A Major Career Change

From army major to successful pop musician is a big leap, but Nay Ye Mann appears to have accomplished it with ease.

The former officer in the Burmese army’s engineering corps has engineered himself a front-ranking position on the Burmese music scene with clever promotional campaigns featuring glamorous models and handsome actors.

Nay Ye Mann and friends

They appear on billboards in key Rangoon locations promoting four music albums produced in the past year by Nay Ye Mann.

At one launch party, he offered 10 cell phones and 10 DVD players to the winners of a draw among the first 1,000 buyers of his CDs—later telling The Irrawaddy that the campaign had sold more than 2,000 albums.

Nay Ye Mann’s latest CD features singers May Sweet, Chaw Su Khin and hip-hop performer Yone Lay.

The star lineup doesn’t impress some critics, who accuse Nay Ye Mann of promoting hype rather than talent. “He promotes his albums by handing out gifts, but I don’t see much artistry in the music,” said one.

A Rangoon composer said: “He is buying everything with money, but he is an amateur in music.”

Some ask how an army major could find the money and connections to make a successful career in the music industry.

Nay Ye Mann shrugs off the criticism, saying he was able to follow his interest in music while serving in the army. “I have played as a lead guitarist since I was a student,” he said. “I sang in some concerts when I was in service.”

His latest album is titled “Don’t Worry”—and that sums up his approach to his new career.