American billionaire buys exclusive rights to Vietnamese songs
Many sources said that billionaire Gerard Williams (singer Bich Tuyen's husband) spent billions of dong to exclusively buy the song "Xin chau tinh yeu" from musician Minh Nhien. This song has long been associated with the name of singer Dam Vinh Hung.
From the conflict and lawsuit between Bich Tuyen and Dam Vinh Hung couple that lasted from 2024 to early 2025, the story of billionaire Gerard Williams excluding the song "Xin chau tinh yeu" has led to many controversies and many sources of speculation.
In particular, the most frequently asked question revolves around how much money the billionaire paid musician Minh Nhien to buy this song for 5 years under global protection. However, in response to all these questions, musician Minh Nhien refused to reveal.
Buying exclusive song rights is no longer a strange thing in the Vietnamese music industry. However, song sales deals or copyright transfers often only take place between musicians and singers. Many singers have spent money to buy exclusive songs to avoid being "affected" when performing.
The case of musician Minh Nhien became "unique and strange" because in the past, it was rare to see musicians exclusively sell songs to... American billionaires.
If the generation of veteran musicians (temporarily concentrated from the 1990s) only cares about composing, satisfying their passion for music, just need the song to be widely popular, the more singers the better, not caring about pre-production rights, copyrights... Now, the world has changed rapidly, especially in the context of the development of science and technology and the explosion of digital music platforms.
The explosion of digital music platforms brings more source of royalties and royalties to authors and musicians.
Sources of income for musicians
Now, musicians not only enjoy the rights to the song from selling it to singers, but can also collect the rights from the works when used across the platform.
Responding to Lao Dong reporter, musician Giang Son said that many "hot" and "hit maker" musicians are currently living "very well". They can receive orders from singers. The current " put-in" price on the market can range from 300-500 million VND, this price can be higher or lower depending on the relationship between singer - musician.
In addition, the musician can sell the song's copyright to many singers singing together. They will also authorize a unit specializing in collecting taction rights on "all fronts".
When a song is widely used, it can bring in revenue for authors from television, karaoke, commercial programs with ticket sales, digital platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, etc.
Musician Giang Son said that the song "Dream of noon" by the female musician has been loved for 20 years, adapted in many art forms, from solo musical instruments, films, stage, dance... Giang Son will receive the copyright from these fields when they exploit "Dream of noon".
I received the biggest copyright payment probably from the song Dong Trua. However, the accumulation of everything is only about a few hundred million VND, not billions" - Giang Son said.
Musician Nguyen Van Chung - authorized by the Vietnam Music Authorities' Protection Center (VCPMC) - once shared that he currently has a good income from copyright. Nguyen Van Chung owns many hits, most recently the billion-view song "Continuing the story of peace".
Taking the example of the recent Call Me by Fire program in Hung Yen with 2 concerts attracting tens of thousands of audiences, a representative of a copyright collection unit told Lao Dong reporter, "The larger the ticket sales and the higher the ticket prices of the shows like the Call Me by Fire concert, the more musicians will receive royalties. Call Me by Fire uses many famous songs by musicians, from the veteran generation to today's young musicians such as Bui Cong Nam, Phan Manh Quynh... When the program is broadcast on VTV, they have to pay the authors.
After broadcasting on TV, music shows also re-aired performances on digital platforms such as YouTube, which continue to give authors the rights. Finally, by organizing more large-scale ticket sales, the Call Me by Fire producer will continue to have to pay the copyright fee based on ticket sales.
