On the evening of November 19th, Jay Chou and Luhan held a concert online at the same time. The former sang for the first time after three years, and the latter sang for the first time in four years. These two performances have gained high popularity, and both of them have been on Weibo hot searches, which once again aroused the public’s attention and expectations for online performances. On the same day, old artist Tengger sat in the live broadcast room and held the activity of “Take a moment to listen to songs”.
In September this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a draft notice for soliciting comments on regulating the business activities of online dramas (programs), requiring platforms that hold online concerts, concerts, and other online performances to first obtain an online cultural business license. Corresponding requirements have been made for the approval and filing of online performance content, and further regulations have been made for online performances-online performances bid farewell to the brutal growth stage and entered version 2.0.
The industry believes that only by paying more attention to musicality in future online performances and making full use of interactive methods that conform to the characteristics of the Internet can they stand out in the online field and be widely disseminated.
Jay Chou and Lu Han sing at the same time
Pay attention to music and get likes
On the evening of the 19th, Jay Chou’s online “Friends Club” lasted for more than an hour. The highest number of simultaneous online users exceeded 11.29 million, and the total number of likes exceeded 1.05 billion. Jay Chou sang a total of 5 songs, 3 of which were the classic old songs “Sunny Day”, “Peninsula Iron Box” and “Daoxiang” selected by fans, and the other two were the songs “Still Wandering” which were sung online for the first time in the new album. “” Missed Fireworks “. Fang Wenshan, as the guest of the live broadcast, chatted with Jay Chou on the spot.
In July this year, Jay Chou released his new album “The Greatest Work”, and then specially held an online live broadcast for the new album, with over 110 million viewers. Tencent Music’s latest financial report shows that as of the end of the third quarter, Jay Chou’s digital album “The Greatest Work” has sold nearly 7 million copies, with sales exceeding 200 million yuan.
Also on the evening of the 19th, the new generation of singer Lu Han also held an online concert. As Luhan’s first online “unplugged” concert, fans have reserved offline concerts to support. Lu Han sang a total of 15 songs in this performance, “Small Town Girl”, “Time Has Stopped”, “Heart Rate”, “Don’t Understand”, “Love, It’s Simple”, “Dark Darkness”, etc., and invited Gao Hanyu, Mao Buyi, Wang Mian and other guests came to help out.
These two performances were both featured on Weibo hot searches, and won numerous likes from netizens, as well as praise from the industry. It is believed that one of the biggest characteristics of the two performances is that they both abandon glitz and put musicality first.
The audience size of online concerts has huge potential
Has been planned and operated as a new category
Since the outbreak, large-scale offline concerts have been greatly reduced, and the performance market has been significantly weak. Online performances emerged in response to the times, filling the gap in the market. Online performances not only increase the exposure of artists, but also meet the needs of fans. For the platform, it can also use this to increase the number of users, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.
According to the “Statistical Report on the Development of the Internet in China”, as of December 2021, the number of live concert users in my country is 142 million, accounting for 13.8% of the total Internet users. This means that the audience size of online concerts has huge potential. On the other hand, since 2020, online performances held by major music platforms, short videos and other platforms have become a normal operation mode.
The “Research Report on China’s Online Live Music Performance Industry in 2021” released by iResearch shows that TME live, a subsidiary of Tencent Music, will hold 56 online concerts in one year in 2021.
Entering 2022, online concerts will be “full firepower”. The “2022 China Mobile Internet Semi-Annual Report” shows that the monthly active users of video accounts have reached 813 million, Douyin has 680 million, and Kuaishou has 390 million.
Faced with such a huge user base, various video platforms and brands are “watching” online performances, and joining hands with powerful singers, hope to create more “out-of-the-box” blockbusters. Since the beginning of this year, musicians such as Li Jian, Mayday, Liu Ruoying, Cui Jian, Luo Dayou, Stefanie Sun, Andy Lau, Backstreet Boys, Zhang Yadong, etc. have successively held online concerts on major platforms.
Luo Dayou’s 40 million, Cui Jian’s 46 million, Stefanie Sun’s 240 million, and Andy Lau’s 350 million. These viewing data all show that the online performances of these veteran artists are all “out of the circle”. Whether it is online for singing or online performances for brand promotion, these singers and musicians who have not been on stage for a long time can still trigger a “nostalgia wave” across the Internet.
Some insiders pointed out that with the two trump cards of “feelings” and “IP”, online live broadcasting is becoming the “second stage” of cultural performances. Pan Yan, secretary-general of the China Performing Industry Association, said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily that whether it is in the field of stage drama or pop music, online performing arts products have been planned and operated as a new category. Pan Yan said that the overall online performance in 2022 has an obvious feature, that is, it pays more attention to quality and more customized content. watch the show. “Online performances are completely different from offline performances. You can’t simply copy and paste offline to online. This is the consensus of most performance organizations.”
Online performances will be more standardized in the future
Returning to the music itself is the most important thing
Pan Yan also introduced that in September this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a draft notice for soliciting comments on regulating the business activities of online performances (programs), requiring platforms that hold online concerts, concerts and other online performances to first obtain Internet cultural business licenses, and corresponding requirements for the approval and filing of online performance content. In her view, these regulations will better promote the development of online performances after they are formally promulgated. “Because the performance unit did not know how and where to apply for approval for online performances before. Now it is clear what is compliant, which will benefit the development of online performances. After all, only standardized development can be long-term development.” Pan Yan said.
Zhang Yiming, general manager of Beijing Huale Extraordinary Culture Communication Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from Beiqing Daily that after the approval process, future online concerts will be more standardized and strict than before, and the number will be relatively streamlined. There will be more boutique performances. On the other hand, online concerts will also pay more attention to musicality. There will be less “bells and whistles” from choreography to production, and less marketing and promotion, so that the concert will return to the music itself, such as Lu Han’s unplugged and Jay Chou’s “Brothers Club” always put musicality first.
Zhang Yiming believes that music itself is the most important, whether it is a powerful artist or a popular artist. In addition, online singing also needs to have enough familiar songs. It is best to have some nostalgic and memory-killing works. More musical works that resonate with the audience will be more advantageous. “After all, it depends on the work and the music itself to speak.”
Pan Yan also believes that the influence and dissemination of online concerts depend more on the social influence of the singer itself and the popularity of the song itself. At the same time, in the planning and operation of online concerts, it is necessary to make full use of interactive methods that conform to the characteristics of the Internet, and integrate new network technology and virtual technology, so as to attract online audiences to a greater extent.
Text/Reporter Shou Penghuan
Coordinator/Liu Jianghua