Artists should not have 'double standards': wanting to be famous and loved, but also having deviant personal arrogance

Popularizing music is easier than before, but that doesn't mean artists can do whatever they want, because the public - the 'supervisory' force - is always present, listening, evaluating, and they are becoming more civilized and knowledgeable.

Musician Duc Trinh and music critic Nguyen Quang Long

Regarding the deviant musical activities that have attracted public attention in recent days, in addition to a clear legal corridor so that artists can feel secure in their profession and understand their responsibilities, the issue of singers' civic responsibility is also raised.

If we remove those offensive, vulgar and deviant lyrics, the meaning of the song will not be lost. The problem is whether the artist is aware of his responsibility or not.

Musician Duc Trinh

There are artists with "double standards"

A series of products by Phao, Hustlang Robber, GDucky, Rocky CDE, Soobin, Binz, Rhymastic... have been hidden/deleted in recent days. Among them, there are singers who were warned and quietly removed, and singers who were not warned but still proactively removed inappropriate products.

Notably, SS Label - the management company of Soobin, Binz, Rhymastic, said it has proactively reviewed and adjusted the song catalog to ensure it is consistent with the current direction of the unit.

According to information sent to the press, the "orientation" that this company mentioned above is "developing a music product system in its own language to spread positive messages, contributing to promoting the healthy and civilized development of Vietnamese culture".

If only all artists, production units, and artist management companies "thoroughly understood" the above spirit before releasing any music product to the public before being named and shamed by a document from a state agency or being called out by the audience for their alleged deviations, then the recent uproar would not have happened.

Major General and musician Duc Trinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Musicians Association - told Tuoi Tre that he does not generalize but there are clearly artists with "double standards".

That means they want to benefit from fame (running shows, receiving advertisements, high salaries...), but also want to show off their deviant ego with products that go against community standards. That is impossible and further shows that their approach to music and art is "not pure".

The deviant expressions that we are temporarily understanding with each other such as offensive, vulgar lyrics, attacking each other, showing arrogant, uncivilized attitudes, promoting the use of illegal substances, loose lifestyles, gangsterism, social evils... according to the musician, "are actually tricks to attract views, attract likes, and create fame at all costs".

Mr. Trinh called it "aggressive, provocative music" and "at first it may attract curiosity and bring some short-term economic benefits but it will not last long."

B Ray used to have products that were considered to be substandard - Photo; FBNV

Need to understand post-audit correctly

Since the pre-control mechanism changed to post-control, the dissemination of music products has become much easier than before, in line with the trend of the times, but because of that, controlling products with toxic or deviant content has become more difficult and complicated.

"Artists are not simply creators but also influencers, contributing to shaping the younger generation's perception of culture and ethics.

Rapper Phao's roll call was off-standard - Photo: FBNV

In that context, artists are also "citizen artists", so their awareness and responsibility are even higher" - Mr. Trinh expressed.

According to him, "artists need to understand the true nature of the transition from pre-control to post-control, not that state management agencies are lax and can do whatever they want indiscriminately.

The state is empowering artists to be self-conscious with popular products released to the market."

From his perspective, music critic Nguyen Quang Long believes that "every creation has its limits and trendy music must still be within the traditional customs or community standards that the artist is aiming for."

According to him, in the past there were still sentimental, sentimental love songs, but vulgar, offensive songs... were almost non-existent. If there were, they would have been met with backlash from the community.

However, what constitutes good customs and traditions needs to be specifically defined so that artists can better understand them instead of making general comments. "It is known that with today's social networks, it is reasonable to manage popular products online in the direction of post-control. But perhaps we should also consider combining pre-control with some cultural products like the above," Mr. Long suggested.

Dat G (with B Ray) once had a song called Building 20 that was considered offensive - Photo: FBNV

Musician Duc Trinh added, "There is a monitoring force that is always there, listening, supporting, and evaluating artists and their musical products, and that is the public."

Today’s audiences are not just limited to listening to music for entertainment, they are becoming more knowledgeable and civilized. They demand socially responsible content. They use social media to comment, share and even call for boycotts if they find it inappropriate.

No one stops artists from creating. But artists need to balance creative freedom with ethical limits. They have the right to experiment and break new ground, but they are not allowed to use art to spread expressions that are considered deviant or against community values ​​and standards.

Do not use creativity as an excuse.

According to musician Tram Tich, for artists, creative freedom is essential, helping artists explore , promote themselves, and create value for many new ideas. However, the boundary between creative freedom and the artist's responsibility to the community is essential.

"Artists are not allowed to borrow art just to create works with offensive, negative content that have a bad impact on the community," he said.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nghe-si-dung-tieu-chuan-kep-vua-muon-noi-tieng-va-duoc-yeu-vua-ngao-man-ca-nhan-lech-chuan-20251103093106948.htm