Also known as Industry 4.0, has deepened the scope of all economic, political, cultural, educational, artistic, social activities. In the midst of the increasingly strong digital transition, the music industry around the world is also benefited from this revolution. It started only with the most traditional form, which is playing the piano and performing. Gradually transforming music into records that can be heard over and over again by a singing machine, then going through many different physical forms, until now it is digital music.

Applying digital technology in the music field

Applying digital technology in the music field

In addition, music makers also follow a trend, that is, using technology to make the creative process of artists more effective. For music lovers, technological advances help them access music more easily and more quickly. The application of technologies in the music field is expected to have many potentials and will develop strongly in the future. However, facing it is also no less than challenges.

Mr. Pham Minh Thanh Singer and musician applying digital technology in the music field

Being trained as a information technology engineer, he has worked at major international technology companies. But Pham Minh Thanh has a deep passion for music. Perhaps that is why Pham Minh Thanh is one of the young musicians with pioneering discoveries in the use of technology in music. Especially the recently prominent technological trends, such as artificial intelligence, Chats GPT.

According to my definition, artificial intelligence is developing very rapidly. All the fields in music production can use AI support. For example, on the first day, we need an idea, we can ask Chats GPT, I need an idea about this problem, I need an idea about that problem. Chats GPT can completely suggest us the most suitable ideas. And then there are the parts about making music, making instruments, and then mastering the product.  Everything is supported by AI.

Mr. Pham Minh Thanh Singer and musician applying digital technology

Many of my friends have been in the art industry for a long time, have a lot of experience. However, comparing a personal mixing board and a mixing board using AI, they have to say, “Wow, AI has developed so well now. If we know how to use AI reasonably, we can save time, cost, and improve the quality of the product.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han’s sharing on the application of digital technology

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han – General Director of Thu Do Multimedia Company said: “We will also see that in the process of producing music, it is like the process of creating a work.

In the past, we used to write on a piece of paper, and then we could read it. With the development of technology, it has helped artists a lot. I think these are tools that can help artists create works faster, create works with more new elements.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han share: “We need a system to protect our precious assets, to avoid misusing or abusing the rights in it. For example, the song “Dreams” of composer Giang Son, even Giang Son spent money to make that song, but when it was released on the internet, that composer did not have his rights, he was discredited.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han said: “In addition, many experts say that in the digital transition period, the transformation of music works into invisible assets that cannot be held, has led to confusion in the management and arrangement of digital music assets, causing many important works to be misplaced by the national level. Therefore, Vietnam should establish a National Digital Music Gate to help manage and promote music works in an equal way.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han – General Director of Thu Do Multimedia Company

When the National Digital Music Gate was proposed by the capital, it had five purposes: The first purpose is to help Vietnam mark and identify all music works. The second purpose is that the National Digital Music Gate will be the bridge for singers, musicians, and publishers to connect with the music distribution systems both domestic and foreign. The National Digital Music Gate will also be a market for music-needy organizations to buy and sell music.

Thanks to the National Digital Music Gate, it will create an environment for tracking the number of times the works are used in a transparent way. And another very important thing is that thanks to the National Digital Music Gate, we can have very up-to-date data.

Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nhung shared about the application of digital technology in the field of music

Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nhung – CEO of MCM Online Music Copyright Company shared:: “Users can listen to music online from any device with an internet connection, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. Users can also access their favorite artists’ latest songs, albums, and playlists easily.

As you know, with 4G technology and smart phones, our internet has been developing. Now, we use very little music in the form of USB or CD, but we mostly listen to music in the form of streaming, which is live. With the estimated revenue of 2020, it fell to about $50 million for the entertainment industry, where music alone will account for 70%. In my opinion, the music market is currently very prosperous.

This is also a proof that in recent years, when you listen to music, you often see that some international music platforms have developed quite well in the Vietnamese market. For example, Spotify, Apple Music, or Google, when the platforms develop, they also give musicians the opportunity to spread their music more freely on the internet.

Some individuals know the technology that we often use, they abuse it, they discredit it. There is usually a community in this community called the music community, it is the people who are causing the most violations of copyright.

Ms. Dang Thi Hong Nhung – CEO of MCM Online Music Copyright Company

According to Ms. Nhung: “When the work is released, artists also need to know clearly where their work will be released and which unit it will be released. It comes from all the needs to clarify for the author, so our MCM copyright ecosystem was born. After more than a year of operation, our ecosystem has attracted about 70 artists to participate in the right to protect copyright. There are about 1,000 more works in it, and about 20,000 works from the organizations that have submitted them to us.

Before a work is released, we usually use the Auto-Cutter Mark technology to mark the work. The mark here is to mark and prove our work before it is released. The second technology is the DMI technology, which is the technology that we use to soil-check the work and track the source.

Music is the art of using sound to express the emotions of the artist. In each work, the main creative role will still belong to the artist to bring out high-quality music products. However, if you know how to use technology applications such as AI, Chats GPT, Blockchain, they will become useful tools to help you save time, increase experience, and improve the artist’s performance in their work.

The explosion of digital technologies not only supports the creative process of singers and musicians, but also changes the way audiences listen to music today.

What are the advantages of streaming music?

If before, listeners would listen to music using physical recording models, now many people mainly listen to music online with digital models on content-directly-published platforms, or stream.

Streaming music is a strong technology in the music industry, allowing listeners to listen to music conveniently and flexibly.

With popular streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, T-Dan, and YouTube Music, the special feature of streaming platforms is their flexibility and convenience.

In the context of the strong development of the internet and streaming technology, it is impossible to deny that the application of technology in the music industry has been and is developing strongly and brings back huge benefits.

Applying technology in the field of music – How to stream?

However, it is also a violation of general copyright and a violation of music copyright in particular in the digital environment. Not a few individual organizations are involved in copyright, refuting the concept of copyright, copyright for music works.

Some objects take advantage of the truthfulness, falsehood, little understanding of technology, lack of updating the legal violations of some artists to give the artist an advantage, and take control of the artist on the digital platform.

Many businesses also create an ecosystem on the internet with fanpages, online music pages, frequently uploading music videos from various sources, then labeling copyrights, attracting millions of subscribers to follow.

It is easy to see that afterwards are the attractive benefits from advertising, not to mention the pages that force viewers to register as a member, pay fees, then have the right to upload. That not only directly harms the individuals of artists, but also makes the music market out of control.

Expert suggestions for applying digital technology in the music field

Music is not only the spiritual child, the gray matter of musicians, but also sweat, effort, and a long experience to write a song. Good management of copyrights will gradually form a culture of copyrighted music. Only then do the authors receive respect, which also brings spiritual encouragement to music composers. Therefore, there must be foundations, solutions, technology to support artists. Therefore, every time a work is used in a digital environment, it must be locked, just like once asking for permission from the author.

Therefore, I hope that Vietnam will have a system that unifies the protection of digital rights and becomes a standard for everyone to use it. In the digital era and the explosion of online platforms, capturing and using digital technologies is becoming a trend. If we can take advantage of the strengths of technology, it will give artists more opportunities to bring out high-quality music and get closer to the public.

However, in order to have a healthy digital environment, copyright must also be respected and protected. Only when there is a good cooperation between individual organizations, relevant industries and the public love art, the violation of copyright is still heavy. Especially, applying digital technology copyright has just been stopped and pushed back by the creation of a healthy environmental environment for artistic activities.