Chinese rocker Wang Feng breaks new ground to broadcast his Beijing concert online in real time Quinten Rollins Limited Jersey , drawing bigger crowds for his upcoming national tour. Broadcasting concerts online had once seemed a risky business that would dampen ticket sales, but technology and audience size are combining to make the idea work for both musicians and fans, Chen Nan reports.
Singer-songwriter Wang Feng made a pathbreaking move last week. While pumping up a crowd of more than 60,000 fans with his concert Storming at the National Stadium in Beijing, the 43-year-old rocker became the first in China to broadcast his concert online in real time.
According to Chinese video and movie streaming site LeTV, which cut the deal on July 21 to exclusively stream the concert Kenny Clark Limited Jersey , more than 75,000 users have watched Wang's Aug 2 concert online within two days, with each user paying 30 yuan ($5).
"The partnership opens a new revenue stream for concert organizers and offers a wider platform for musicians to reach more audiences," says Xue Liping, CEO of Compass Culture Co, which ran Wang's concerts for four years.
Ever since Wang announced his 2014-15 tour in early June Vince Biegel Limited Jersey , his Beijing concert has attracted huge interest. Veteran lighting designer LeRoy Bennett, who has worked with pop icons such as Prince and Lady Gaga, joined his team. It was said the rocker would propose to his actress girlfriend, Zhang Ziyi, at the concert, which fell on Chinese Valentine's Day.
For Xue Jamaal Williams Limited Jersey , whose company has successfully organized concerts for the popular duo Phoenix Legend and veteran singer Mao Amin, finding creative ways to promote concerts is crucial.
"Traditional concert promotion has very low-margins and as a result they have to push the margins in other areas of the business," Xue says.
However, the idea of streaming a concert online was considered risky when Xue began planning it five months ago.
Audiences of Wang Feng's concert in Beijing have the opportunity to be filmed during the online broadcast.
"The lowest price for the concert was 280 yuan but it just cost 30 yuan to watch online. Who will pay for the concert? If people have already watched the show online, who will pay for the following stops?" says Xue.
He initially thought about broadcasting concerts live online around seven years ago when he ran a performance ticketing company in Beijing. At the time, he abandoned the idea since the base of Internet users in China was not big enough and the technology was not as advanced as it is today.
But he believes that now is the time to do it. China today has 632 million Internet users Montravius Adams Limited Jersey , according to the government forum China Internet Network Information Center.
Young people are willing to experience concerts in different ways, Xue adds.
"Wang is very supportive of the idea. As one of the most popular singer-songwriters in China, his live shows have a guaranteed box office," says Xue, who also cooperated with more than 20 Internet companies to sell tickets, including e-commerce giants JD and Taobao.