The Vietnam Artist Booking, VAB, e-commerce platform offers various relevant information in artists’ skills and price range. (Photo: VAB’s Facebook)

At https://vab.vn artists can book shows and buy and sell music copyrights. VAB is the brainchild of singer Tang Ngan Ha, her husband musician Luu Quang Minh, who founded the Maius Philharmonic Orchestra, and lawyer Tran Thi Tam, who heads the law firm IPCOM.

Minh, who is VAB’s creative director, said, “The idea grew out of my own work. I often find it necessary to quickly connect artists with artists and artists with agencies without going through intermediaries. VAB creates a more transparent environment in which to deal with issues related to intellectual property and the creative work of artists.”

VAB is the first e-commerce platform in Vietnam where musicians, singers, songwriters, and music producers can sell and buy the rights to their products.

A singer, for example, who wants to buy a beat or obtain permission to cover a song can do it on this platform.

The web app provides photos of artists and information about their career and creative works.

Singer Ngan Ha told VOV, “I’ve been providing client consultancy for many years. The most difficult part of that job is getting information about artists whose skills and price range match the needs of my customers. It’s particularly difficult to find a suitable artist in an unfamiliar locality where you have no contacts. This platform facilitates the search for artists, but we give primary importance to protecting the personal privacy of the artists.”

The platform’s utility, security, and transparency will help Vietnamese artists professionalize their work while avoiding the disputes that often arise when they try to manage their intellectual property rights themselves.

The cost to purchase a copyright has been referred to the Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center (VCPMC) to set a floor price for the market, according to lawyer Tam.

“We provide artists with contract templates and advice, so that when they’re working directly with an agency, business, organization, or individual who wants to use their intellectual product or image, they’ll have a legal framework to protect themselves. Our template contracts contain win-win clauses, which means the parties involved have binding provisions that provide maximum protection for both sides,” said Tam.

The VAB platform will help artists less worried about copyright violations. (Photo: VOV2)

VAB provides a comprehensive range of services, using a variety of databases and licensing systems, that will satisfy the needs of both copyright owners and music users, said Minh.

He added, “What artists need most is a place to introduce themselves. Copyright is another top concern. I’m a musician, but sometimes I don’t know how to protect my copyright. I tend to think that if I wrote a song, it's mine. Then my song is used by others illegally, and I don't know what to do about it. This platform will help all artists protect their work.”

Applying technology to support artists to shift from traditional to modern ways of work is proving that this is one of the changes of the Vietnamese music market toward a more professional operation model.

Vietnam, VAB, first e-commerce platform, musicians, performance artists,  Tang Ngan Ha, Luu Quang Minh, Tran Thi Tam