ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/. Domestic platforms have always been more popular among users in Russia than foreign ones, Stepan Kovalchuk, senior vice president for media strategy and development at VK services, said on Thursday.

For example, domestic music services account for almost 80% of the market, he added.

"One special thing about Russia is that Yandex has always been favored over Google, VK has always outranked Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by the Meta corporation, recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation - TASS) and other [social networks]. This is typical Russia - there is a trend towards domestic platforms. At some point, Instagram (banned in the Russian Federation, owned by the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation - TASS) tried to beat us (domestic social networks and services - TASS) but now we are making a comeback (popularity of domestic platforms - TASS) and people have no distaste. This is par for the course," he said at a session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

While such video sharing platforms as YouTube are popular among Russians with music services, the situation is different - foreign platforms are not popular in Russia.

"Unlike video streaming platforms, music in Russia is one of the strongest, streaming services account for almost 80% of the market. The Spotify service, which is very popular in the world, did not work in Russia, and had a very small share. Apple Music also had a low share. <...> As for VK Music, Russian music accounts for 85% of all downloads. Therefore, when everyone says that foreign copyright holders leave, and you will die, this is not true. This environment is evolving," the expert said.

In turn, writer Sergey Minaev, who moderated the session, noted that about seven years ago, a trend emerged to perform songs mainly in Russian.

"Back in 2009, everyone tried to sing in English," he said.

The 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) - Russia’s showcase annual economic and business event - is being held on June 14-17. The theme of this year’s forum is: "Sovereign Development as the Basis of a Just World: Joining Forces for Future Generations." TASS is the official information partner of the event.