Realizing the dream of exporting music:

A scene from the MV "See love" by Hoang Thuy Linh.

Borderless music imprint

Recently, the MV (music video) "Bac Bling" by singer Hoa Minzy released on March 1 unexpectedly entered the Top 1 MV "Best Debut" (Most impressive debut MV) and Top 1 "Song Best Debut" (Most impressive debut song)... Previously, just 1 day after its release, the MV "Bac Bling" quickly climbed the YouTube trending chart; entered the Top 4 most viewed MVs in the world; entered the Top 18 Global Music Video Trending. The product also ranked high on charts in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia...

Explaining the unexpected success of the MV “Bac Bling”, Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Education Bui Hoai Son said that this music product impressed with its “catchy” melody, combining many creative materials, from rap to folk sounds such as Xam, Cheo, Quan Ho. The images in the MV were impressive, filmed at famous locations in Bac Ninh... “The exploitation of the treasure trove of folk culture, traditional melodies in a modern song has created a very unique highlight. This shows that traditional culture is an endless source of inspiration for artists to create products that breathe the era” - Mr. Bui Hoai Son shared.

Not only did the MV "Bac Bling" become a phenomenon on the charts in a short time, the song "Rebirth" by musician Tang Duy Tan introduced by singer Tung Duong in November 2024 immediately "made waves" on social networks TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Theards... and unexpectedly won the Top 1 Trending Music position on YouTube at that time. The strong influence of this song is not only in Vietnam but also in China. Some Chinese singers wrote Chinese lyrics for this song and sang it on social networking platforms. Previously, the song "See Tinh" by singer Hoang Thuy Linh not only "made waves" domestically but also continuously "stormed" international social networks when it became a trend that was enthusiastically responded to by many users as well as famous artists around the world.

Not only single music products create new trends, recently, many Vietnamese singers have performed large music products, solo concerts abroad as a trend to reach overseas and international audiences, contributing to cultural exchange and promoting the image of Vietnamese artists. Typically, in 2024, singer Tuan Hiep performed the vinyl album "Nhu gio heo may" released domestically and to the Vietnamese community in the US. TKO Concert Company organizes regular concerts of Vietnamese singers in Japan, such as the concert for singer Van Mai Huong at Hulic Hall Theater on April 20; the concert of singer Ngo Kien Huy with Fan Meeting in Tokyo on June 15 and Bang Kieu - Live in Tokyo on September 27.

Notable overseas artistic activities in recent times include singer Ha Anh Tuan with two music nights held at the Esplanade Theater (Singapore) on June 11 and 12, 2024 with the theme "Sketch a Rose" - inspired by the famous play "Tin o hoa hong" by Luu Quang Vu, attracting more than 3,200 audiences. Ha Anh Tuan's series of music projects continued to be carried out at the Sydney Opera House (Australia) on September 29, 2024, creating a buzz when attracting more than 2,600 audiences. Recently, the male singer announced that he will bring the concert "Sketch a Rose" to the Dolby Theater (USA) - where the annual Oscar awards ceremony is held and gathers the world's top famous faces in October 2025. Or singer My Tam has just announced that she will perform the live show "My Soul 1981" in the US in December this year. This is the first time the Da Nang-born singer has brought a show abroad. Sharing about this idea, singer My Tam said that her shows in the country have been supported by many audiences from abroad, so she wanted to organize a concert in the US to show gratitude to overseas audiences.

Creating a breakthrough for the cultural industry

Bringing Vietnamese music to the world is not something that has just been done. More than 20 years ago, Vietnamese artists had the dream of exporting music to the world to promote the country's culture and art and create their own market.

Since 2003, the first time a Vietnamese music product was exported to the international market was the album “Hong Hanh - First Memorial Concert” with immortal Japanese songs performed in Vietnamese. Next, the albums “Made in Vietnam”, “Chat with Mozart”, “Coming to America” were exported to Japan and the US by singer My Linh. After that, a series of Vietnamese artists continued to follow in the footsteps of realizing the dream of bringing music across borders, such as My Tam, Ho Quynh Huong, Dan Truong, Lam Truong, Duc Tuan... with projects attacking the record markets of Korea, China, Thailand, Canada... The new generation of young artists who are considered quite successful in the foreign market include Chi Pu, who rose to fame thanks to her participation in the program “Beautiful Sister Walking the Wind” in China. Chi Pu is a rare Vietnamese artist who is building her own career in the most populous country in the world, participating in many entertainment programs as well as music programs produced by major Chinese television stations.

Recently, with the strong development of digital platforms, many music producers have made efforts to connect and promote Vietnamese music products on digital platforms such as the album "The Tales" by three singers Mai Khoi, Thuy Tien, Le Hieu on Amazon; saxophone artist Tran Manh Tuan sells "Ru rung", "Ha trang", "Body and soul", "Drifting Blossoms Floating Clouds" on eBay, CDBaby...

As someone who is passionate about the dream of exporting Vietnamese music internationally, having brought the program “Long Distance” to Japan in 2004, musician Quoc Trung believes that Vietnam has many quality singers that are not inferior to the top singers of many countries with large music export turnover in the region such as Korea, China, Philippines... According to musician Luu Quang Minh, the Vietnamese music market has many attractive ingredients for international audiences, such as diverse folk music materials.

Although Vietnam has many musical resources that can create a large market reaching out to the world, according to music experts, although Vietnam has had many musical products and artists performing in foreign markets, there are still not many products that have created a great influence. Most of the performances abroad are cultural and tourism promotion programs in diplomatic activities; or the new musical products stop at serving the Vietnamese community abroad.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phuong Dong (Hot Panda Media - the unit that brings Vietnamese singers' products to foreign markets), in reality, some Vietnamese songs are famous in the world but Vietnamese artists after that song cannot become famous. "The problem is not just a song but the artist must create an image, brand and quality music products with sustainability so that music listeners can follow the artist's activities. In addition, one of the limitations of Vietnamese artists is the language barrier and the lack of a team with a methodical and professional working style to build a long-term strategy" - Mr. Nguyen Phuong Dong shared.

According to musician Nguyen Quoc Trung, the most important thing for artists when entering the international environment is to have quality products that meet international public tastes, have a clear musical personality, and carry their own brand.

With the constant movement of life, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 is strongly affecting life, including cultural and entertainment activities. The Vietnamese music market is facing many great opportunities and challenges to catch up with the general trend as well as find a sustainable way to approach the international market. If we know how to take advantage of existing advantages, exploit the rich national music resources, and form a dynamic and creative artist community, Vietnam can realize the dream of exporting music regularly and sustainably.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hien-thuc-hoa-giac-mo-xuat-khau-am-nhac-mo-ra-trien-vong-lon-cho-cong-nghiep-van-hoa-697343.html