In recent years, with the widespread use of the Internet and the accelerated application of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, short video platforms have become a new trend in the mobile Internet era. As the live streaming industry moves forward from the 1.0 era, cultural live streaming has been highly praised, driving a new transformation in the live streaming model. The "culturally rich" live streaming ecosystem is actively being constructed.
At the same time, a new form of online audiovisual content, known as micro-dramas, is flourishing. These micro-dramas feature few episodes, short duration, and compact plots, combining the flexibility of web dramas with the mobile fragmentation of short videos. In 2023, the explosively popular "Escape from the British Museum" and "Twenty-Nine" showcased different innovative paths in content creation within the current landscape of micro-dramas, demonstrating the immense potential for the future development of micro-dramas.
However, due to the low entry barrier of short video platforms, content creation has often exhibited amateurish characteristics, leading to homogenization and vulgarity in content. It is imperative to guide and regulate the professional innovation of content creation in order to ensure its healthy development.
Amidst this trend, many cultural institutions have also joined the live streaming scene. Live streaming rewards have increased the market-oriented income for cultural and artistic workers, improving their operational development beyond relying solely on government funding. According to previous reports from China News Service, in April of last year, the Panjin Art Troupe began experimenting with live streaming. Their broadcasts included ethnic singing, popular singing, and opera singing, attracting up to a thousand viewers during peak times. Currently, some actors earning around 3000 CNY per month can receive over ten thousand CNY in reward income through live streaming.
During this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference sessions, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) interviewed National Committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Professor of the Chinese Department at Peking University, Zhang Yi Wu. Zhang Yi Wu acknowledged the positive significance of online live streaming and micro-dramas in promoting the development of cultural industries. However, he also pointed out that the current state of the online industry has exposed many issues, especially in the nascent field of micro-dramas, which requires stronger regulation and guidance.
He suggested that relevant authorities should increase support and guidance for the development of micro-dramas, further improve relevant management mechanisms, strengthen supervision, and provide more support to the enterprises, talents, and platforms involved. In terms of the international development of micro-dramas, policies facilitating such expansion should be provided.
National Committee Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Professor of Chinese Literature at Peking University, Zhang Yi Wu.
Here's the conversation between Zhang Yi Wu and a reporter from The Paper:
The Development of Live Streaming Benefits Both Cultural Communication and Cultural Development
The Paper: Some say that live streaming tipping has become the "new ticket" in today's cultural life, reflecting the public's encouragement and recognition of cultural and artistic workers. It's seen as a consumption model more in line with the public's "enjoy first, pay later" consumption habits. How do you view this?
Zhang Yi Wu: Nowadays, live streaming has become an indispensable part of the public's cultural life, significantly expanding the reach of quality content. Many excellent actors, inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and professionals participate in live streaming activities, effectively interacting with the audience to spread culture, allowing the entire society to experience the charm of culture and enjoy a rich cultural life.
The concept of tipping in live streaming is indeed akin to the notion of a "new ticket." Just as you need a ticket to attend a performance or visit a museum, the same principle applies to live streaming rooms. When viewers highly appreciate the talents and abilities of the hosts, they are willing to show their encouragement and gratitude through tipping.
In reality, tipping is a win-win situation for both the hosts and the audience, fostering positive interaction. For the audience, it offers knowledge and aesthetic pleasure, providing meaningful experiences. At the same time, for the hosts, it serves as a significant form of encouragement, effectively facilitating the dissemination of high-quality cultural content.
The Paper: Examples from cultural institutions' live streaming practices indicate that live streaming tipping increases the market income of cultural and artistic workers and improves their reliance on government funding. How do you view the use of live streaming by individuals and institutions for profit?
Zhang Yi Wu: Currently, many cultural institutions still primarily rely on government financial support, which is inherently limited. Local theater troupes, museums, and cultural centers with distinctive local characteristics may not always receive sufficient support.
