It’s Time to Give Back – a Tribute to the Golden Voice of Cambodia, Sinn Sisamouth

On the afternoon of 21^st October, H.E. Sun Chanthol, Minister of Commerce, and H.E. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts hosted a Press Conference with a Guest Speaker Mr. Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Axiata,  Platinum Sponsor of this gala event. 

This Press event announced the details about the upcoming concert which will be held on Saturday evening, November 14^th, at KohPich Theatre, in Phnom Penh. The special evening extravaganza unlike anything held in Cambodia before, will be hosted by the Ministry’s of Commerce and Culture and Fine Arts.

Titled as “It’s Time to Give Back – a Tribute to the Golden Voice of Cambodia, Sinn Sisamouth” , this concert will feature performances by more than 17 legendary singers from the past and present who will come together to celebrate the legacy of Sinn Sisamouth and the golden age of Cambodian music in the 1960’s and 70’s before the Khmer Rouge turned out the lights.

Performances in this 2 hour spectacular will include the grandson of Sinn Sisamouth, Sinn Sethakol, the surviving members of the original band of the Golden Voice, the Drakkar Band, Dy Saveth, Master Kong Nay, Him Sivorn, Eang Sithul, Meng Keo Pichenda, Sos Mach, Ouk Narim, ChhormChorpum, EkSide, Kim Sokunthea, Nay Platin, Laura Mam and Roth Makara.

This star studded line up of musical greats will be a fund raiser to support the widow and family of Sinn Sisamouth, support the Sinn Sisamouth Foundation (that preserves Cambodian original music),  set up a Foundation to support surviving musicians who live in poverty and for the Kantha Bopha Children Hospital.

Artists and their families have never benefited from Intellectual Property Rights laws that would have normally generated revenue for these families. For decades, without these laws, the entertainment industry and media has freely used the songs and recordings of Sinn Sisamouth and others without paying a licensing fee for usage to the family.

This concert will be a long overdue moment for Cambodians to show their appreciation and financially contribute to charitable organizations deserving of our attention and help.

An exhibition of old Vinyl records and album covers will also be on display at the theatre giving a deeper historical perspective to this golden era that is being paid tribute to.

The concert will be televised and broadcast nationally on MyTV, CTN and TVK during prime time periods over Christmas, New Years and during the month of January so that all Cambodian’s can share in this special event.

Tickets are available to the general public and are priced at 20,000 riels (5 USD) 40,000 riels (10 USD) and 60,000 riels (15 USD).

Thomas Hundt, CEO of Smart Axiata said, “The title of the concert – ‘It’s Time To Give Back – a Tribute to the Golden Voice of Cambodia, Sinn Sisamouth’ – is pretty much self-speaking. Sinn Sisamouth was a great songwriter, composer and singer. The process of composing music requires talent, a great deal of time and dedication. Therefore, it is only right if we respect one’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Today, it is a historical step taken by the Ministry of Commerce to accelerate this initiative, simply, it is time for all of us to give back. In line with our strategic partnerships with Universal Music, Rainbow (Sunday), Town Production, M Production, Bigman Production, I’mTelco and Sun Records Asia, we are promoting POSITIVE CHANGE in Cambodia‘s music industry where everyone can afford to listen and enjoy legal music, of both international and local stars, but where also the artists get their fair share of the cake.”

“To conserve Sinn Sisamouth‘s music and copyrights, Smart will create a special collection of Sinn Sisamouth’s songs and make them all available in the Smart Music App for those who love his songs. Copyrights and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement will be a big change for the music industry in Cambodia but I see it as a fantastic step encouraging the creation of exciting music by giving the creators enforceable ownership rights over their original creations and therewith to allow the artists to live from being an artist,” he added. 

Smart is the Exclusive Telco partner and Platinum Sponsor for this Concert. All standard tickets can also be purchased at all Smart outlets in Phnom Penh (except the Phnom Penh International Airport) effective today. The Smart consumer can also contribute cash donation directly to the Sinn Sisamouth Foundation by dialing *633#. Then the amount will be directly deducted from your Smart number’s main balance.