Online Concert
Music performances that use the internet as their primary channel for real-time or scheduled broadcasts, where audiences watch via streaming platforms and can access features such as paid tickets, chat, and multiple camera angles.
Explanation
线上演唱会 (Online Concert) refers to a musical performance that uses the internet as its primary distribution channel, with audiences watching remotely via websites, apps, or streaming platforms. It can be broadcast live or pre-recorded and premiered at a specified time; while the term “livestream” in industry literature emphasizes that transmission and performance occur simultaneously, the scope of “online concert” is typically broader.
Performances may originate from venues with a live audience or be produced in studios, empty stages, home settings, or virtual environments. Multi-camera switching, real-time chat, paid tickets, digital fan support, subtitles, and audience video walls all contribute to the online viewing experience, but they do not alter the fundamental nature of the musical performance. Network latency means that performers and audiences may not necessarily be in the same real-time feedback loop. Simply uploading a recording of a regular concert to a video platform does not necessarily constitute a new “Online Concert.” If the video is merely an on-demand release of a completed live event, it is more appropriately described as a “concert video” or “concert film”; 线上演唱会 typically incorporates remote viewing as the primary mode of attendance from the planning stage, with specific broadcast times, access permissions, or online interactions established.
The online format expanded on a large scale in the early 2020s due to restrictions on physical venues, but the technology itself did not emerge at that time. Performances may be free, subscription-based, or pay-per-view, or they may be combined with a live in-person audience to form a “hybrid concert.” The method of distribution is independent of the licensing status; unauthorized rebroadcasting of another’s performance does not become a formal 线上演唱会 merely because it is transmitted over the internet.
Live replays and subsequent CD releases are often re-edited, remixed, or supplemented with bonus footage. The original live broadcast, delayed rebroadcast, on-demand version, and physical release may feature different setlists and durations; these should be regarded as different presentations or releases of the same performance, rather than assumed to be identical.