These cultural institutions aim to improve their environment and better serve the public, but they often face financial gaps. Generating revenue through live streaming is a positive approach that can help increase performance opportunities for personnel within these cultural institutions.
When a theater troupe's performances are limited to the local area, their audience base is also limited, making it challenging to reach a national audience. However, many of these theaters boast excellent performers and profound cultural heritage. Such high-quality cultural resources require a broader platform. Internet live streaming platforms are now highly mature, with standardized operations and relatively reasonable tipping mechanisms.
Audience tipping serves as both encouragement for performers and additional income for local theaters, museums, and cultural centers. Cultural institutions also need revenue to serve the public, and revenue is essential for fostering positive interactions. The additional income generated by live streaming is crucial support for the sustainable development of cultural institutions, enabling cultural activities to continue sustainably.
Additionally, live streaming helps invigorate the cultural market, keeping it lively and dynamic, while also providing a pathway and channel for performers and entire theater troupes to find sustainable development.
The Paper: Opening tipping channels garners support from the audience, but to effectively empower the cultural sector and industry through digital media such as live streaming and short videos, policy support is also necessary. What specific recommendations do you have?
Zhang Yi Wu: Currently, digital transformation has had a significant impact on social life. New forms of media like live streaming and short videos have profound effects on the entire industrial and supply chains, particularly in areas such as selling cultural and creative products through live streaming, which not only affects the real economy but also positively impacts the cultural and creative industries and cultural institutions.
Regarding specific promotion measures, I suggest the following: Firstly, cultural institutions should explore diverse live streaming models to better serve society. For example, actively engaging in individual and group live streaming, as well as live streaming competitions.
Secondly, cultural institutions should incorporate live streaming practices into talent cultivation and assessment systems. By evaluating and selecting a group of live streaming talents through live streaming assessments, a dissemination matrix can be established. Additionally, through offline performances and explanatory activities, efforts can be made to attract online fans of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to participate in cultural consumption offline.
Furthermore, I propose that cultural institutions, governments, internet platforms, and other stakeholders collaborate to create culturally distinctive live streaming brands, promoting the integrated development of culture and tourism industries.
The Paper: As producers of knowledge, should university professors actively participate in live streaming activities to disseminate knowledge? Do you think it's appropriate for them to accept tipping during live streams? Is there a conflict between the logic of knowledge dissemination and the logic of attracting viewership?
Zhang Yi Wu: University professors, as members of society, need to fulfill responsibilities such as educating students, conducting research, and serving society. However, many professionals and university professors are now entering the live streaming industry, interacting with audiences and sharing professional knowledge and cutting-edge technology.
Regarding tipping, some people may have reservations. While we encourage altruistic contributions, I believe accepting tips is normal, akin to regular tickets and salaries – it's a form of normal income. As long as live streaming is conducted in accordance with laws and regulations, there won't be any adverse effects.
University professors have their expertise and are familiar with knowledge in their respective fields. They can deliver information to the audience in an easy-to-understand manner, which is a form of cultural and scientific popularization, conducive to overall societal knowledge improvement. And the dissemination of micro-dramas through this new format of vertical screen adapts to the market demand, enhancing its own vitality while also attracting a wider audience.
Pengpai News: The revenue generated by movies and micro-dramas during this year's Spring Festival reached 8 billion and 800 million CNY respectively. Although there is still a significant gap in numbers, compared to the investment of hundreds of millions or even billions of CNY in movies and traditional TV dramas, micro-dramas obviously offer higher cost-effectiveness. This low-cost, high-output industry naturally attracts a large amount of capital. What impact do you think the influx of capital will have on the development of micro-dramas? Will micro-dramas squeeze out or even replace the position of traditional TV dramas?
Zhang Yi Wu: After several years of development, it has been proven that micro-dramas are very dynamic and vibrant. Their strong flexibility also determines their strong resource vitality in cultural creativity, which attracts a large amount of new capital investment and is an industry with unlimited potential.
