The collapse of the Vietnamese music group
02/04/2024 | 06:43
TPO - After Cá Hồi Hoang and Lộn Xộn, the audience said goodbye to Ngọt - the famous Indie group of Vietnamese showbiz. Along with the disappointment and regret of the audience, it is still a difficult problem to solve. The stability of a music group is much more precarious than that of a solo singer.
A harsh goodbye from Ngọt
After more than 10 years of appearing on the Vietnamese music map, Ngọt said goodbye to the audience in a noisy way. The group disbanded via announcement on social networks, canceled two concerts, and had no clear explanation. What's left for those who love Ngọt is only anger, frustration, not sweet at all but only bitter.
Vũ Đinh Trọng Thắng (leader, main vocalist of Ngọt) said he has mental health problems and cannot act at this time. He promised to compensate the audience next time, but not as Ngọt.
Ngọt disbanded "without trumpets or drums" after more than 10 years accompanying the audience.
Fans have reason to vent their anger, many comments criticize Ngọt's behavior and the way the group chose to end humiliatingly after 10 years of companionship.
Looking back, 10 years is quite a long number compared to the average lifespan of many Vietnamese music groups. With Ngọt, the group has built a certain fan community over many years, mainly the 9X and 2K generations. Ngọt's music speaks to the hearts of the current generation, rustic but containing many thoughts, ambitions, and interspersed with romance.
A year ago, Cá Hồi Hoang - an Indie phenomenon considered the counterpart of Northern Ngọt - said goodbye to the audience after a decade. Less fortunate, the Lộn Xộn group - the champion of Sing my song 2018 - only traveled together for a short 4-year journey. All of these names have created a foothold, imbued with Vietnamese identity, but are not strong enough to go the long way and reach far compared to solo singers in the Vietnamese market.
It is unclear whether the real reason behind Ngọt's separation is simply a matter of funding and human resources, but it has more or less left open the formula for survival of music groups on the Vietnamese showbiz map.
Vietnamese music group: Many holes cannot be filled
In recent years, Indie music - an independent music trend - has developed strongly in Vietnam, in contrast to the popular spirit of pop. Indie is sought after and conquered by many young people, some typical music groups are Ngọt, Cá Hồi Hoang, Chillies, Da LAB, Lộn Xộn band, The Cassette...
With this model, music groups have autonomy in all stages, from composition, arrangement, recording... They are free to create according to their own artistic perspective. For many music groups, this activity is only effective for a short period of time, when they don't have to worry about making a living. In addition to difficulties in producing music, they have to face development orientation, environment and operating conditions. Not every independent music group has the opportunity to perform and generate high revenue.
Những đứa trẻ and Cá Hồi Hoang once shared one of the biggest difficulties: financial problems. They have to work different jobs because music activities are not enough to pay. Therefore, it is difficult for the members to devote their full attention to making music, and releasing new products is also more difficult.
Nguyễn Bá Trường Sơn - member of the band Những đứa trẻ - said their concerns have changed compared to their student days. Entering the age of 25-26, they face a lot of pressure and have to worry about life. The group retains its own audience and is invited to shows, but the revenue still cannot cover other expenses.
The indie group's activities are all homegrown, but they still need a clear-oriented crew if they want to go long-distance and operate professionally. Huy Tuấn (Limebócx group) said that all stages of mastering, mixing... are self-taught, while professional singers have support for these parts.
Previously, Da LAB was at risk of disbanding after a few years of operation because of pressure to earn money. The group said that in the past, there was a lack of debt, leading to thoughts of disbanding. Thanh xuân was the savior that pulled Da LAB from the brink of collapse.
Struggling to make a living, letting indie music reach the majority of the public is not easy. These music groups all have their own distinct personalities, without trying to conform to the audience's preferences. Cá Hồi Hoang once said that the melody and lyrics that the group likes are important, because they put authenticity in emotions, don't shout, sad music just goes to the end of sadness.
Killing Indie groups earlier is a model to learn from Kpop. In fact, Vpop has had many cases of debut from famous management companies, with promotional strategies and even sending trainees to Korean companies for training... but "it blooms early and fades", for example: LIME case. Later music groups such as Lip B, Monstar, Zero9... also followed the same path.
There are a few cases where the public has not yet had time to remember their faces and names but suddenly said goodbye to the audience on a beautiful day, typically D1Verse - a boy band invested in by music management company Mamamoo, disbanded immediately upon release. The only MV.
The way these music groups operate is not suitable for the Vietnamese music market. They lack a distinct color and are too influenced by Kpop, making the audience not very interested, because Kpop is not lacking and is even doing too well in this area.
Being unpopular creates financial pressure. Unlike solo singers, music group projects require many times more investment costs. In the Vietnamese music market, it is always a difficult problem for music groups to operate because of the high risks and low profits.
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