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Music industry survives crisis with livestreaming


The Covid-19 epidemic has devastated the entertainment industry, shutting public venues, live shows and movie theatres in China, in order to contain the spread of the virus.

However, the difficult times have given birth to new online modes of entertainment, to attract young Chinese audiences, CGTN.comreported.

Many online music and short video platforms have teamed up with livestreaming platforms to create some new entertainment diversions, such as “cloud karaoke,” “cloud music festival” and “cloud disco party,” the report said.

For those who love karaoke, Changba, which literally means “Singing Bar,” one of China’s most popular mobile karaoke apps, has launched a series of online karaoke experiences, including cover song competitions and livestreaming karaoke, the report said.

With nearly 20,000 concerts and live shows being cancelled or postponed, China’s music industry has been hit hard by the epidemic. It has incurred a loss of more than two billion yuan (US$285 million), according to the China Association of Performing Arts.

To survive the crisis, musicians, music companies and online music platforms have come up with innovative ways to keep the music playing – by livestreaming their shows online.

Chinese online video platform Bilibili has teamed with Modern Sky, China’s largest independent record company, to create a “Stay at Home” concert series, livestreaming their previous Strawberry Music Festival shows for five days from February 4 to 8, which had attracted more than 490,000 viewers, the report said.

NetEase Cloud Music, one of the most popular music streaming service in China, has teamed up with 85 groups of musicians, mostly independent musicians, and launched an online “Bedroom Music Festival.” 

The total number of viewers has exceeded 16 million and the total viewing time surpassed nearly 22 million minutes, with more than 6.8 million real-time comments, the reort said.

The overseas music industry is also facing a downbeat as many concerts, opera shows and world famous music festivals, such as Coachella and Glastonbury, have been either postponed or cancelled.

Amid closures of cultural venues across the world in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus, classical music venues in Europe have also turned to livestreaming their concerts in an effort to comfort music fans, the report said.

English pop singer James Blunt went ahead with his concert in Hamburg, Germany, livestreaming the performance in an empty venue to fans around the world.

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AF China Bond