Vietnam aims to build national sound archive, digital music map

Working toward a 'Vietnam Melody Bank'

The initiative features three digital activities, including 'Vietnam Sound Quiz,' 'Vietnam Sound Experience,' and 'Vietnamese Sound Innovation.'

'Vietnam Sound Quiz' is an online multiple-choice competition that tests participants’ knowledge of Vietnamese melodies, songs, traditional musical instruments, folk music, musical heritage and musical life.

'Vietnam Sound Experience' invites participants to submit short videos sharing their feelings, stories, memories or perspectives on a Vietnamese melody, song, folk tune or musical life.

'Vietnamese Sound Innovation' accepts creative works using Vietnamese music, melodies, spoken language, sound effects, musical instruments, folk tunes, everyday sounds and cultural soundscapes as source material.

Participants are encouraged to compose, arrange, record, sing, play instruments, tell stories through sound, or combine audio with images, videos, animation, graphics, and other digital art forms.

Eligible works may be featured on the program’s official platform and gradually added to the Vietnam Melody Bank, alongside information identifying creators, copyright and related rights, and conditions for use.

The program welcomes Vietnamese citizens at home and abroad, as well as international friends who love Vietnam.

Submissions are open from October 12 through November 30. The results announcement and awards ceremony are expected to take place in December 2026.

Through the collection, identification, selection and presentation of Vietnamese sounds and melodies, the program aims to gradually establish the Vietnam Melody Bank and Vietnam Music Map, creating a resource to preserve and promote musical heritage, foster creativity, and develop cultural industries.

Adding Vietnamese sounds to the world’s digital sound archive

At the launch ceremony for the program, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Huy Dung said the initiative had several objectives.

First, it aims to promote basic music knowledge among the public through the 'Vietnam Sound Quiz' competition.

Second, it seeks to create a platform where Vietnamese people can produce their own digital sounds and pass them on to future generations, helping develop Vietnam’s music industry and contribute Vietnamese sounds to the world’s digital sound archive.

Asked by Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper about how the Vietnam Melody Bank would be established and operated effectively, how its sound collection would be used and how copyright issues would be handled, Dung said the approach was to “not strive for perfection, but find the way forward as we go and make improvements along the way.”

Organizers added that participants agree to let the organizers publish their audio on platforms for public-benefit purposes. However, the creators retain copyright and the rights to exploit their works.

The organizers hope that, if the initiative is successful, creators of these sounds and melodies will be able to earn money from their work.

The Vietnam Melody Bank is envisioned as a platform for sharing and trading Vietnamese sounds, contributing to the development of the cultural industries.