For a music industry to achieve sustainable success on the global stage, it must possess three essential elements: a distinctive cultural identity, a strong fan community, and event infrastructure that meets international standards.
International media turn their attention to Vietnamese music
In recent years, alongside the rapid development of Viet Nam's cultural industries, V-pop has received growing international recognition, with increasing coverage in global media outlets and industry forums. Whereas Viet Nam was once known primarily as one of the region's most dynamic economies, its culture and entertainment sector is now emerging as an area of global interest.
Bui Viet Ha, Director of External Affairs and Public Relations at the YeaH1 Media Group, shared that in recent months, leading media organisations from the US, Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and China have travelled to Viet Nam to explore the development of V-pop. In her view, this reflects Viet Nam's growing recognition as one of Asia's emerging cultural hotspots.
In an article published by Fortune, one of the US' leading business magazines, Viet Nam's policies to develop its cultural industries, combined with the rise of a new generation of creative talent, are described as key drivers of the country's cultural renaissance, supported by an increasingly favourable digital infrastructure and economic environment. The magazine also noted that Viet Nam aspires to transform culture into a major export industry and has the potential to become Asia's next cultural powerhouse.
Meanwhile, Nikkei Asia observed that Viet Nam's music industry is gradually helping domestic artists reach international audiences through cross-border partnerships, most notably the collaboration between YeaH1 and Sony Music Entertainment. Singapore's Business Times likewise described V-pop as entering a vibrant new phase, fuelled by sold-out concerts, hit reality television programmes, and music releases attracting millions of views each day.
These assessments demonstrate that the appeal of Vietnamese culture is no longer recognised solely at home but is beginning to attract international attention. At a time when global audiences are increasingly seeking fresh cultural expressions from Asia, V-pop is being viewed as an exciting new creative force with significant growth potential.
Taking Vietnamese identity global through international standards
YeaH1 Group recently joined forces with iMe Entertainment Group — a leading multinational concert promoter and entertainment company in Asia — and AlphaZ — a US-based entertainment technology start-up — to officially launch the V-Beyond Concert project. The partners also signed a strategic cooperation agreement to build an ecosystem that will help bring V-pop to the global market. The project's first destination will be the Honda Centre, where a concert expected to attract around 14,000 spectators is scheduled for November 21.
According to Do Mai Vy, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of YeaH1 Group, the decision to launch the V-Beyond Concert project stems from the belief that Vietnamese music is now ready to compete on the global stage.
"Over the past three years, YeaH1 has successfully produced a number of major entertainment programmes, nurtured a new generation of versatile artists and built a large fan community. Based on these achievements, we began asking ourselves: why not take the next step and introduce Viet Nam's talented artists to international audiences?" she said.
Responding to suggestions that V-pop is following the path established by K-pop, the Deputy Chief Executive expressed confidence that the creativity and talent of Vietnamese artists are more than capable of developing their own distinctive appeal without replicating any previously successful model. She described V-Beyond Concert as the first step towards presenting a uniquely Vietnamese form of V-pop that is rooted in Vietnamese culture while delivered to international production standards.
For its part, the representative of iMe Entertainment Group said that after years of studying different markets, the company considers Viet Nam to possess exceptional potential as a cultural and entertainment market.
"The world is looking for new musical voices from Asia, and Viet Nam has all the necessary ingredients to meet that demand. We see tremendous potential in V-pop, as well as Viet Nam's readiness to bring its culture and music to the world," the representative said.
Drawing on its experience of producing thousands of international events, iMe believes that a music industry can only achieve sustainable global success if it possesses three key elements: a distinctive identity, a sufficiently strong fan base, and internationally standardised event infrastructure. These are precisely the foundations that Viet Nam is steadily building.
From a market research perspective, Le Thi Thu Ha, Chief Executive Officer of AlphaZ, stated: "The US has always been an open marketplace for new cultural expressions. I believe the V-Beyond Concert can resonate with audiences in the US and enrich its entertainment landscape with the distinctive character of V-pop."
She added that the partnership between YeaH1, iMe Entertainment Group, and AlphaZ represents more than a collaboration between three companies. Instead, it establishes a robust platform combining content, event production, and technology to help Vietnamese artists steadily reach international audiences.
