Khanh Ly show delayed due to copyright controversy

Singer Khanh Ly

At a press conference on the afternoon of August 12, organisers stated that they were willing to take the case to court if negotiations failed to achieve a result.

Ngoc Son, director of the company organising the event, said that the main disagreement was between his company and the Vietnam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC), and that Khanh Ly is not personally involved in the dispute.

“Khanh Ly’s liveshows were organised legally and we have acquired all necessary licenses. If they are in violation of any regulations on copyright, we’ll take responsibility,” Son emphasised.

Representatives from the organising company answering questions from the media during
a press conference on August 12.

They have already paid copyright fees to several musicians, including Nguyen Anh 9, Phu Quang, as well as the companies Truong Quy Hai and Phuong Nam, who own the rights to Pham Duy’s songs.

According to him, Nguyen Anh 9 and Truong Quy Hai refused fees for their songs used during Khanh Ly’s live shows.

The dispute seems to be about whether the payment is made to the musicians or to the VCPMC. Son said that they have the right to make direct agreements with artists, even though the artists might have given permission to the VCPMC to collect fees.

The singer, Le Quang said, "The highest amount that I've collected for the use of one of my songs has been VND2 million. I do this directly because the VND7.5 million fee asked for by the VCPMC is too high in my opinion."

However, this particular issue centers around the use of the music of late musician Trinh Cong Son, which are being held up until the centre provides all necessary documents. So far, the centre has not gathered the required five signatures of family members of the artist or proof that the singer's sister is authorised to solely give permission for the use of Trinh Cong Son's music.

“We wish to settle this matter with the VCPMC fairly and simply, but the centre’s representative, musician Pho Duc Phuong, seems not to be willing to cooperate. He has even threatened to use force to collect the fees,” said the organisers’ representative.

“We’ve come to learn that the VCPMC is just a civil organisation, not a state management agency. So, these issues should be dealt with through civil negotiations. We can accept a copyright fee of VND2 million for each Trinh Cong Son’s song, which is double what was paid for other musicians,” he added.