BH Media, Lululola, 1900 Group, May Sai Gon, Giọng ca để đời - are likened to links of the supply chain operating in the digital music market.
In which, BH Media is an intermediary technology unit, content production/show organization units are: Lululola, May Sai Gon (May Lang Thang), 1900 Group (Day Mat Troi, Thong Zeo), independent content production unit is the Center for the Voice of Life.
These links for a long time have devised countless ways to circumvent the law, turning copyright into a matrix in the digital space.
Matrix
The linkage model between content production units (music shows) and technology-owning units (BH Media) has exposed loopholes in the digital music space for these units to "escape" the stage of asking for original authors' permission, creating pirated recordings, and distributing them to earn billions of VND.
Returning to the case of musician Giang Son with BH Media in 2021 to see all the "tricks" of BH Media when purchasing cheap music (from content production units), then "cutting back" on the stage of asking for authors' permission and when sued, they will find ways to blame... YouTube.
In 2021, musician Giang Son reacted when she was "hit the copyright baton" by BH Media with the song she composed "Noon Dream" while the unit blamed it on "YouTube automatically hitting the copyright baton".
BH Media explained that they purchased old recordings from Ho Guom Audio, including the recording of "Noon Dream" performed by Duong Thuy Anh with musical instruments. BH Media has uploaded Duong Thuy Anh's recordings to YouTube's Content ID system and exploited this content in digital space. When YouTube detects matching melodies, it will automatically "claim" (strike the copyright baton).
The loophole in the case lies in the way BH Media swapped concepts. By purchasing recordings from intermediary record labels (such as Ho Guom Audio), BH Media was only authorized to own the Related Rights for Duong Thuy Anh's recording, they had absolutely no Copyright for the melody and lyrics of the song "Night Dream".
Usually, a complete song will have 2 main copyright groups (each group includes many smaller rights): Copyright (composition part) and Related Rights (song performance part such as singer, recording...).
BH Media wants to "strike the copyright baton" with all recordings of "Night Dream", they must buy exclusive rights to this song and need to work directly with author Giang Son.
However, BH Media only purchases audio recording rights (related rights) through intermediaries. This unit has also never worked with Giang Son.
Ignoring the stage of working with the author, BH Media used related rights but in a way as if it had exclusively purchased the entire copyright of the song "Night Dream".
Digital music platforms like YouTube apply international intellectual property law, handle disputes by automation algorithms, and prioritize "Content ID" registrants first.
Taking advantage of this, units like BH Media quickly purchased audio recordings and videos from content production units, then "labeled" copyright for a series of these songs and turned them into assets of businesses in the digital space, thereby profiting from advertising.
The suffering of musicians
Faced with the hazy digital music matrix, musicians often only know to... complain to heaven. When songs are used illegally rampant, the owner of a channel said: "We do not have the authority to pay copyright fees. YouTube will automatically collect copyright fees for musicians. YouTube has a technical system to recognize song melodies, and always keeps a portion of the channel's advertising money to pay for copyright fees".
However, almost very few musicians know about this amount of money. A musician told Lao Dong reporters, "YouTube and some platforms will not contact the musician directly. They only keep the money there. If the musician knows, they authorize anyone to come and receive it, if they don't know, then... that's it".
In the case of show organizing units (such as May Saigon, Lululola...), when applying for copyright, they only apply for direct performances for the ticket sale night.
Immediately after that, they recorded and filmed the show and released it throughout the digital space. According to the law, replaying on digital platforms also requires paying copyright fees once again, but it is easy to be ignored by units...
Show organizers and content producers also sell videos and audio recordings of performances to companies like BH Media, and immediately, BH Media registers this recording with Content ID.
The "supply" chain for many years has manipulated the digital music market, by circumventing the law, skipping many stages of negotiation and copyright fee payment.
Talking to Lao Dong about copyright and music copyright in the digital space, musician Dong Thien Duc said that the fact that a series of copyright infringement cases have been prosecuted shows that intellectual property rights in Vietnam are gradually being seen as a "real asset", no longer a formal concept.
According to him, the strong handling by functional agencies also reflects the direction of building a more professional and integrated cultural industry. This is very necessary when the creative economy is increasingly developing, the value of brainpower and ideas can be greater than tangible assets.
