The pandemic has driven drastic changes in people’s lives, and music events are no exception. Audiences fear attending performances in-person due to the risk of illness, and thus artists have begun to explore live streaming as a means to enhance audience engagement. This essay uses the KKBOX Music Awards event as a case study to explore post-pandemic trends in music performances in Taiwan.
Enhancing Online Engagement
Expanding Audience Reach
As online streaming channels increase, the reach of music events and promotions has also increased. In addition, audiences can access performances more easily, since remote experiences enable them to save on transportation and other expenses, allowing artists and event hosts to tap into busy and foreign fans. KKBOX is a prime example of a company that has successfully enhanced online engagement and expanded its audience base through its music events. KKBOX is a domestic streaming platform in Taiwan, and the KKBOX Music Awards event is an annual comprehensive ranking based on data of KKBOX members’ favorite songs. Recently, the KKBOX Music Awards transformed from an in-person event in Taipei Arena, which could only accommodate 10,000 attendees, to one that attracted over 15 million viewers in more than ten countries worldwide through television broadcasts and online platforms. [1]
Bilateral Communication
Live streaming of music events on social media platforms enables a better understanding of audiences and their feedback. In the past, it was impossible to read each audience member’s mind at an in-person performance; however, live streaming on social media platforms has made Taiwan music events more like a community,[2] which allows two-way communication between performers and audiences. The KKBOX Music Awards offers live streams on Facebook, YouTube, Weibo, 17Media, Line Today, Yahoo TV, etc., where fans can leave instant comments in the chatroom, and musicians can receive that feedback in real time and respond accordingly. In addition, KKBOX can collect data from the live broadcast to determine which parts most people are watching in order to better understand the audience’s preferences and amplify the publicity effect.[3]
Broadening the Boundaries of Art
Online music events hold even greater potential to expand the boundaries of the musical arts. For instance, KKBOX is actively developing VR concerts, known as Meta Rising Star (an event related to the KKBOX Music Awards), in which singers use virtual characters to communicate and record music together in real time. All these potential ideas, those that have already been developed and those that remain untapped, can further break physical boundaries, spark inspiration, and stimulate conversation between musicians.
Emerging Concerns
Social Influence on the Music Market
Yet, behind these positive developments lie some concerns. Social influence[4] [5] [6] and platform design issues[2] can impact the audience’s listening behavior, causing the majority of people to listen to mainstream music. Music festivals and music award ceremonies typically attract audiences through big-name artists, and then introduce the audience to other types of music and newcomers at those events. If the famous lineup disappears, attendees will drop dramatically. We observed these trends when Taiwan’s quarantine requirements prevented many foreign musicians from coming to Taiwan. For example, the KKBOX music awards had invited Ava Max and Yellow Claw before the epidemic in January 2020, but 2022 had no overseas guests. Another popular music festival in Taiwan, S2O, has also reduced invitations to foreign singers. Thus, the epidemic has dramatically affected the live sectors and the excitement of the online audience.
Widening Wealth Gap
Moreover, while large companies like KKBOX have more resources to develop online events, small performances may be left out since they lack the funding needed for famous artists and high-end equipment. This situation may threaten minor artists. In the past, when there were only in-person events, people may have chosen to attend smaller events because of distance or convenience. However, both types of events currently compete on the Internet, so audiences gravitate toward meta-shows because of the bigger stages and famous musicians. This trend raises concern about the monolithic future of Taiwan’s music market and the increased gap between big and small performances.[7][8]
Future Development
Even so, the development of music events in the wake of the epidemic remains exciting. We can expect that the music scene in Taiwan will continue to grow and coexist in both online and offline forms in the near future.[3] While online music events may influence in-person music events moving forward, so far, online events have been successful in helping expand in-person formats— thus, in-person events remain irreplaceable for now. Under this model of coexistence, in-person events will focus more on developing hedonistic value, just like in- person activities organized by KKBOX,[9] such as food bazaars and handmade shops. Online events will also continue to grow, attracting more audiences through their ease of access and superior viewing experiences. Such development will allow both online and offline audiences to pursue their own preferences in how to participate in music events.
Annotated Bibliography
[1] KKBOX’s website (In Chinese)
[2] Interview with KKBOX’s CEO, Chia-Hung Wong (In Chinese)
He points out that audiences may be influenced by the music arranged by the platform, making it harder for consumers to access a wider variety of music. Therefore, KKBOX does not want to become a centralized platform, but an interactive community of listeners and creators with different genres of music.
[3] Interview with KKBOX’s VP of Marketing and Content Strategy Center, Yi-Ping Chien: A more accurate way to promote music (In Chinese)
She says that KKBOX is a technical company. They can use big data to analyze users’ preferences and promote music more precisely to users. She also believes that there is no conflict between attending performances in person or online because everyone will choose the option that is best for them.
[4] Duncan J. Watts. “Is Justin Timberlake a product of cumulative advantage?” The New York Times Magazine, 2007.
This article illustrates the unpredictable nature of market success in the entertainment industry, which even experts often fail to predict. When people decide which music they like, they often do not decide independently. They enjoy hearing what others like. The popularity of a cultural product may, therefore, be affected by cumulative advantages, like a butterfly effect, resulting in significant differences over time.
[5] Matthew J. Salganik, Peter Sheridan Dodds, and Duncan J. Watts. “Experimental Study of Inequality and Unpredictability in an Artificial Cultural Market,” Science, 2006.
This study created an artificial music market for participants to download previously unknown songs. It found that the increasing strength of social influence makes the success of songs less predictable and less even. Success is only partially dependent on song quality.
[6] Matthew J Salganik and Duncan J. Watts. “Leading the Herd Astray: An Experimental Study of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in an Artificial Cultural Market,” Sage, 2008.
Self-fulfilling prophecy means that when people have a specific expectation about a situation, they trigger a new behavior that makes their prediction come true. This study set up some artificial music markets in which a song that should have been the lowest-ranked song was purposely given a high number of downloads. This song fared very differently than in the original market, thereby demonstrating that information about a product's popularity can significantly impact consumer decisions.
[7]Luis M. B. Cabral, Gabriel Natividad. “Box-Office Demand: The Importance of Being #1,” The Journal of Industrial Economics, 2016.
This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding the impact of the opening weekend box office on the success of a film. The study demonstrates that earning the top ranking across a movie’s opening weekend has a statistically significant effect on the total future demand for that movie. This result shows the importance of being number one. Thus, if KKBOX maintains its dominant position in the domestic music market, it may significantly impact the future trend of music events in Taiwan.
[8] Pohan Fong. “Do you buy a live opera ticket that costs thousands of Taiwanese dollars? What the American Opera House’s 15 year-old transformation plan has taught Taiwan’s entertainment industry,” Manager, 2022. (In Chinese)
The Metropolitan Opera House has expanded its market with live streaming, and audiences from other opera houses are flowing to its performances. From Taiwan’s perspective, the growth of KKBOX has undoubtedly influenced small music events. From a global perspective, the music industry in Taiwan should differentiate itself to face the competitive international market.
[9] “The 2021 KKBOX Music Awards expanded from online to offline,” Pinkoi, 2021. (In Chinese)
KKBOX organized a large offline event with shows, food bazaars, and fashion markets to provide audiences with more experiences.
