Drobysh says practical benefit should decide whether an artist needs a producer

Composer and producer Viktor Drobysh said musicians need a producer when the collaboration provides tangible benefit, telling RIA Novosti that the answer depends on the individual artist.

The question arises as social media gives young performers ways to reach audiences. Drobysh said he did not equate a producer's role with social networks. Some artists need one and others do not, he argued, citing Filipp Kirkorov as an example of a performer who does not.

He distinguished useful collaboration from self-promotion by someone simply trying to establish a place in show business. Drobysh also noted that producers are often confused with managers.

Artists at his production centre include Stas Piekha, Nikolai Noskov and Marfa Nikolaeva, who performs as MARFA. The roster also includes Alexander Ivanov, known as IVAN, and Ksenia Kann, who uses the name ELiz. Ivanov represented Belarus at Eurovision 2016, while Kann was a finalist on The Voice Kids in 2022. Nikolaeva was an All Together Now finalist and a pupil of Larisa Dolina.