Beat goes on as China's club scene learns to livestream

CHANGSHA－At 10 pm, Lu Yiting in her pajamas turned off the lights at her Beijing home, tuned in a livestreaming music remix channel on her iPhone and danced to the disco beats.

"Online disco dancing, though not as intense as in nightclubs, offers an outlet for emotions, and adds some color to my dull, stay-at-home life," Lu says.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, Lu has been at home for over a month. Nightclubs, among other entertainment venues across China, have also been closed to prevent the gathering of crowds.

It was Lu's first "cloud disco dancing" experience. On her smartphone screen, participants sent their locations and comments, and some sent virtual presents to the DJ in order to let their profile pictures linger for a longer time.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in the eastern city of Yixing, Jiangsu province, Xia Yun, 26, purchased some gifts for the DJ.

"Online disco dancing is more about entertaining oneself than socializing with others. Drinking a beer or two and sweating a little bit while dancing really helped to release some pressure," he says.

On Feb 8, the Shanghai-based TAXX Bar launched an unprecedented "cloud disco dancing" session on TikTok, drawing tens of thousands to join. TAXX says the peak number of online participants stood at 71,000, and the club received total rewards of about 367,000 yuan ($52,893) after deduction of commission to Tik-Tok.

The livestreaming became an instant hit and was labeled "cloud disco dancing" on Sina Weibo the next day. Inspired by TAXX, many nightclubs in China have launched livestreaming sessions on various platforms.

The ongoing epidemic has affected China's entertainment industry, forcing shutdowns and leaving facilities idle. Nightclub owners, like so many other business operators, resorted to online services for salvation.

"There is not much to do for many young people after staying home for so long. We'd like to share some fun by livestreaming music and beats to lighten their mood," says Ruan Liangliang, general manager of TAXX.

Club MEI in Changsha, a central Chinese city famous for its nightlife, also joined the "cloud" in mid-February.

"The livestreaming has even attracted those who have rarely or never been to a club," says Cao Jing, stage performance manager of Club MEI. The club's TikTok fans have increased by over 500 percent, and the number of its livestreaming viewers also doubled.

"We attracted more followers over the past few weeks than in the past year," Cao says.

At 8:30 pm from Monday to Sunday, Club MEI puts on performances through the livestreaming platforms. The DJ, in addition to mixing music, chats with online participants. Newcomers learn more about the nightclub culture and the venue itself and become potential consumers.

"Every day I am asked about when the club will open. It's probably because many people believe our reopening signifies the end of the epidemic," he says.

Some nightclubs have gone the extra mile to donate what they have received from online broadcasting to fund the fight against the virus in Wuhan. TAXX donated all of its rewards from the first day's livestreaming.

"Though the company is experiencing a difficult time, it's the least we can do as a member of society," Ruan says.

Livestreaming is only a temporary measure to fill in the business gap during such an extraordinary period, but it has made owners realize the importance of the promotion of nightclub brands among online communities.

Cao says they will continue to operate, and even expand, their livestreaming team after the epidemic, to integrate online and offline promotion and maximize their influence.

"Relating to the business explosion after the 2003 SARS outbreak－actually many popular nightclub brands emerged during that period－we are confident that the whole nightclub industry will embrace a strong rebound when the coronavirus outbreak is over," Cao says.

Xinhua