Singer Hà Anh Tuấn recently announced his upcoming album and concert on a livestream. Photo courtesy of sggp.org.vn

 HCM CITY - Online entertainment will be increasingly more popular in 2021 after a surge in use during 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have said.

In 2020, the pandemic affected performance schedules of numerous live shows and music projects. Compared to years ago, the number of new songs listed in digital music charts was very limited.

That said, 2020 saw the rise of music streaming, an online music service that was popular during the social distancing period earlier this year.

Despite the limited number of new songs, singers have ensured top quality. In this difficult situation, creativity has brought a breath of fresh air to the local music market, experts said.

The year 2020 also witnessed some notable collaborations between Vietnamese and international artists, including Đức Tuấn’s Trọn một kiếp yêu album with famous sound engineer Steven Fallone, and Tùng Dương’s Con người album recorded with Christian Wright.

This is a positive sign for Vietnamese artists as the approach to world music is expected to be “in” next year.

According to musician Quốc Bảo, rap and EDM will be the focus, along with traditional pop music.

As people have refrained from outdoor music activities, home entertainment has become a popular option.

Musician Nguyễn Minh Cường said that various types of online music performances will continue to take the lead in 2021, since this will ensure connections between artists and their fans.

Growth in number of users

People nowadays do not enjoy music game shows as much as before, and this has encouraged production firms to constantly bring new shows to the industry.

Meritorious Artist Vũ Thanh Vinh said the life cycle of TV programmes is getting shorter as the audience is more selective these days. It is essential to create programmes that truly bring value to society.

Meanwhile, online entertainment continues to thrive with an increasing number of users every month. 

Lưu Thị Thanh Lan, director of Galaxy Play, said the movie segment on the platform grew two to three times during the social distancing period earlier this year.

Similar growth was seen on other platforms such as FPT Play and POPS. New web dramas, exclusive content and shows from overseas made the market very competitive, she said.

According to a representative from POPS, livestreams of talk shows and music performances have been gradually embraced by locals.

More services were created to maximise users’ experiences such as live chats, donations and fundraising, he said.

To meet users’ growing demand and compete with big firms such as Netflix or HBO Go, local online platforms such as Galaxy Play, POPS, DANET and FPT Play regularly introduce new features.

For 2021, Galaxy Play has plans to produce 20 exclusive films. 

However, many firms admit that this will be a challenge because the vast majority of users still have the habit of watching free entertainment content on streaming platforms, and are reluctant to pay for it.

This has affected the amount of revenue generated, and can lead to more piracy of legal content in cyberspace. - VNS