VK Music
Comment: The references are largely about rankings and updates, under wiki policy WP:GNG this does not qualify for notable coverage. Entychologist (talk) 21:20, 13 August 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: The draft is much longer than it needs to be. Please focus on the most important information and trim routine updates. I am not sure about notability. Accesscrawl (talk) 19:49, 1 August 2026 (UTC)
| File:VK Music Full Logo.svg | |
| Developer | VK |
|---|---|
| Type | Music streaming service |
| Launch date | July 15, 2016 |
| Platform | |
| Status | Active |
| Website | music.vk.com |
Search VK Music on Amazon.
VK Music (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist., formerly known as BOOM and VKontakte Music) is a Russian freemium streaming service owned by VK, which combines the VKontakte music platform and a standalone mobile app for listening to music. The service allows users access to a library of songs, playlists (both official and user-created), personalized song selections (or mixes), audiobooks, podcasts, and other audio content.[1]
History
Pre-merge (BOOM and VK music section)
In February 2015, VK removed the music section from their VK app on App Store in response to official demands from Apple.[2] The company also faced court battles over copyright infringement from Sony Music Russia, Universal Music Russia, Warner Music UK, and Studio Soyuz. In July 2015, VK reached a settlement agreement with Sony Music.[3] In February 2016, they reached another settlement with Soyuz, agreeing to remove infringing material off their platform.[4] In March 2016, VK won in court against Universal Music[5] and Warner Music.[6]
On 22 April 2016, United Music Agency released an app called Music VKontakte on App Store, made in partnership with Mail.Ru Group for listening to legal music from the VK platform.[7]
In early November 2016, the name of the app was changed from Music VKontakte to BOOM, the logo was changed, and a rebranding was carried out. An updated version o the app was released on Google Play on 31 October 2016, and on the App Store on 3 November of the same year. It featured two types of subscription – free and paid. Users with a free subscription could download up to 1 hour of music compositions, but this tariff could only be used for a maximum of 3 months. When purchasing a paid subscription, the number of compositions was unlimited.[8]
On 28 April 2017, a paid subscription to music was introduced. Free listening to tracks remained available, but with ads.[9]
In 2018, the number of BOOM subscribers was 1.2 million.[10] Another 303 thousand people used trial subscriptions. According to vc.ru, representatives of VK were unable to answer the question of how many users use a paid subscription to Boom services in social networks, and how many received access to them through MegaFon tariffs, which include unlimited music on the social networks of Mail.ru Group.[11] According to the same year's results, the research organization J'Son & Partners Consulting named Boom and VK Music among the most popular services with 40% of the audience and 25.6% of revenue.[12]
In July 2019, the number of Boom subscribers reached 2.5 million.[10]. According to a study published in 2019 on vc.ru, one listen on Boom brought independent musicians 10 kopecks, or one-tenth of a ruble.[13]
In July 2020, the number of subscribers to BOOM and VK Music exceeded 3.5 million.[10] In the same month, a rating of the best services for listening to music for Android and iOS devices was published, compiled by Roskachestvo. BOOM was rated 4.65 points for Android devices, and 4.51 points for iOS.[14] According to the analytical company App Annie, in 2020 Boom took second place by user spending in their app rating.[15]
On 23 September 2020, VK introduced a unified subscription VK Combo, which included subscriptions to VK Music and BOOM, as well as discounts on taxis, food delivery and other services of partners.[16] Its initial cost was set at 149 rubles per month.[16]
On 30 August 2021, the VK music section was updated. The cost for the VK Combo subscription was set to 75 rubles per month for new users. The ability to download music inside the mobile application was added. However, users without a subscription could no longer listen to music in the background.
On 30 November 2021, the BOOM app and the VK music section were merged into the new VK Music service.[17][18]
Post-merge
In 2022, reacting to the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of foreign copyright holders ceased cooperation with VK Music, thereby depriving users of access to new foreign releases.[19][20]
In June 2026, VK Music got removed from App Store as part of a larger removal of all VK-owned apps from the platform.[21] In a comment , Apple explained their decision as "following [economic] sanctions", but did not specify which ones exactly led to the apps' removal.[22] Following EU's decision to sanction VK for their involvement in developing MAX on 13 July of the same year,[23] Google Play removed all VK apps including VK Music on 16 July 2026.[24]
Censorship
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, VK Music and other VK services complied with government censorship requests, including blocking content deemed critical of the state or supportive of Ukraine.
In October 2024, Russian streaming services, including VK Music, started marking artists named "foreign agents" under Russia's foreign agent laws as such in the app.[25] Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin wrote in his Telegram channel, announcing the decision:[25]
Foreign agents will no longer be able to hide their status from users of music services. And thanks to the [new] labeling, each user will make an informed decision whether they need to support such artists.
