Can grassroots anchors really "live" by rewarding? Someone went back to Yiwu to continue their business.

  Information photo

  Yang Yang, a young Yi man, has been broadcast live on the Aauto Quicker platform for two months. This young man who works in Cliff Village, Zhaojue County, Liangshan, Sichuan Province, now has a new identity — — Online celebrity.

  Not everyone who does live broadcast can become popular, and some even need to pay the price of their lives, just like Wu Yongning who fell to his death not long ago because of recording an adventure video.

  People who roll on the live broadcast platform also pursue fame and fortune for respect and recognition.

  At the other end of the video, viewers and rewards are also satisfied with watching the video and occasionally rewarding.

  This is a "professional counterpart" cycle. At the same time, the platform behind it also relies on these anchors and fans to earn a lot of money.

  Life changed by live broadcast

  As early as more than a year ago, the road to and from Cliff Village had to rely on a crude 17-section rattan ladder. After media reports, Cliff Village became famous all over the country, and what changed with it was that steel ladders replaced rattan ladders, as well as the lives of villagers.

  "After the steel ladder was connected, the 4G signal was repaired into the village." In every interview, Yang Yang, a young Yi man, is very excited, and will repeatedly emphasize to reporters that his live broadcast is called "Cliff Village ~ Yang Yang Outdoor Live ~ Teng".

  More than two months ago, Yang Yang uploaded a 10-second video of Cliff Village landscape on the Aauto Quicker platform. The video was quickly pushed to the platform, with more than 500,000 hits. For Yang Yang, who is only 22 years old and has lived in Cliff Village since childhood, everything is incredible. On the day after the unexpected completion of the feat, Yang Yang’s account was given a live broadcast function by the platform. Freshness and sudden self-confidence pushed him to try live broadcast, and netizens rewarded him about 300 yuan during the first dozens of minutes of live broadcast, which was not a small sum of money for him at that time.

  In the previous two months, every morning from 8: 30 to 11: 00, it became the live broadcast time that Yang Yanglei could not move. The content of the live broadcast is not complicated: it introduces the landscape and changes of Cliff Village, and the process of his access to Cliff Village by using steel ladders. Soon after, he introduced some local products from Cliff Village to the live broadcast, trying to improve the lives of local people.

  Jiang Jinchun, from Hengfeng County, Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, also found opportunities. More than half a year ago, this middle-aged man returned to his hometown from Yiwu to take care of his family. Under the guidance of friends in Northeast China, he began to contact live broadcasts and sold mountain products with humorous style, which was quite rewarding.

  Compared with Yang Yang, a new "live online celebrity" who is still immersed in excitement, Shi Shenwei, who has more than 1.6 million fans, is no longer so excited. He has no agent, and his screen name is very grounded: moving bricks and small Wei. The only helper is his cousin who works with him on the construction site. Shi Shenwei freely grasps the rhythm of life after becoming popular, picks up Shang Yan that he is interested in or participates in program recording simply for fun … …

  The "grass roots" rolling on the platforms.

  It can be seen from the White Paper 2016 of China Entertainment Live Broadcasting Industry (hereinafter referred to as the White Paper) that with the advent of the era of national mobile Internet, the live broadcasting industry has won explosive growth. Behind this, there are many grassroots live broadcasts like Yang Yang that are constantly pouring in and exiting.

  "We are indeed ‘ Grassroots ’ 。” Shi Shenwei, Jiang Jinchun and Yang Yang don’t underestimate themselves because of this. They are trying to change their destiny through live broadcast, at the very least, to improve their lives.

  However, it is not easy for grassroots to get along in the live broadcast industry.

  It is the most direct way for many platform performers to gain eyeballs by seeking adventure. Just like Wu Yongning, who became popular by releasing extreme sports videos, but unfortunately fell to his death on November 8 and attracted attention, and the "dancing" groups gathered in some parks in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

  According to the consulting data of Ai Media, China netizens have a low evaluation of the content of the online live broadcast platform, and 77.1% of netizens think that there is vulgar content in the online live broadcast platform.

