub. Right. Monaco is the epitome of 00:13:56.450 --> 00:14:00.610 old world European luxury. Dubai is the pinnacle 00:14:00.610 --> 00:14:03.960 of new world luxury. And Bodrum is effectively 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:06.460 the ultimate summer playground for regional wealth. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.419 Which means they are aggressively chasing international 00:14:09.419 --> 00:14:12.360 wealth hubs. These are premier global luxury 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:14.899 destinations, particularly favored by the affluent 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:17.299 CIS demographic we were just talking about. Ah, 00:14:17.299 --> 00:14:19.279 I see the thread here. So they aren't trying 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.379 to build a new local audience from scratch in 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:25.019 Germany or the UAE. No. Like, they aren't trying 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:27.360 to convince German locals to suddenly get into 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.440 CIS pop music. Not primarily, no. What this expansion 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:32.840 represents is a highly targeted cultural export. 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.200 Interesting. The organizers recognize that their 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.879 core audience, the elite VIP network, the affluent 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.299 fans of CIS pop culture, they're highly mobile. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.019 They travel constantly. Exactly. They have vacation 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:45.299 in Monaco. They do high level international trade 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:48.279 in Dubai. They spend their summers on yachts 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:51.320 in Bodrum. Right. So instead of demanding that 00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:54.240 this ultra wealthy audience carve out time to 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.360 always come back to Baku every single year, Zara 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.179 simply packs up the pop -up city and takes the 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:02.820 festival directly to them. It's a completely 00:15:02.820 --> 00:15:05.379 inverted model. It really is. It's almost more 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:07.639 akin to Formula One racing than a traditional 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:09.919 music festival. Oh, that is a perfect analogy. 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.669 Right. Formula One is is a high -end traveling 00:15:12.669 --> 00:15:15.710 circus of culture, engineering, and immense influence 00:15:15.710 --> 00:15:18.590 that just sets up shop in the most expensive, 00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:21.149 glamorous cities in the world. Spot on. They 00:15:21.149 --> 00:15:23.549 build a temporary city, throw a massive, highly 00:15:23.549 --> 00:15:25.789 exclusive party around the main event, and then 00:15:25.789 --> 00:15:27.529 pack up the entire circus and move to the next 00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:29.690 wealth hub. Zara's doing the exact same thing, 00:15:29.730 --> 00:15:32.029 just swapping out race cars for pop stars. And 00:15:32.029 --> 00:15:34.590 by adopting that Formula One model, it elevates 00:15:34.590 --> 00:15:37.450 the perceived value of the music itself. How 00:15:37.450 --> 00:15:40.009 so? Well, think about it. If you are showcasing 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:43.059 pop stars in Monaco or against the skyline of 00:15:43.059 --> 00:15:45.639 Dubai, you are framing that culture on a global 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:49.379 luxurious stage. It projects a specific image 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:52.879 of success, wealth, and soft power far beyond 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.980 the borders of Azerbaijan or the CIS. It essentially 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:59.279 says, our culture belongs in the most expensive 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:03.419 ZIP codes on earth. That is wild. Okay, let's 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:05.519 take a breath and recap this incredible journey 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:08.320 because it is quite a ride. It really is. We've 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.840 gone from a Ambitious five -day pop -up city 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.960 on the Cascian coast in 2016 pulling 10 ,000 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:17.080 people right out of the gate. Thanks to massive 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.559 industry backing. Yeah We've watched it evolve 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:22.919 into a surreal Mad Libs style VIP networking 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:26.460 nexus, where hip hop artists, 90s Hollywood action 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:29.200 heroes and high ranking political figures all 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.980 share the same rarefied air. Such a crazy visual. 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.700 It is. And finally, we've seen it break its geographical 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:37.259 borders entirely, transforming into a massive 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:40.000 internationally touring cultural franchise that 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.360 chases its wealthy demographic to places like 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.200 Dubai, Monaco and Bodrum. It is a masterclass 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.279 in aggressive scaling, understanding your true 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.539 demographic. and completely redefining brand 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:51.860 positioning in live entertainment. It really 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:54.779 is. And I think for you, the listener, understanding 00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:57.039 these massive international events is so vital. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:00.419 Absolutely. It helps us realize just how much 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:03.100 vibrant, highly organized, and deeply influential 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:06.720 pop culture exists entirely outside of our standard 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:09.220 everyday media bubbles. We can get so tunnel 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:11.839 visioned. Exactly. We tend to think the center 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:13.440 of the entertainment universe is always where 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.460 we happen to be sitting. But the story of Zara, 00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:20.579 proves that there are entirely different parallel 00:17:20.579 --> 00:17:23.880 universes of massive cultural gravity out there 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:26.220 operating on a completely different set of rules. 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:28.380 Which brings up a fascinating contrast and something 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:30.640 I think is worth dwelling on even after we wrap 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:33.920 up today. This raises an important question. 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.180 If the new pinnacle of live music becomes this 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:40.720 Formula One model where high -end festivals completely 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:43.519 untethered from geography, acting as massive 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:46.660 touring franchises that just chase global wealth 00:17:46.660 --> 00:17:50.680 from Dubai to Monaco, what happens to local grassroots 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:54.230 music scenes? Oh, wow. Yeah. If the biggest cultural 00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:56.589 events are designed to literally tack up and 00:17:56.589 --> 00:17:59.250 leave for wealthier international shores, do 00:17:59.250 --> 00:18:01.450 local communities get priced out of their own 00:18:01.450 --> 00:18:04.210 cultural exports? That's a tough question. Or, 00:18:04.349 --> 00:18:06.910 on the flip side, does the departure of these 00:18:06.910 --> 00:18:09.789 massive behemoths actually create a healthy vacuum, 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:13.150 leaving room for new hyper -local community -first 00:18:13.150 --> 00:18:15.670 festivals to emerge back home? That is a brilliant 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:17.579 thought experiment. Does the traveling circus 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:19.859 drain the local ecosystem, or does it clear the 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.839 canopy so new things can grow? Exactly. It completely 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:25.019 changes how we look at the footprint a festival 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:28.180 leaves behind, unmoored and on the move. Something 00:18:28.180 --> 00:18:31.099 for you to think about next time you see a massive 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:35.059 festival lineup drop. Until next time, keep diving 00:18:35.059 --> 00:18:35.380 deep.