However, its growth rate is very fast, unlike movies, which are relatively stable. Too much capital inflow will lead to chaos and disorder. The phenomenon of homogenization will become more and more serious, and copyright and intellectual property rights will not be effectively protected. This is a very scary thing for capital because without a benign and orderly market, there will be a great risk of loss.
Of course, our relevant departments have also noticed these issues. Some related industry regulations are being introduced, and centralized rectification is also underway to keep the market active while promoting more standardized development. At the same time, internet platforms are also increasing support for high-quality content and creators. Famous directors and film companies like Stephen Chow have started collaborating with platforms like Douyin for fine-tuned micro-drama creation, which helps ensure the steady development of the micro-drama industry.
The rapid growth of micro-dramas will definitely bring fundamental changes to the future of the film and television industry. It can be seen that there are already quite a number of film and television professionals starting to pay attention to micro-short videos, and there are many professional actors both domestically and internationally beginning to enter the micro-drama field. All of this proves that this field is vibrant and attractive, and its future development prospects are worth looking forward to.
Escaping from the current reality and achieving sustained and healthy development of micro-dramas
Pengpai News: Currently, the themes of micro-dramas on the market mainly revolve around "Mary Sue" plots, light-hearted plots, and tacky plots. Although more creators are joining in, micro-dramas are still largely considered part of a niche subculture. How do you think micro-dramas can find innovative paths and truly produce content with real-life significance?
Zhang Yi Wu: Currently, the biggest criticism of micro-dramas is their quality, with some works even having questionable values. So everyone hopes that there can be positive guidance for them, with the establishment of corresponding regulatory mechanisms and the creation of a reasonable award system.
Overall, micro-dramas are in a stage of rising development. For example, during this year's Spring Festival, some micro-dramas have already begun to gain popularity and have received good feedback, becoming the focus of discussion in society. However, the problem of homogeneity is indeed quite serious, leading to audience aesthetic fatigue. Many micro-dramas are now struggling to get market responses, and the quality of micro-dramas urgently needs to be improved. In fact, the traditional TV drama industry has also gone through a similar stage, but now there are many high-quality TV dramas emerging, with high standards of creation and production.
Additionally, we can organize exhibitions for micro-dramas, making full use of the current trend of domestic micro-drama creation and promoting its localization core.
Pengpai News: In January of this year, the State Administration of Radio and Television successively released and held the "Traveling with Micro-Dramas" creative plan and the "2024 New Year Spring Festival Micro-Drama Excellence Promotion Conference." What assistance do you think such initiatives provide for the development of micro-dramas? In the future, what other measures can be taken to continue promoting the healthy development of micro-dramas?
Zhang Yi Wu: These activities are all very good and represent explorations and practices to promote the deep integration of dramas and cultural tourism, utilizing the storytelling advantages of dramas to promote local characteristics and playing an important role in promoting the development of cultural tourism.
Next, for the healthy development of micro-dramas, I mainly have the following suggestions:
First, increase support and guidance for the development of micro-dramas. Relevant industry management departments should increase support for micro-dramas and establish a mechanism for evaluating and selecting outstanding micro-dramas, such as setting up special awards for micro-dramas and organizing high-level awards ceremonies to reward excellent works.
Second, further improve relevant management mechanisms and strengthen supervision. Establish dedicated institutions to promote the establishment of relevant industry associations and improve the long-term management mechanism. By continuously strengthening supervision and industry self-discipline, a sound management mechanism for the industry can be established.
Third, focus on the creative mechanism of micro-dramas and provide more support for enterprises, talents, and platforms involved in micro-dramas. Strengthen training and provide training for relevant practitioners in micro-dramas, encouraging the full play of talents in the field of micro-dramas.
Fourth, increase incentives for the internationalization of micro-dramas and support their overseas expansion.
I hope that government departments, platforms, and the public can all pay attention to and supervise the healthy development of micro-dramas, looking forward to more outstanding performances in the future.