  "If this business can become popular at the beginning, it will be a real risk." Zhao Jin has been broadcasting live in his hometown in Heilongjiang for more than two years. He has a stable job but lacks passion in his opinion. Live broadcast of "Good Appetite" every evening after work — — Many viewers rewarded him for eating a lot of peppers or raw squid, ranging from a few yuan to several hundred yuan.

  After Zhao Jin’s live broadcast became popular, a professional brokerage company came to help him operate. Some outstanding grassroots are indeed regarded as IP with great potential, "grassroots group ‘ Many people ’ You have to be lucky to get ahead. " Becoming a online celebrity through live broadcast and signing a platform have become the road that many grassroots anchors yearn for. Yang Yang is one of them. He didn’t want to get the future by rewarding, but he hoped to get a wider living space by taking advantage of the platform.

  The rapid development of short video and live broadcast platforms has formed many mature business models. "Do you think that dozens of millions of people really give money? Don’t those who reward themselves make a profit? " Zhao Jin is now familiar with the routine behind this.

  Unlike Zhao Jin, who is still working hard in the live broadcast circle, Jiang Jinchun returned to Yiwu, where he used to do business, to continue his physical operation, and the live broadcast was only occasional. He said, "After all, it is very few people who can really realize the reversal of life through this. People have to be sober."

  Who are the fans who reward the anchor?

  According to the survey of the white paper, "post-85 s" and "post-90 s" are the main groups of network anchors, and they are also the people who can accept and welcome live entertainment.

  The public relations of Aauto Quicker APP told reporters that more than 80% of the registered users on their platforms are post-90s, and the situation of YY, Yingke and other apps is similar.

  In this regard, Zhang Huan, an IT man in Hangzhou, and his colleagues are deeply touched. "People who are generally willing to watch live broadcasts actually have the same life and psychological commonalities as performers."

  For a while, he often rewarded a female anchor who mainly performed singing — — From sending virtual "flower yachts" worth dozens and hundreds to direct express gifts. As long as the other person mentions his screen ID and says some delicate thanks, he will be psychologically satisfied. Later, this satisfaction gradually disappeared, and rewards were occasionally done.

  According to reports, the most direct source of income for the anchor is the gift from "fans". Fans are also divided into three or six categories, and those local fans who give gifts of 1,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan are called "tuba". In order to attract "tuba" people to continue to brush gifts for themselves, most anchors try their best to maintain their relationship with them.

  "When tuba gives you a gift, it will make demands on you and even want to control you." An anchor said that although "tuba" people call themselves idols, they are actually their own "food and clothing parents". "Sometimes they have to eat with them, watch movies, and even say ‘ on WeChat every night; Good night ’ 。”

  Wu Yiming, a professor of sociology at Nanjing Normal University, once said that the interest relationship is dominant in the live broadcast industry. "Some people spend money to buy a sense of existence and satisfy vanity; Some people use this to become famous and create conditions for their own profits. "

  The three parties colluded to "arbitrage" from netizens.

  The reporter’s investigation found that in order to get high returns, some anchors did not hesitate to use fraud, speculation and other means.

  In November 2016, some anchors gave money to villagers in poverty-stricken areas in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province on a live broadcast platform, attracting many viewers to watch and reward. The local police investigation found that their real purpose was not charity, but "sucking powder" to make money. Many of the money sent to the villagers was taken back after the live broadcast. The anchor "Aauto Quicker Black Uncle" is blunt: "I can earn 600,000 yuan in two months, which is to earn money from fans."

  Some live broadcast platforms, brokerage companies and anchors colluded to "arbitrage" from ordinary netizens. According to an industry insider, some brokerage companies buy a large number of virtual gifts from the platform at low prices, and then brush them to their contracted anchors. By means of "sky-high reward" gimmicks, the water army and other means, the anchors are praised as "online celebrity", which enhances the platform traffic and eventually attracts a large number of ordinary netizens to reward them. In the whole process, only the interests of ordinary netizens who pay real money are damaged, and the live broadcast platform, brokerage company and anchor only pay a little cost, so they can share huge profits in proportion.

  Webcast "quick money" has made many young people flock to it, and even many college graduates choose their first job as a network anchor. If young people are used to making money in this easy way, they will become impetuous and it will be difficult for them to settle down and work hard.

  According to Xinhua News Agency