Streaming performances connect artists with audiences amid outbreak
(LI MIN / CHINA DAILY)
Xu Bo wore his favorite cap, picked up his guitar and adjusted his microphone before performing a range of his songs, including Day Dreaming and Game On.
The 34-year-old — lead vocalist, songwriter and founder of indie rock band Chinese Football — had staged three 30-minute livestreaming performances from his home in Wuhan, Hubei province since Feb 14, attracting more than 10,000 views.
“I had never done any such performances before, so it has been a totally different experience from singing in front of large, noisy crowds at a live house venue or at an outdoor music festival. It’s just me singing my songs and chatting with the audience.”
Born and raised in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, Xu, like millions of residents, has stayed at home as much as possible since January.
He has postponed the band’s plans to release a new album and tour Europe for the first time in April and May.
The Wuhan-based band was established in 2011 and also features bassist Li Lixin, guitarist Wang Bo and drummer Zheng Zili.
Xu has been fully occupied with songwriting, practicing guitar and performing music online. He has posted video footage on Sina Weibo each day, performing original songs or cover versions by other artists. These have been watched mainly by longtime fans.
“But what surprised me was that when I gave livestreaming performances, I realized I was attracting new fans to my music,” Xu said. “This seems to be a new way for me to introduce my music and to interact with my fans. I am getting used to the new platform.”
Nearly 8,000 performances nationwide have been canceled or postponed in March, resulting in 1 billion yuan (nearly US$142 million) in lost ticketing sales, according to a March 2 report from the China Association of Performing Arts.
The year 2020 was expected to be a major one for the performing arts market in China, with theaters and stadiums booked until the fourth quarter.
Performances scheduled for the past two months have been canceled or postponed, but gradual recovery is expected during the second half of this year.
Major venues, such as the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing and the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, have canceled or postponed shows, as have smaller live house venues and outdoor music festivals.
“Since January, we have canceled or postponed more than 100 performances due to be given by indie musicians from home and abroad. It’s a heavy blow to us,” said Zhu Ning, former drummer and the owner of VOX, Wuhan’s oldest live house venue.
VOX has branches in Chongqing and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, in addition to that in Wuhan, which has become a base for indie music lovers.
Since early January, VOX has been staging online events, in which indie musicians share music through the short-video livestreaming platform Bilibili. To celebrate the venue’s 15th anniversary, six Wuhan indie bands gave livestreaming performances on March 28 and 29 through this platform.
“This could help generate more awareness of VOX as a venue where indie musicians can livestream their shows without a stage set, lighting and a real audience. It’s just about them playing their own music,” Zhu said.
In 2018, the market value of Chinese livestreaming platforms reached nearly 50 billion yuan, and an estimated 397 million people used livestreaming platforms that year, according to a report by the China Association of Performing Arts.
Livestreaming has been adopted by young Chinese during the outbreak. Major online platforms offering indie singer-songwriters’ performances include Bilibili and Douyin. Daily users range from 100 million to 400 million.
According to QuestMobile, a big data intelligence service provider in the nation’s mobile internet market, people spent 21.5 percent more time on the internet last month than in early January.
Cao Shi founded the rock band Black Head in 2007. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
On Feb 7, NetEase Cloud Music, a major music streaming service, launched online streaming program Bedroom Music Festival. Streamed every Tuesday and Saturday night and featuring performances by more than 50 Chinese singer-songwriters, the program has attracted audiences of more than 16 million.
From Feb 7 to 19, the Beijing world music company Stallion Era launched seven groups’ performance online. They included Huun-Huur-Tu, a band from Tuva, an area in Russia on the Mongolian border, and Japanese musician Suzuki Tsunekichi. Each show attracted more than 2,000 views.
On March 9, Blue Note China announced a series of streaming programs, which began on March 13 and were staged from 8am to 10am via the online video provider Youku. The performers included Grammy winners Will Calhoun and Lee Ritenour.
The online program offered Chinese audiences free shows held at the Blue Note New York jazz club, staged in collaboration with the venue and supported by technicians from China and the US.
Li Si, deputy general manager of Blue Note Beijing, said, “We want to offer Chinese audiences authentic jazz music despite the viral outbreak,” adding that livestreaming is a new experience for Blue Note, whose New York venue opened in 1981.
The Beijing venue is the first Blue Note branch to be launched in China. Since opening in 2016 it has hosted some of the biggest names in jazz, including Grammy winners Stanley Clarke and Chick Corea.
In September, the Blue Note label launched its tenth club worldwide in Shanghai. But with the outbreak, some 114 shows have been canceled or postponed at the two Chinese venues from February to April.
Shen Lihui, founder of Chinese recording company Modern Sky, said in an interview with online media platform 36Kr Media on March 1, “Online streaming seems to be our only choice to keep the music playing.”
Organizer of the Strawberry Music Festival, launched in 2009 and one of China’s largest outdoor music events, Modern Sky has postponed plans for this year’s tour, which usually opens in Wuhan and attracts an average daily audience of 20,000 people.
From Feb 4 to 8, Modern Sky staged the online streaming program Hi, I Am at Home Too, featuring more than 70 indie music groups, including pop-rock band New Pants. From Feb 22 to 28, this program was joined by nearly 100 acts, including Chinese-American rapper Victor Ma, singer-songwriter Zhong Yixuan and pop-rock band Dada. Its total views exceeded 2 million.
One of the most-watched shows on Feb 26 featured Dada performing their hit song South from their homes in Beijing and Wuhan.
The song, written by singer-songwriter Peng Tan and released in 2002, depicting him longing for Wuhan, his hometown, resonates among his fans 18 years on.
In addition to performing songs, indie musicians also livestream home activities.
“I like reading the messages fans tap out on the screen. I also respond to their questions. It’s a fresh experience for us. It’s really surprising to see that people are not only interested in my music online but also want to see me cooking local Shaanxi dishes,” said Cao Shi, founder and lead vocalist of rock band Black Head.
Cao, 42, born and raised in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, launched the band in 2007. He found fame by combining rock music with the Shaanxi dialect and the high-pitched Qinqiang Opera, an artform on the country’s list of intangible cultural heritage since 2006.
Black Head vocalist Wang Dazhi, bassist Shuang Xi, guitarist Zhang Ning and drummer Bi Tao also come from Xi’an. The band won more fans last summer after appearing in the reality show The Big Band on online streaming service iQiyi.
Many other artists have resorted to social media platforms.
Peking Opera actors and actresses from the Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing and the Nanjing Peking Opera Troupe in Jiangsu province have staged online rehearsals for the companies’ new production, Death of Guangxu Emperor.
The new production, directed by Li Zhuoqun and the first collaboration between the two companies, centers around the last 10 days of the emperor’s life and his failed Hundred Days of Reform.
“We haven’t stopped working on the production, from the music to the costume design. Everything is done through the internet,” said Li, a 34-year-old director and scriptwriter.
Since Feb 17, crosstalk, or xiangsheng, performers from the Hip-hop Crosstalk Club in Beijing have been streaming shows online nightly from 8pm. Led by founder Gao Xiaopan, the artists perform for about two hours, featuring crosstalk of different forms.
To begin a new lunar year, xiangsheng performers traditionally stage a show titled kai xiang. “We gave our kai xiang performance online for the first time and all the shows we give online are free,” said Gao, 35, who founded the club in 2008. “Xiangsheng is a kind of comedy and about making people laugh — a meaningful purpose during these difficult days in particular.”
