Chapter 19 — Music Without Chorus

The label sent the ownership request on the day the group planned to record the rehearsal. If they accept, they can keep the five new tracks and change the album's name. If he refuses, Nam risks being sued for creating the product within the contract period. Hanh read the contract all morning, highlighting each phrase.

“There's a point,” she said. "The appendix records products arising from the project provided by the company. These copies were created after the project was paused, using independent equipment and data. We have grounds for argument."

“But it's unlikely to win,” Nam said.

“Nothing is certain.”

An looked at the music on the screen. “If the label takes it, can we release it under another name?”

“Maybe, but the dispute will last long.”

Linh asked: "So should the rehearsal be canceled?"

Nam looked at An. “I don't want to use the show to create legal pressure.”

“We don't apply pressure,” An said. “We take credit for the work before anyone takes credit for us.”

They held the show at a small cultural house, did not sell tickets, only invited Lam and Le Chi's family via online call, some journalists and music students. Hanh prepares confirmation of attendees and performance time. No company logo, no advertising background.

Low stage, old wooden floor. An placed vibration transmission pads on the floor to feel the sound, and also connected a small speaker set for the audience. Vy checked the wire one last time. Linh stood backstage, her hands were cold.

“I'm afraid of the silence,” she said.

“Don't try to cover it up.”

“If the audience coughs?”

“Then we know they are there.”

Nam adjusted the piano, then turned to An. “Vibration level?”

“Fine. A little too much on the left.”

He lowered a layer of bass. Unquestioning.

The show started with a lesson using the sound of the train. The sound of the engine came from behind, the sound of the strings approached, Linh sang the first verse and then stopped. Some viewers looked at each other as they waited for the reshoots. Do not have. Market rhythm appears, leading to a new melody.

An couldn't hear everything with her ears, but she felt the wooden floor shaking under her feet. Each group's choice makes a small physical change. When Linh was out of breath, Nam did not turn up the music to cover it. He let the void exist. Linh regained her rhythm with a sigh, then continued singing.

The third song has the sound of a ferry dock. A car bell on the street accidentally entered the microphone, creating a false high note. An was about to signal the cut, but Vy shook her head. Linh rotates the song so that the bell becomes a hyphen. The audience doesn't know if it was an accident or intentional. I know both can be right.

In the middle of the session, a man walked in through the back door. Tung recognized him as Duc Minh's old assistant. Hanh asked him to sit in the guest area and acknowledge his identity. He did not object, just looked at Nam.

“I brought a paper copy,” he said. “I want to hand it over to the Lam family.”

He gave the envelope to Hanh first, not directly. Inside is the studio roster dated August 16, signed by Duc Minh and Quang. The last line clearly states: "Khai Nam does not have the right to operate the machine after 11 o'clock."

Nam looked at the paper, then said: "I signed the delivery book because I was asked. But I don't operate the machine."

The old assistant nodded. "I know. I kept quiet because I was afraid of losing my job. Today I no longer work for them."

An asked: "Why do you give it now?"

"Because I listened to the music. I realized they were still using Lam's space to make money."

The show continued. The last song has only three notes, Le's breathing and a speech Chi in class: "You don't need to sing like someone else. You need to know what you're saying." She gave permission to use the spoken word and not appear on stage. Linh stood in the middle of the yellow light, not singing a word for nearly twenty seconds. Then she wrote a new sentence that she wrote herself.

“I don't stand where others left off.”

There is no chorus. That sentence only appears once.

When the song ended, the audience did not clap immediately. The silence lasted just long enough for An to feel the wooden floor stop shaking. Then a child in the front row clapped first. Other claps followed, uneven, but real.

After the show, a journalist asked An if he considered this a response to the Milky Way.

“No. This is a record of a work by the named people.”

“Are you going to announce the lawsuit?”

"The lawyer will release the necessary portion. I don't turn anyone's pain into headlines."

Nam was asked if he regretted it. He said: "Yes. But regret is not a license for me to speak for Lam or Le Chi. I can only say what I did and bear the consequences."

Lam's family signed to confirm the performance. Le Chi sent a short video, saying she agreed to let the group release the album on the condition that full names be credited and a portion of the revenue be spent on music classes. She did not talk about Nam.

Hanh received a notice from Milky Way: the company agreed to negotiate the rights to use new versions, but wanted to keep exclusive distribution rights for three years. If they do not agree, they will take the case to court.

An asked Nam: "Do you want to sign?"

“I don't want to sell the whole thing.”

“So what do you suggest?”

"Ownership rights belong to the creator; the company can only distribute proportionally, does not use Le Chi's data, does not exploit personal images and has the right to withdraw if they violate."

“They won't like it.”

“I don't do it for them to like.”

An looked at him. “You are speaking like someone who has learned something.”