In March 2025, VK Music blocked access to multiple anti-war songs made by Noize MC in response to a legal demand from Roskomnadzor.[26] In October 2025, VK Music blocked the song "Povesitsa" by Zemfira based on similar demands, which was released back in 2005 as part of her album Vendetta and featured suicidal themes.[27]
See also
References
- ↑ "VK / Our projects — Media and entertainment". vk.company. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ Партнер Mail.Ru Group сделал приложение с легальной музыкой из «ВКонтакте» [Mail.Ru Group's partner has created an app with legal music from VKontakte]. Meduza (in русский). Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "«В контакте» подписала мировое соглашение с первым из трех музыкальных мейджоров – Sony Music" [VKontakte signed a settlement agreement with the first of three music majors – Sony Music]. Vedomosti (in русский). 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "«ВКонтакте» заключила «Союз»" [VKontakte forms a union with Soyuz]. Kommersant (in русский). 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "«ВКонтакте» выиграла суд у Universal Music" [VKontakte won in court against Universal Music]. RBC (in русский). Archived from the original on 2025-11-09. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "«ВКонтакте» выиграла суд у Warner Music" [VKontakte won in court against Warner Music]. RBC (in русский). Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "У «В контакте» появилось первое приложение с легальной музыкой" [VKontakte has launched its first app with legal music]. Vedomosti (in русский). 2016-04-26. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ Darya Khokhlova (2016-11-06). Приложение «Музыка ВКонтакте» провело ребрендинг, сменило название на Boom и ввело платные тарифы [The VKontakte Music app has rebranded, changed its name to Boom, and introduced paid plans]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ «ВКонтакте» и «Одноклассники» введут платную подписку на музыку [VKontakte and Odnoklassniki will introduce paid music subscriptions]. Izvestia (in русский). 2017-04-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Evgeniy Delyukin (2020-07-15). Где слушают музыку в России и есть ли место Spotify: главное о российском рынке и его игроках [Where do people listen to music in Russia and is there a place for Spotify? Key points about the Russian market and its players]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Andrey Frolov (2018-06-18). Музыкальный сервис Boom для «ВКонтакте» и «Одноклассников» впервые отчитался о числе платящих подписчиков [Boom, the music service for VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, reported its number of paying subscribers for the first time]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Музыкальная индустрия [Music industry]. PwC (in русский). 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Pavel Prokofiev (2019-12-05). Сколько приносят независимым музыкантам прослушивания на «Яндекс.Музыке», Apple Music и других стриминговых сервисах [How much independent musicians earn from plays on Yandex.Music, Apple Music, and other streaming services]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Обновлен рейтинг лучших приложений для прослушивания музыки в России [Updated ranking of the best music listening apps in Russia]. Ferra.ru (in русский). 2020-07-14. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Raya Hachatryan (2021-01-13). «ВКонтакте», Boom и ivi: App Annie рассказала, в каких приложениях россияне потратили больше всего денег в 2020 году [VKontakte, Boom, and ivi: App Annie revealed which apps Russians spent the most money on in 2020]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 ВКонтакте представила подписку VK Combo [VKontakte introduced the VK Combo subscription]. RIA Novosti (in русский). 2020-09-23. Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "ВКонтакте" запустила мобильное приложение "VK Музыка" [VKontakte launched the VK Music mobile app]. RIA Novosti (in русский). 2021-11-30. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Evgeniya Evseeva (2021-11-30). VK обновила Boom: теперь сервис называется «VK Музыка» и объединяет все музыкальные продукты группы [VK has updated Boom: the service is now called "VK Music" and unites all of the group's music products]. vc.ru (in русский). Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ На «Яндекс.Музыке» и во «ВКонтакте» недоступна новая иностранная музыка [New foreign music unavailable on Yandex.Music and VKontakte]. fontanka.ru – news of Saint Petersburg (in русский). 2022-03-14. Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Yevgenia Stogova (2022-03-14). «Яндекс.Музыка» и VK столкнулись с проблемами с западными новинками [Yandex.Music and VK face problems with new Western releases]. RBC (in русский). Archived from the original on 2022-09-04. Retrieved 2026-07-31. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Из App Store пропали «Дзен», VK, VK Video, VK Music — РБК [VK, Dzen and Odnoklassniki apps disappeared from App Store]. RBC (in русский). Archived from the original on 2026-06-25. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ Apple удалила мессенджер «Макс» из App Store. В компании объяснили это соблюдением санкций [Apple removed the Max messenger from the App Store. The company cited sanctions compliance as the reason]. BBC News Russian (in русский). 2026-06-05. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ Times, The Moscow (2026-07-13). "EU Sanctions VK for Developing Messenger App Max". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ Приложения VK и Мах исчезли из Google Play [VK and Max apps have disappeared from Google Play]. Interfax.ru (in русский). 2026-07-16. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Российские стриминги начали маркировать артистов, объявленных «иноагентами»" [Russian streaming services began to label artists declared "foreign agents"]. Meduza (in русский). Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "Музыкальные сервисы ограничили доступ к трекам Noize MC" [Music services have limited access to tracks by Noize MC]. RBC (in русский). Archived from the original on 2025-10-30. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
- ↑ "В России по требованию Роскомнадзора заблокировали песню Земфиры «Повесица»" [Zemfira's song "Povesitsa" was blocked in Russia at the request of Roskomnadzor]. Meduza (in русский). Retrieved 2026-07-31.
External links
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