User:Tulips Dutcj/Territory A

Territory A was a Ukrainian art agency that was engaged in cultural, artistic, charitable, and media projects. It was presented on ICTV from 1995 to 2000, then on the First National TV channel in 2005 after a 5-year break.

Territory A went down in the history of Ukrainian music and Ukrainian television as the first television music video hit parade in the Ukrainian language.

Music video hit parade
The predecessors of Territory A were the Chervona Ruta festival, which in the 1980s gave impetus to new musical trends that had not been previously represented in the music space, and the 12-2 music hit parade, which began in 1992.

The Territory A hit parade was the first daily hit parade in the history of Ukrainian television, with 5, then 10, and later 20 spots. Broadcasts took place three times a week every day: in the morning, afternoon and evening. Every week, two participants left the program, and new videos were launched instead. All the videos that made it to the charts were produced in Ukraine, but the songs themselves were also in English, French, or Russian; Ukrainian-language videos were included in the program without a queue. "Territory A became the prototype of later "star factories" because it gave birth to a whole wave of Ukrainian popular music.

Voting took place by sending letters for a particular artist, musician, or band. You could vote by phone for one hour a day. At that time, Aqua Vita, Van Gogh, Yurko Yurchenko, Phantom 2, Step, Green Grey, Made in Ukraine, Telnyuk Sisters, Olya Polyakova, Iryna Bilyk, Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Ani Lorak, Natalia Mohylevska, Viktor Pavlik, Maryna Odolska, Zhanna Bodnaruk, Brothers Hadukin, Sister Vika were popular, "Tabula Rasa, Actus, Olga Yunakova, Four Kings, Vyacheslav Khursenko, Oksana Bilozir, Pavlo Zibrov, Vsyak Vzayd, Taisiya Povaliy, Oksana Khozhay, Mykhailo Poplavsky, Skryabin, TNMK, Congress, Piccardian Tertsiya, Nemo, Tartak, The VYO, Toys, and other bands and performers. Such artists as Druha Rika, Magiya (ex-project of Natalia Dzenkiv), Okean Elzy, Kamalia Zakhur, Andriy Knyaz, and others also started their careers here. Over the 5 years of its existence, the program has produced over 2000 episodes.

Anzhelika Rudnytska was the author, host and co-founder of the hit parade, as well as the vice president of the art agency. Another co-founder and general producer of the program is poet Oleksandr Bryhynets.

Awards

 * Territory A established the eponymous award in the field of clip-making, which was annually presented to directors, cameramen, and artists for the best clips of the year.
 * The Ukrainian Wave Award was given for the best Ukrainian-language songs and for a special contribution to the development of Ukrainian music.

Significance for Ukrainian culture
The hit parade of music videos "Territory A" contributed to the birth of Ukrainian show business. It was this program that gave many later famous performers a ticket to the world. Anzhelika Rudnytska became a trendsetter of youth fashion not only in music, but also in hairstyles and clothes. "Territory A" became a kind of soft Ukrainianization of young people. Most of the songs that hit the charts were sung in Ukrainian.

"In a short time, Territory A became the most popular and cult music program of the late 1990s in Ukraine. The program had fan clubs in all major cities and towns of Ukraine. The concerts organized by the hit parade were welcome guests in all regions of the country and were always sold out. The first concert was given in Odesa, the second in Kherson, and the rest in other major cities.

Myroslav Kuvaldin said that Territory A was an example for all Ukrainianization: "Territory A was a 100% Ukrainian-language product, whereas after it, language quotas were established. Anzhelika Rudnytska agreed that "it was a kind of national liberation cultural movement against Russification," because since 2000 the Ukrainian media space has been Russified, and everything Ukrainian-language has been purged.