The Star Furnace and the Complicated Cooperation (*): Behind the ...

In response to the "shocking" accusations from singer Sofia (real name Dan Trang), musician Chau Dang Khoa also spoke up to "explain". Musician Chau Dang Khoa affirmed that the conflict between the company and singer Sofia had occurred a long time ago. In mid-December 2023, Sofia wrote a letter of apology, expressing her hope that musician Chau Dang Khoa "even though they are no longer working, will still love and understand each other".

Who knows right from wrong

Regarding the accusation that singer Sofia's life fell into misery due to poverty, musician Chau Dang Khoa said: "Three years after signing the contract with Sofia, the company has not yet recovered its capital, let alone made a profit. All figures from the accounting department will be recorded and submitted to the court."

In addition to the company's investment, he personally gave Sofia more than 200 million VND for food, shopping, medical treatment... Most recently, on Lunar New Year 2024, Sofia complained of being sick, so Chau Dang Khoa transferred 5 million VND for medical treatment and 10 million VND for Tet spending. Before that, the company transferred 28 million VND in advance for Tet. Musician Chau Dang Khoa also provided photos to prove that he still communicated with Sofia and did not avoid her (via text messages). Musician Chau Dang Khoa also accused Sofia in return: "The singer refused to work with an accountant who had worked for the company for 4 years because he did not know who he was".

Singer Jack (left) and K-ICM had an unresolved conflict and eventually had to disband. (Photo: TAM NGUYEN)

Repeated breach of contract (?!)

Chau Dang Khoa provided some evidence, affirming that Sofia had many acts of contract violation such as: arbitrarily contacting and ordering with some musicians, arbitrarily making products, arbitrarily accepting shows, inflating stylist costs (costume design) and travel costs for 3 shows... Most recently, Sofia inflated travel costs of 2 million VND from her home to the studio of the show Song 24. The musician said: "We all knew that Dan Trang was lying but let it go because we thought the amount of a few million VND was not worth making a big deal out of, but we are increasingly disappointed and losing faith in her."

Chau Dang Khoa affirmed that with her current reputation, Sofia would not have the opportunity to appear on big shows like Rap Viet, sing with rappers like B Ray, Khoi... "Those are relationships that I have tried to work on, to create opportunities for Sofia" - Chau Dang Khoa expressed.

Regarding Sofia's "freezing" career, Chau Dang Khoa said that according to the original plan, the female singer would release a personal album and MV this year. In the contract, Sofia agreed to the request to lose weight to meet the image criteria of the artist managed by the company. Before filming the new MV, director Dinh Ha Uyen Thu and creative director Denis Dang both asked her to lose weight to have a gaunt image, suitable for the content of the MV and the song.

After 7 months of going to the gym and spending tens of millions of dong on hiring a personal trainer, Sofia did not lose any weight and resolutely refused to step on the scale, citing "fear and obsession". After the last text message on February 20, still showing good feelings, on February 23, Chau Dang Khoa was shocked to receive a job offer from Sofia's representative lawyer. Chau Dang Khoa said he originally intended to keep his promise to let Sofia leave the company peacefully. However, with the violations of the contract and statements that affected his personal and company reputation, he will handle the case according to the law.

Why?

Chau Dang Khoa - Sofia, who is right and who is wrong is not known until the court's conclusion. But the situation of back and forth accusations is not strange in Vietnamese showbiz, causing many people in the industry to question why showbiz is so "chaotic" today, while the technology to train star singers has existed since the day Vietnamese showbiz was formed. Mr. Dang Nhat Truong (NTT Entertainment), who used to manage Rhyder - commented that singers and managers of the previous generation often last long because they have been together from the difficult early days to the success they have now.

Besides work, they also have feelings between them, seeing each other as family. One of the most successful management cases from the past to the present is manager Hoang Tuan with singer Dan Truong. Up to now, after several decades together, the two still go together on every path. Talking about his own case, manager Hoang Tuan shared: "It is trust, respect and understanding each other. Between us, feelings are still the most important thing."

Insiders believe that the entertainment industry develops according to demand, companies and young people find each other an opportunity to collaborate. When everything is industrialized, there will inevitably be mutual interests, so the emotional issue is more or less lost. Artists want to become "hot" quickly, companies also want artists to succeed to make money, and that is the pressure on both sides.

The breakup between the management company and the artist must come from both sides. Everyone has a reason to justify their actions. The stories of accusations back and forth and never ending make the audience more or less confused about the truth of the story. But clearly, with what has been witnessed, the audience can see that the operation of an artist training company and art business has never been easy. A famous artist management company (who wishes to remain anonymous) affirmed: "Investment and human resource management are always very sensitive. That is why every company sometimes goes through incidents".

This is actually completely understandable because the mindset of an artist who is not yet successful, has no name and does not know that he can make money will be very different from that of a famous artist. "Demands for higher benefits or being invited by other companies with more lucrative contracts. On the contrary, companies can sometimes be too impatient in making money, lack of transparency in money leading to conflicts between the two sides" - said Mr. Dang Nhat Truong.

Experts say that a reality in Vpop is that few companies are willing to acknowledge and change their terms according to each milestone of success of the artist. When the company personally spends money to train the stars, at first they may only pay the trainee's salary. But later, when the artist has developed and become more successful, the companies also need to change their policies on mutual benefits. Even when the artist becomes a big star and a "golden goose", the company needs to have a good policy to retain them.

Mr. Cuong Chu (singer-musician Tang Duy Tan's management company) admitted that, with many years of experience working in the Kpop market before returning to Vietnam, he himself considered and applied many business strategies from Kpop. For example, the case of Kpop's TWICE. After the contract with management company JYP expired, all 9 members of TWICE renewed their contracts to continue working with the company. When asked about this, member Chaeyoung confirmed that the income sharing ratio between the company and the members had changed compared to when they first debuted. The new ratio is more beneficial for TWCE members to be worthy of the huge amount of money they earn for JYP.

"The key is that when it comes to work, we should be open about sharing, talking to each other and understanding each other. Art is quite sensitive when it receives attention from many people and artists are quite emotional. Therefore, transparency and clarity are even more necessary" - Mr. Cuong Chu said.

(To be continued)

(*) See Lao Dong Newspaper from September 2nd issue

Source: https://nld.com.vn/lo-luyen-sao-va-cuoc-hop-tac-nhieu-khe-dang-sau-nhung-do-vo-196240903211658699.htm