“I can still forget.”

“So write it down.”

Nam took the notebook and wrote down the terms. When he writes, his hands no longer shake.

The next morning, Hanh sent the proposal. Milky Way did not respond immediately. Instead, a news site posted: "Khai Nam used Le Chi's name to come back." The article quoted an anonymous employee, saying An forced Linh to perform and the group staged the evidence.

An read the article, then closed the phone. “They ran out of data to refute it, so they turned to storytelling.”

Nam asked: "Do you want me to respond?"

“Only if you tell the truth, not to protect me.”

He nodded. Hanh prepared a statement with attached documents, without using personal photos. While waiting for approval, An received the last email from Le Chi: "After the last note, don't be afraid of the listener leaving. Those who stay will know why."

The rehearsal was prepared in three days. No one wanted to turn it into a promotional event, but they needed a live recording to test the sonic layers. The cultural house lent the stage, in return the group organized a copyright instruction session for students.

An designed two systems: speakers for the listener and floor vibrations for her. She tested each frequency, marking areas that could cause buzzing. Vy added an indicator light instead of an audio signal, so Linh knows when the microphone is ready.

“You're making theater for everyone,” Nam said.

“The stage should be like that.”

“I used to think the technique was to have the performer stand in the middle.”

“Technology is so that no one is left on the edge.”

Linh practices the last exercise. She sang the new verse, pausing longer than expected. Some students whispering below. Nam did not signal to finish. An looked at the indicator light and saw Linh raising her hand when ready.

The rights briefing takes place before the performance. Hanh talks about copyright, related rights and how to save metadata. A student asked if he had bought a ticket, did he have the right to record. Hanh replied that it is necessary to comply with the program's regulations, which does not mean commercial exploitation is allowed.

An added that audio files need source, creator and time. “A name removed from metadata can take years to get back.”

Nam stood at the back of the room, listening. After the talk, a student came to ask him why he had not protested before. Nam replied: "Because I'm scared. I'm not using that sentence to ask for your sympathy, just to let you know how a person can be wrong."

The student recorded it, but did not turn his face without asking permission.

The show started with the sound of the market. The audience heard the announcement and the sound of wheels, then Linh entered. She did not introduce Le Chi's name; Her name was in the notes distributed to everyone. The second song is the hospital language, used with Lam Linh's permission. Nam plays the piano, An controls the vibrato.

In the third lesson, a signal wire broke. Vy reported with a light. Nam stopped, Linh stopped her voice. An couldn't hear the noise, but saw the floor stop vibrating. She signaled to switch to the backup system. The silence lasted four beats.

The audience did not leave. A person coughed, a child shifted in his chair. When the signal returns, Linh continues singing from the middle verse, not returning to the beginning of the song. The problem turns into a part of the structure, not something that needs to be covered.

After the fourth article, a journalist asked An if he intentionally made an error to attract attention. An replied: "No. I just don't pretend the mistake never happened."

Nam added: “We will post the recording including the break, unless the artist requests otherwise.”

Linh nodded. She doesn't want the audience to think her performance is perfect.

The last lesson features the sound of Le Chi's class. She did not appear on stage; the voice is played from a permissioned recording. Children tap irregular rhythms, Linh sings her three notes, Nam plays an open chord. An keeps the space long, without adding drum sounds.

When it ended, the audience fell silent. An felt the floor stop vibrating, but in his left ear, the ringing did not increase. She exhaled.

An older woman stood up and said she had heard Le Chi at the Hoa Binh theater. She doesn't remember the song, she only remembers the host reading the musician's name too quickly. “I heard the name today,” she said.

Lam's family signed the minutes after the show. Le Chi sent her wishes without asking for corrections. Linh hugged her mother via video call. Nam called Hanh and confirmed that the live recording belonged to the group, not to the Milky Way.

The company sent a request for distribution. Hanh read each term. An requests additional rights to delete copies if the source is disputed, and the right to inspect revenue reports each quarter. Quang objected, but the audit council did not let him decide alone.

Nam writes new terms in the book. “If I sign this time, I have to read it all.”

“Read with a lawyer.”

"I will."

An looked at him. “And don't use any keys as collateral.”

Nam burst out laughing. “That clause should be posted on the door.”

Vy is really sticky. Under the line "Do not accept recordings from unknown sources", she added: "Do not change someone else's name for rent."

An found the sentence a bit spicy, but left it alone.

The night before the release date, Nam gave An a piece of paper. Above that are three terms for their working relationship: do not hide information related to the project, do not use private life as promotion, if one person needs to stop, the other person does not write the missing part themselves.

“Do you need to sign?” An asked.

“I need to remember.”

An folded the paper and put it in the notebook. “Let's sign the album first tomorrow.”