Аня Просекина: 4,5 млн на промо кавер-группы, КВН, «Голос» и успех What's Up | Подкаст #7

Business Summary

Strategy and Positioning

• WhatsApp grew from a Tomsk cover band into a Moscow event business. The group moved to Moscow in late 2017 after deciding that Tomsk offered limited room to grow. In Tomsk, the band first built visibility through bars and clubs; event bookings followed when venue audiences and organizers saw them perform.
• The band differentiated its product through format and sound: tightly produced playback, modern songs, and continuous mashups with little or no pause between tracks. Inspired by an American cover act, the group introduced a mashup-style promo at a time when the format was less common in its market.
• The group focused on premium presentation and a distinct niche, rather than simply reproducing familiar cover-band repertoires. Its show emphasizes frontmen, musical arrangements, stage energy, and audience interaction. The regular lineup is about six people, or eight with dancers. The band decided against adding a brass section because it did not fit the show’s focus.
• The founders believed that, during an expected downturn, high-end or clearly differentiated acts would be more resilient than the middle market. This view informed a major promotional investment.

Playbooks and Operating Processes

• Market-entry playbook: Identify the ceiling in the home market, move to a larger market, build an organizer list, divide outreach across the team, and contact prospects consistently. During the early push in Moscow, the group used VKontakte messages. Anya recalled booking roughly six to eight events in December.
• Sales process: After recognizing that the frontwoman could not manage both stage responsibilities and sales, the group made co-owner Katya responsible for much of the sales function. They took sales training, revised the commercial proposal, worked on handling objections, mapped leads, and implemented a CRM system.
• Organizer-service playbook: Provide a well-packaged commercial proposal that answers client questions, respond quickly, deliver reliably, and build a reputation through punctuality, presentation, and performance quality. Anya described organizer relationships as a major contributor to the group’s success.
• Scaling through a portfolio: When demand exceeded the main group’s capacity, the team created a lower-priced second act, What’s Up People. Other formats and projects also developed, including Bagirov Trio for acoustic or welcome-event work and a WhatsApp lineup with dancers.
• Team management: The founders value a warm, communicative team culture and seek input on creative decisions. Musicians are vetted and can be replaced more readily than vocalists, whom Anya described as more central to a group’s identity. Original members left gradually, influenced by the move to Moscow, financial pressures, and COVID—not through a major conflict or mass firing.
• Business formalization: Anya said the group works legally with organizers and contractors, uses an all-in price rather than adding a separate cashless-payment surcharge, and issues receipts for cash payments. Within the team, arrangements were described as relying largely on verbal agreements and established working relationships.

Marketing, Sales, and Growth

• Paid advertising: The group spent about ₽60,000 per month on advertising, including Yandex Direct, Google AdWords, Instagram, and other placements. The campaign brought in a useful client base, but the team later felt some spending was poorly directed. The advertising also became so pervasive that organizers complained they were seeing it everywhere.
• Word of mouth and repeat business became important channels. For the year Anya discussed, she estimated that around 30% of clients were new, while about 70% came from repeat clients or organizers the group had already worked with.
• The band’s TV exposure also generated recognition and new inquiries. Anya said her 2017 appearance on The Voice helped people discover both her and the group. She viewed it as a meaningful career boost, not a substitute for having a strong operating system.
• Cold outreach has become less effective in a saturated market. The group tried contacting agencies again in the previous year but received limited responses or was ignored. Anya contrasted this with earlier years, when direct outreach was more effective. She noted that creative, personalized introductions—such as video content—may still work, and that cold outreach can remain more viable in smaller cities.
• Awards and industry platforms can help establish a name and reach new organizers, especially as agencies enter and leave the market. Anya advised against relying solely on referrals.

Product Investment and Key Figures

• ₽4.5 million was spent on a major promotional production associated with industry awards and Top 100 recognition. The concept drew on nostalgic music-chart and MTV-era references aimed partly at millennials, with original arrangements and substantial production, including costumes, graphics, editing, studio or pavilion filming, and guest appearances.
• Filming took two days: one long day, running approximately from 7 a.m. to late evening, followed by a shorter shoot. The group had also made an earlier promo involving a neural-network concept.
• The large investment did not guarantee a top award result. Anya said the newer promo placed 11th, compared with 9th for the previous year’s entry. She nevertheless believed the production received strong feedback.
• Anya stressed that a polished promo should not replace live performance footage. For new groups without a market reputation, she recommended first securing places to perform and building a credible live product, then investing in packaging and promotion.
• Other figures mentioned:
  • The band’s initial Tomsk market had roughly six to eight cover groups working regularly in venues.
  • Its initial Moscow price was about ₽60,000–70,000 for the group.
  • At the growth peak discussed, WhatsApp completed 26 events in December. Anya estimated monthly inquiries at roughly 200–300, though she presented this as an approximation.
  • In discussing Moscow market prices generally, she cited about ₽250,000 and above for bands, while noting that price depends on lineup, reputation, and service. This was not stated as WhatsApp’s own fee.

Recommendations for Aspiring Cover-Band Businesses

• Decide what the project is meant to become before investing: a group that performs, or a scalable business with a specific market position.
• Study competitors, pricing, customer expectations, and the group’s own strengths and weaknesses. Define a niche rather than copying another act.
• Build a convincing live product, strong stage presentation, suitable repertoire, and clear commercial materials.
• Treat organizer communication, responsiveness, punctuality, and delivery as core parts of the product—not merely administrative tasks.
• Use advertising and industry platforms, but measure where inquiries and bookings actually come from. Avoid spending heavily without a clear plan.
• Scale carefully when demand exceeds capacity. Consider additional lineups or price tiers while protecting the identity and quality of the main act.
• Borrow ideas as inspiration, but adapt them into a distinct concept rather than copying other groups outright.

Presenters and Sources

• Presenter/host: Evgeny Kasatkin
• Guest: Anya Prosekina, co-founder and vocalist of the WhatsApp cover group
• Sources discussed: Anya’s experience with WhatsApp, The Voice, KVN, and related performance projects.