Chapter 17 — Music Without Chorus

The preliminary hearing takes place in a small conference room of the copyright arbitration center. There were no television cameras, only lawyers, company representatives, An's team and a secretary taking minutes. Quang Vu sat opposite, Duc Minh did not appear in person but participated via the screen.

The secretary asks each person to confirm their identity and role. Nam is the first. He clearly stated that he used to work as a technical assistant, signed a contract to transfer master rights to borrow money for hospital expenses, was present in room B on August 16 and was silent after the sound of impact. He doesn't call himself a victim.

The label's lawyer asked: "Did you create a recording containing Le Chi's voice?"

"I didn't create the original. I used to operate the equipment in the room, and I know a sample with her voice is saved."

“Do you object?”

"Insufficient."

“Not enough means no objection?”

“It means I didn't do what I had to do.”

The lawyer wanted to continue asking, but the secretary asked for a specific question. Nam did not look at An. He looked straight at the screen.

Gia Linh presented afterwards. She confirmed that she recorded the main voice according to instructions, did not know that Le Chi's voice class was paired, and asked the company to provide usage rights. The label's lawyer asked her if she would benefit from making a famous album.

“Yes,” Linh replied. “But interests do not make unauthorized use of data legal.”

An was asked about sound recognition methods. She explains vibrato transmitters, how to compare sound spectra, and the limits of identifying voices with tuned data. She doesn't exaggerate her abilities. When asked if she could confirm that the voice in the teaser was Le Chi's, An said:

"I can confirm that many characteristics are identical to the recording confirmed by Le Chi. To make a legal conclusion, an independent appraisal of the original is needed."

The company lawyer smiled. “So your report is not conclusive.”

"No. Because I did not replace the appraiser."

“But you used that report against the company.”

“I use it to prevent a record from being released when the source is unknown.”

“Do you have a grudge against the Milky Way?”

An thought about the clinic, the offensive articles and accident stories were turned into advertisements. "I have a professional right. I also have an obligation to not let data be used illegally. The two things can exist at the same time."

Quang Vu was asked about the teaser. He said the company bought the recording rights from a former producer, but did not have the original contract. He believes that Le Chi has left the industry and no longer has control over all recordings made during the contract period.

Le Chi appeared via video call. She did not wear stage costumes, just a brown shirt. The back room is a classroom with plastic chairs and handwritten music boards.

“I never signed over my voice rights to the Milky Way,” she said. "I signed a limited recording contract where every release had to be credited to the writer. The label kept the original when I asked for it back."

The lawyer asked her if she still remembered the date of signing. She answered every detail: the color of the ink, the witnesses, the sound of the air conditioner in the room. When asked about Nam, she said:

"He was silent. But he didn't clear my name. I don't want the records to turn those two things into one."

The answer made the whole room silent. Nam bowed his head.

Lam's family sent a notarized statement. They confirmed that Lam was the one who mixed the transition and has never transferred full rights to the company. A copy of the payment book shows that royalties are withheld through an intermediary company.

Duc Minh responded via the screen. He said the signature on the annex could be a valid scan. Hanh requested an appraisal and also requested to preserve the original tape.

The arbitrator asked Duc Minh about the video in Linh's card. He said he didn't remember the meeting.

“Do you recognize your voice?”

“It could have been me, but the part was cut.”

“Do you object to the entire file being examined?”

Duc Minh was silent. Quang turned to the screen, his expression changed.

After four hours, the center made a temporary decision: Milky Way is not allowed to release or promote recordings containing Le Chi's voice; must hand over copies of relevant data to an independent expert; All parties keep the original. Nam's album was allowed to continue under the condition that the disputed portion not be used.

An does not see victory. A temporary decision not to return Lam's name, nor to delete the posted articles. But it opens a breathing space.

In the hallway, Quang called An. "You have achieved what you wanted. Withdraw from the project, everything will stop here."

“You still think I do it for the project.”

“What do you want more?”

“Want the data to be returned to the rightful person.”

“And then?”

“Then I do my music.”

Quang shook his head. “You won't make enough money with songs that don't have a chorus.”

“Maybe. But I know what I'm selling.”

He left. Nam stepped forward, holding the decision in his hand.

“I thought you were going to withdraw.”

“I also thought you would shut up.”

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize because I didn't guess right about you. Apologize to the person who needs to hear."

Nam looked towards Duc Minh's turned off screen. “I will write a letter to Lam's family.”

“There's no need to force them to answer.”

"I know."

