Director Viet Tu: There are 3 things to do immediately to reach the entertainment industry

Just one or two single concerts like Anh trai say hi and Anh trai vu van ngan cong gai being successful cannot be called a performance industry.

After 4 successful concerts, Anh trai say hi revealed the upcoming concert 5 - Photo: BTC

Director VIET TU talks with Tuoi Tre about a post-concert ecosystem "big brother", so that the Vietnamese performance industry can go steady and far.

Independent standards

* You once said that Anh trai say hi and Anh trai vu van ngan cong gai were the "vanguard" of the performing arts industry in Vietnam?

- Previously, no concert in Vietnam had created a similar impact for such a long time (half of 2024 and expected to continue until 2025). Their mark impacted many aspects of life, creating impressive economic indicators.

Most importantly, they assert that investing in art also creates impressive financial figures and deep brand sentiment that purely economic investment may not achieve.

Director Viet Tu

* When you look at these events in hindsight, what do you think? Have we really had concerts that are close to international?

- Optimistic, of course. Anything needs a pioneer and Brother Say Hi , Brother Overcoming a Thousand Difficulties is in that position. But to be honest, I think not.

The industry has clear standards independent of audience excitement.

From the smallest things like infrastructure (apart from the My Dinh National Stadium which is not up to standard, we do not even have event venues with basic infrastructure), equipment standards to accompanying logistics conditions, quality of industry personnel and most importantly, market size and supporting industries.

A world-class event is not just about what happens on stage, but also what lies underneath and behind each event, from the audience and artist experience journey to the operating system.

Most of our audience is disadvantaged because they rarely experience standard events. Even BlackPink's concert last year or events with international artists taking place in Vietnam cannot be called standard. The phrase "international standard" is still quite vague. This is the reason why Vietnam is not on the list of major world tours yet. Director VIET TU

* So is the success of the two "big brother" concerts a manifestation of a single/momentary success or the result of a process in which Vietnam's performance industry has been gradually moving forward over many years?

- Both. I say it is a single success because apart from these two programs, no other program has achieved similar success and scale. But without the process of mobilization, this result cannot be achieved.

A leading partner in the entertainment industry in Thailand agrees with me that if an entertainment industry only lives on the "milk" of sponsors instead of standing independently with ticket sales, ecosystems and the accompanying sharing economy, it cannot be considered an industry.

So while the recent online profit numbers may seem like a fluke, it is important to note that there is some truth to it. It is clearly financially viable.

Whether these successes will be replicated enough to create a new market and maintain the optimistic indicators to turn into a real industry is yet to be predicted.

We are on the right track, we can do it; but to achieve real international standards, in addition to dreams, we need effort and the alertness of professionals.

The Brothers overcame thousands of hardships and had a brilliant year - Photo: NAM TRAN

Every pioneer has its limitations.

* When you first started your career, what was the performing arts scene like in our country? Musician Huy Tuan used the word "ignorant" (listening to "free" music, using pirated CDs...), what about you? After a few decades, how has it changed?

- We have been through a long period of "reverse" development. Instead of living on ticket sales and the related ecosystem, we are completely living on the "milk" of sponsorship. There are events with full sponsor names but still lose money and do not have enough funding to achieve the required quality.

The market has developed backwards until now. Most artists live on performance fees at events, not on tours or royalties.

The only positive point is that there are now artists who make a living off of advertising and other commercial elements.

Now we have positive signals through these two programs that the whole society is talking about.

* But the success of Anh trai say hi, Anh trai overcomes thousands of obstacles also reveals what weaknesses if Vietnam wants to promote this industry?

- Any pioneering has its limitations. We are lacking the biggest resource, especially in terms of people with basic training and practical experience to improve the quality of human resources.

Most of them still stop at self-study (at first I was the same, until I realized the importance and went to study art business in the US).

To form a true industry, we will need to invest in proper training, practical experience and direct participation of leading experts from the international cultural industry, as well as human resources from all other supporting industries.

* So, in your opinion, what is the biggest "thorn" in the performing/cultural industry today?

- It is an absolute dependence on funding, instead of creating a profitable sharing economy on its own. The censorship mechanism, as the Prime Minister has said, "If you can't manage it, ban it", or "don't understand it, it's not safe, it's personal sentiment when censoring but you're not responsible for the output of the product".

Increasing taxes on the arts will only serve to kill and slow down the very industry we so desperately want to accelerate.

"The Prime Minister's instructions are very timely"

* Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's statement that "we must replicate concerts like Anh trai say hi, Anh trai vu van ngan cong gai" is very viral. He also emphasized that this success comes from the Vietnamese people. How do you evaluate this endogenous resource? - This is a great encouragement when cultural events in the private sector are recognized like that. It shows a fundamental change in the Government's approach to realizing the cultural industry.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh - Photo: Chinhphu.vn

Endogenous factors (local culture, local talents, the internal strength of local industries) need to be broadly understood to include Vietnamese people who have the opportunity to study and research internationally. By taking advantage of and attracting these resources, we will significantly shorten the path to success. The Prime Minister's instructions are very timely, a "give and take" economy will only lag behind all development, besides, up to now, not only the mindset of "if you can't manage it, then ban it" but also the mindset of "whatever is new - I don't understand is not good, is nonsense" is also causing us to lose many opportunities. Singapore has been asking for advice by going to the place to invite the Taylor Swift crew to perform exclusively in their country on a regional tour, or the Thai Government has been pursuing for years to receive the nod from the producer TomorrowLand to stimulate tourism for itself. In addition to the Prime Minister's instructions at the macro level, from my perspective, I think there are three things that need to be done immediately at this time. Firstly, we need to change the perception that working in the cultural industry is only the work of the cultural sector. Because we need to join hands and clearly define the responsibility for coordination, if we leave culture alone, there will never be a cultural industry. Secondly, we need to train resources. Let the private sector join hands to do this. If the Government invests and sponsors, there must be clear KPIs, and the use of the budget must have indicators to measure and evaluate the effectiveness so as not to waste. Thirdly, we need a mechanism for pioneering producers such as Anh trai say hi , Anh trai overcome ngan cong gai , so that these programs are not just temporary phenomena!

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dao-dien-viet-tu-co-3-viec-can-lam-ngay-de-vuon-den-nen-cong-nghiep-giai-tri-2024122222385341.htm#content-1