Musician Pham Tuyen's family is upset because the song "Baby Elephant in Ban Don" has been changed, losing its original meaning.

Musician Pham Tuyen's family hopes to clarify everything soon.

Sharing with Dan Viet , journalist Pham Hong Tuyen - daughter of musician Pham Tuyen said that her family felt very uncomfortable when witnessing a series of their father's songs being transformed into a different style, losing the meaning of the original song.

Musician Pham Tuyen and his daughter Pham Hong Tuyen. Photo: FBNV

"Currently, music copyright infringement in Vietnam is becoming more and more sophisticated. In the past, copyright infringement was often the use of lyrics, melodies or recordings without permission from the song's author. But now many programs and young singers are willing to transform a song into a different style, losing the meaning of the original song.

A typical example is the song "The Little Elephant in Ban Don" by my father - musician Pham Tuyen was adjusted from major to minor without the author's approval. Each musical work is a "brainchild" of the author, everyone wants young people to freely create and renew the works so that the song can spread more widely, but that renewal still requires permission and only when the author agrees can the modified music (also known as derivative) be released on the platforms", Ms. Pham Hong Tuyen shared.

Ms. Pham Hong Tuyen added that musician Pham Tuyen is not a difficult person, but he needs to be respected as a great musician, the "father" of the work.

"I still remember, the program Tao Quan - Meeting at the end of 2009 created "Flood from the crossroads" based on the original song "From a crossroads" to serve the program, the production team came to ask my father for permission and he happily agreed immediately. Musician Pham Tuyen was very supportive of his creative work, but that does not mean arbitrarily using and changing the song without asking for the author's permission.

Recently, I have been receiving messages from friends sending links to these derivative songs. It is unclear who is the "author" of this remixed song. I guess, maybe a young person or a group of students in a creative frenzy changed the song to a different key with a pulsing guitar accompaniment. Then the song quickly spread on social media platforms thanks to the original song being so famous.

After that, both my father and my family felt uncomfortable because no one asked for permission from the author to release this derivative song. And even many people when singing this song still thought it was by musician Pham Tuyen, even professional singers when asked to perform the song "The Little Elephant in Ban Don" sang the derivative version as a matter of course. The song was arbitrarily transformed and seriously violated copyright. I hope the real author of the derivative song "The Little Elephant in Ban Don" will soon contact my family so that everything can be cleared up," Ms. Pham Hong Tuyen expressed.

Derivative works also need to respect the "father" author.

Talking to Dan Viet , music researcher Nguyen Quang Long said that the story of transforming an original song into a derivative work in the music industry (both the world and Vietnam) is not new and has existed for many centuries. In classical music, there is a way of composing based on a theme in a pre-existing work to create a new work and it is called a variation or some other name.

However, people will show respect for copyright by clearly stating which theme and which work by which author this variation is based on. Even with composers who are the authors of the original work, musicians who want to create derivative works will meet or discuss directly to ask for their opinions before doing this. And the classical music world considers variations a musical genre.

The song "Baby Elephant in Ban Don" is taught in schools. Photo: TL

In Vietnam, musician Trong Bang also composed a variation of “Vang mai ban tinh ca” (Love song forever) inspired by the original work “Tinh ca” by musician Hoang Viet with the purpose of commemorating the author of an immortal work. Some symphonic and chamber works are also based on the theme of a familiar song, for example, the theme of the song “Ca cong Ho” by musician Van Cao was exploited to compose an instrumental piece written for a symphony orchestra.

However, when adapting or developing based on the original work like that, the authors will also clearly state or have the consent of the original author. "With popular music today, the phenomenon of using familiar works but in a way that is not completely true to the original work is a phenomenon that is present. Many musicians and music experts believe that adapting a musical work without asking for permission from the author or exchanging benefits when releasing the work on platforms is very difficult to accept. Because they have made a difference to the original work that the musician has worked hard to create and used them for personal purposes.

"I think that musical derivative works can also be considered a way for young people to create art, but this work needs to be carefully considered and civilized in the issue of sharing benefits. If a new work uses a musical note, musical passage, or musical sentence with lyrics that are deeply ingrained in the audience's mind to be derived into another work without the consent of the author (the person who created the original work) or the copyright owner of the work, it lacks the necessary respect," music researcher Nguyen Quang Long emphasized.

According to NPLaw Law Firm, Clause 8, Article 4 of Consolidated Document No. 11/VBHN-VPQH of the Law on Intellectual Property clearly states that a derivative work is defined as a work created on the basis of one or more existing works through translation from one language to another, adaptation, compilation, annotation, selection, arrangement, musical adaptation and other adaptations.

A derivative work is created based on one or more pre-existing works. Therefore, the use of that work must still ensure respect for the author's personal rights to that original work.

Derivative works must be creative and not copied from the original works. Creativity here can be understood as changing part of the content and the difference in form of expression compared to the original work.

The derivative work must also bear the mark of the original work so that when recognizing the derivative work, the public can associate it with the original work through the inherent content of the work.

Source: https://danviet.vn/gia-dinh-nhac-si-pham-tuyen-buc-xuc-vi-bai-hat-chu-voi-con-o-ban-don-bi-bi-bien-tau-mat-y-nghia-goc-20240409160707664.htm