Happy Friday, and Happy Year of the Ox!
This week, Chinese live-stream mobile app Kuaishou caught our attention. With more than 300m daily active users, its revenue reached $3.6bn in the first six months of 2020. Two-thirds of this revenue came from 'live-stream gifting’, an exciting application of video commerce, whereby viewers can reward their favourite live-streamers with tips. The app generates revenue by taking a cut of these tips.
Live-stream gifting is just one of the many video commerce methods that can generate revenue for artists and performers, many of whom have been hugely impacted by the pandemic.
Another application of video commerce in the music industry is virtual concerts. This week, Universal Music Group and YG Entertainment have partnered with Kiswe to launch a live-stream content platform. Similar to the Travis Scott concert on Fortnite, viewers can enjoy an immersive, interactive concert experience from the comfort of their homes.
And artists can entertain fans in multiple geographical locations at the same time!
Also this week, we saw social networks making more moves towards commerce. TikTok is set to unveil its new e-commerce featureset, and Shopify is integrating Shop Pay into both Instagram and Facebook.
Until next week!
China Bans BBC World Service, Following U.K. Ban Of Chinese Network
And finally..
Following the UK ban of China global television network, China has banned BBC World News. China's broadcasting regulator stated that BBC violated regulations on radio and television management. The BBC were not impressed.