Speakers at a dialogue on the Vietnamese music industry in the digital era held as part of the first HCM City International Music Festival (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Better enforcement ofthe laws covering music copyright protection is needed to ensure thedevelopment of the Vietnamese music industry in the digital era, speakers saidat a recent seminar in HCM City.
Dinh Trung Can, vice director of the Vietnam Centre for Protectionof Music Copyright (VCPMC), said that most promoters and performers in Vietnamwanted to avoid paying copyright fees.
“Copyright protection is mandatory. VCPMC aims toactively fulfill music copyright in the country,” he said. “It’s essentialto develop a comprehensive range of services, using a variety of databases andlicensing systems which will satisfy the needs of both copyright ownersand music users.”
The VCPMC updates information about authors and their worksregularly on CIS-Net (a network of databases provided by CISAC) andMIS-Asia (copyright alert system) according to internationalstandards. This information helps copyright organisationsaround the world search for information about Vietnamese authors andmusical works, Can said.
“In Vietnam, we now have to confront a number of issuesin copyright protection and licensing, especially as it isdifficult to manage copyright on the internet,” he said. “We willcontinue to work closely with local authorities to seek measures andpolicies to protect copyright more effectively.”
“It’s also vital to raise people’s awareness about thenecessity of musical copyright protection as it’s the best way to encourage andsupport authors and composers to create,” Can added.
The VCPMC has established a network of representatives in citiesand districts throughout the country who directly manage licenses and collectroyalties, he said.
With its 3,550 members nationwide, VCPMC aims to expandrelations with other music copyright organisations around theworld. Organisations with systems that are able to efficiently collectroyalties from a full range of music users are important for copyrightowners.
The dialogue was held as part of the first HCM City InternationalMusic Festival, whichopened on December 13, attracting renowned Vietnamese and foreign musicproducers, musicians, singers and bands.
As part of the festival, Hodo (HOZO), the city’s largest outdoor music show, was opened,featuring performances in a range of music genres, from jazz, pop andtraditional music with high artistic quality. The international line-upincludes Cosmopolitan Urbane Jazz band from Australia, Russian modern musicgroup ESSE-Quintet, Japanese drum group SAI, South Korean band Cheeze,Colombian band La Chiva Gantiva, and others.
With the message “More Music, Less Plastic”, HOZO willalso include activities to raise community awareness about environmental protection./.
