No activities by any individual or organization that prevent the dissemination of Vietnam’s national anthem are allowed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has affirmed.  

Vietnam's national anthem was muted at the Vietnam-Lao match on Dec 6.

MoFA's Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang made the statement at the Thursday press conference [December 9] after the national anthem was muted at the Vietnam-Laos match on December 6 in the group stage of AFF Suzuki Cup 2020.

At the beginning of the match when the Vietnamese national anthem was played, the sound was muted on some YouTube channels broadcasting the match, along with an apology line “Due to music copyright reasons, we are forced to mute the sound at the flag-raising ceremony. After the ceremony, the audio signal will return to normal, hope to gain your sympathy.”

“The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which is the regulatory body in this field, must take necessary measures to preserve and promote the value of the Vietnamese national anthem,” the spokesperson said.

The incident has triggered angry comments on social networks, blaming BH Media for registering their recording of the national anthem for copyright on YouTube. 

BH Media explained that there are now a lot of recording businesses making their own version of “Tien Quan Ca” (the anthem), both at home and abroad. According to the Intellectual Property Law, if anyone spends money, time, effort, and techniques to arrange the national anthem, which is copyright-free, and record it, then the recording would be under copyright protection. 

Musician Van Cao and his song Tien Quan Ca.

Vietnam’s national anthem Tien Quan Ca or Move forward and The army marching song was written by well-known musician Van Cao in 1944 (when the author was only 21 years old) and adopted as the national anthem in 1976.

After the incident, many people raised questions about the ownership and use of the national anthem.

Sharing with The Hanoi Times, painter Van Thao, son of late musician Van Cao, said his family relinquish the copyright of the song in 2016. He said he was upset that some recording companies thought they had the right to own the records they produced themselves. The government of Vietnam owns the rights of the anthem. 

Tien Quan Ca is listed by the international community among six national anthems with heroic tunes, including La Marseillaise of France, Independence march Turkey, Himnusz Hungary, Il Canto degli Italiani Italy, and Qasaman of Algeria.

Van Cao's family donated the song to the State.