Hanh called a group meeting right at a coffee shop near the center. The album plan had to be changed: don't use Le Chi's vocal part, don't recreate the chorus with a new voice, keep the beat recorded at the ferry terminal and the sound of Le Chi's classroom only if she allows it. Linh wants to sing a new song written by herself.

Nam asked An: "Do you still have the album name?"

An looked at the subject line on the profile. "The song has no chorus. Hold."

“Do the listeners understand?”

"It's not their first job to understand. Their first job is to be heard right."

When they left the shop, Nam gave An a piece of paper. On it are the lyrics he wrote, only separate sentences, no rhyme. He asked if she could help with the mixing.

An read it, then folded it. “I'll see, but no promises.”

“I don't need a promise.”

"Good."

Behind them, Tung's phone announced an email from the bank: the intermediary company's money transfer file had been opened. There was a transaction on the day Lam died, the recipient was an account named Duc Minh.

During a break in the hearing, Nam went out into the hallway alone. An followed but stood a few steps away from him. He looked at the notice board of other disputes, the composer's name was smaller than the company's name.

“Do you want to quit?” An asked.

“Sometimes.”

“Because of fear?”

“Because I don't want all the questions to come back to me.”

“That's the consequence of you being in the story.”

"I know."

“But you're not the center of every part.”

Nam nodded. “I need to remember that when I speak.”

He returned to the room and voluntarily asked the secretary to add that Lam's family had no obligation to forgive him. Title The proposal made the company's lawyers uncomfortable, but the arbitrator accepted the record.

After Le Chi's testimony, Lam Linh told about the night she took the recorder out of the theater. She said she saw Duc Minh standing outside the back door, calling Quang. She didn't listen to the entire content, only heard the sentence "locked".

The company lawyer asked why she didn't report to the police.

"I'm twenty years old, my mother is in the hospital, my brother just died. I didn't know I was holding evidence."

“You kept it for eleven years.”

“I lived through those eleven years.”

The answer quieted the meeting room. An did not look at Nam, but felt him inhale very slowly.

The referee watches the tape. When Lam's voice talking about keeping the writer's name rang out, Nam held the pen tightly. An placed her hand on his knee, not touching him.

Duc Minh denied the voice in the video. Hanh gave Tung's analysis of the sound spectrum, stating that this is only a supporting comparison, not the only conclusion. The company's lawyer tried to ask questions about An's hearing loss, asking if she could accurately assess sounds.

An replied: "I don't listen the same way you guys do. So I use equipment, measure and invite an independent expert. My disability does not eliminate my obligation to check. It just makes me not accept someone who claims to hear better."

The arbitrator asked to move the question to the method, not to ask about the body if it was not relevant.

After the session, the parties are required to submit settlement proposals. The Milky Way admitted to using a layer of voice without the full text, but said it was done on Duc Minh's own volition. Quang Vu denied knowing in advance.

Hanh asked An if she wanted to accept the limited admission. An said he needed to ask Le Chi and Lam's family. Le Chi agreed if the company returned the original, recorded the full name, deducted the revenue for the fund and publicly apologized for the use of accent. Lam's family requested additional appraisal costs and the right to inspect the distribution report.

Nam requested not to receive compensation for himself. “My portion goes to the fund.”

Hanh said he had the right to keep the labor costs. Nam shook his head. “I have had enough from the silence.”

An said: "Don't punish yourself to beautify your profile. You still have to live and work."

Nam looked at her. “I don't know the boundaries.”

“So let the lawyer and the contract determine, not leave it to feeling.”

They agreed to divide the money according to rights, not according to the degree of guilt. Proposal submitted.

While waiting, Linh performed a stand-up song at a small shop. An stood under the auditorium, receiving vibrations from the wooden floor. Nam is at the end of the door, not next to the stage. Linh sang the last verse once, then there was a long silence. The audience didn't clap right away, but no one left.

After the show, a little girl asked Linh for her autograph. The girl asked if the song had a chorus. Linh said no.

“So how should I remember?”

“Remember what you want to keep.”

An heard and saw that the answer belonged to Linh.

The next day, the court issued a decision forcing Milky Way to hand over the original and publicize the scope of rights. Duc Minh must provide warehouse data. Quang Vu would like to withdraw from his executive position during the audit period.

No one cheered. Hanh just closed the file, saying there was still a lot of work to do.

Nam received Quang's email: "Do you think you won?"

He replied: "No. I think this time you can't write the ending yourself."

An read, then said: "That sentence is a bit dramatic."

Nam deleted and rewrote: "I will comply with the decision."

An nodded. "Good than."