Time Out at 40

Michalis Hatzigiannis | Marcos Baghdatis | Spiros Pisinos

Michalis Hatzigiannis
With an ultra-loyal fanbase and seemingly an omnipotent presence in the airplay charts, Hatzigiannis is the current king of Cypriot radio. He sits on a throne of gold and platinum albums and has just finished a typically successful tour of Greece and Cyprus.

The crisis in the record industry hasn’t really affected you, has it?
There isn’t a record industry crisis, there’s a decent song crisis.

Have you become aware of the Michalis Hatziyiannis backlash? Are you overexposed?
Anything that reaches saturation level is bound to have a negative effect. However, I can’t control how much one of my songs gets played. I don’t create hits, the public does.

Are things really that spontaneous?
Not quite, but neither are they as carefully controlled as people think. If they were that controlled, then why would the record industry be in such a downward spiral? Feature continues

Surely having major sponsors like yours helps matters a great deal?
As far as my work is concerned there was success long before the sponsors came into the picture. Undoubtedly marketing issues have infiltrated the music industry a great deal and I’m no exception. The important thing is not to let anyone alter your destination or define the rules. Music today is not art. It’s a product for mass-production that has to be distributed according to the prevalent laws of the market.

Aren’t you a part of this game?
I can’t claim to avoid it altogether. That’s the road and I have to travel down it. At least the way that I work, my raw material is based on me, on my aesthetic, on my goals.
Interview: Alexis Bessos

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Michalis Hatzigiannis | Marcos Baghdatis | Spiros Pisinos