Why doesn't BH Media pay copyright fees?
When the incident related to the song "Noon Dream" with musician Giang Son occurred in 2021, a representative of BH Media said, "YouTube has a song recognition system, this platform will automatically deduct a part of the advertising money of the exploitation channel to pay copyright fees to the author".
Meaning, BH Media believes that YouTube has already paid copyright fees to authors, why do they have to pay more? Why does BH Media have to work with authors while they purchase recordings and videos from intermediary production units such as Ho Guom Audio, Ben Thanh Audio, May Sai Gon, Lululola...
However, according to the assessment of Lawyer Pham Quoc Bao - Bao Ngoc Law Company (Hanoi Bar Association), the loophole in this case lies in the fact that the units that BH Media purchased music products did not fully carry out the procedures to purchase copyright. They trade in works (selling to BH Media) but not through the author.
BH Media purchasing this product is naturally responsible together with intermediary content production units.
According to the lawyer, BH Media was wrong to know that the partner did not have original copyright, but still signed and uploaded these recordings to YouTube for business.
Talking to Lao Dong reporters, musician "Walking in the Brilliant Sky" Ngo Lan Huong confirmed, "Platforms like YouTube, Spotify have copyright collection systems for authors, but they often go through authorized organizations and units, not notifying each musician directly. Many musicians (if they do not authorize the copyright collection unit) will not know about this amount of money".
To receive this amount of money, musicians must be very familiar with the "rules of the game" of YouTube and digital platforms. They will have to authorize a copyright fee collection unit to work.
This will be a very big challenge for the elderly musician, who does not work in social networks and digital space.
Not to mention, there was a musician living abroad, he was surprised when he had never signed a power of attorney contract - but a unit arbitrarily represented him to collect royalties.
There are many other cases, for example, musicians who have passed away - and families who do not know about copyright fees in cyberspace, they also suffer... losses.
Besides, there are also special cases, which are musical works of unknown authors, this is also another form of "resource" for business parties to exploit.
Why do Saigon Rattan, Lululola... have to connect with BH Media?
YouTube has its own "rules of the game". YouTube does not provide the "Content ID" feature for all personal accounts. This is a tool specifically designed for organizations, entertainment corporations or large media companies (MCN - Multi-Channel Network) that meet all the criteria set by YouTube.
BH Media needs to prove to YouTube that they own a huge amount of exclusive materials, legal capacity, and must sign commercial agreements with YouTube... to become a partner of YouTube, owning the "Content ID" feature.
Content production units such as May Saigon, Lululola... all have their own channels, attracting large views, but they still need to cooperate with a "network" like BH Media to have the "Content ID" tool to block copyright of other channels.
When "sticking copyright" with other channels, advertising money from the "sticked" channels will flow to the "ecosystem" of BH Media and intermediaries.
The fact that music night organizers and famous tea rooms join hands to sign contracts with BH Media is actually a business cooperation model to maximize profits from digital space.
How does BH Media and its channels make money on digital platforms?
The clearest source of money from video units on platforms like YouTube comes from advertising.
To participate in YouTube's monetization program, the channel must reach: at least 1,000 subscribers; 4,000 viewing hours (in 12 months) or 10 million Shorts views (in 90 days).
In Vietnam, each 1,000 advertisement views (CPM index) usually brings in from 0.5 USD - 0.7 USD (possibly up to 1 USD depending on the time).
According to the owner of a channel sharing with reporters, revenue from advertising, views, YouTube will "share" according to a specific ratio with the channel, with each component contributing to the video unit.
The purchase of audio recordings and videos from record labels many years ago, and the establishment of business channels like in the case of NSND Thu Hien have helped BH Media and the "ecosystem" earn profits.
