Live streaming is a new trend. Why are group broadcasts so popular?

The live broadcast industry has ushered in a new revolution - group broadcast. This form of live broadcast, in which multiple anchors participate, has quickly become a new favorite in the market with its rich content and interactivity. However, what price do anchors have to pay behind their high salaries? What changes will the rise of group broadcast bring to the live broadcast industry? This article will explore these issues in depth and take you to understand the story behind group broadcast.

"Recruiting female anchors for group broadcasts, basic salary 8,000 yuan + commission", "Talent group guaranteed salary starts at 10,000 yuan, free dance training", "guaranteed salary 8,000-15,000 yuan, the current comprehensive monthly income of group broadcast anchors is more than 50,000 yuan"... In the recruitment market, such information is particularly eye-catching and has a large demand. These positions come from the currently popular group broadcast rooms. The so-called group broadcast refers to a live broadcast room with more than two anchors, generally composed of 3-5 anchors, and equipped with a host who specializes in controlling the scene. Why is group broadcasting so popular now? What is the current development of group broadcasting? Behind the high salary, what do the anchors have to pay?

"Has the domestic entertainment girl group been promoted by the live broadcast circle?" "Is there a market for dancers to do group live broadcasts?" "03 female college students, bravely venture into group live broadcasts"... From social platforms, we can see that group live broadcasts are becoming a new trend.

01 Group broadcast is popular, institutions open the book

"Has the domestic entertainment girl group been promoted by the live broadcast circle?" "Is there a market for dancers to do group live broadcasts?" "03 female college students, bravely venture into group live broadcasts"... From social platforms, we can see that group live broadcasts are becoming a new trend.

The current group broadcasts are mainly in the form of collective performances by girl groups and boy groups, and are mostly 15-second dance performances, with some performing in a group and individual mode. In fact, the modes of group broadcasts are similar. As more and more organizations enter the market, major broadcast rooms are also beginning to seek differentiation, and have become more and more popular in terms of live broadcast themes, anchor styles, and appearance.

At present, the themes of group broadcasts include cute girl groups, the second dimension, ancient style, professional backgrounds, and former idols’ “re-employment”. Some live broadcast rooms have begun to adopt an abstract style to attract users’ attention. For example, Douyin group broadcast @SG.001 asked six young men to dress up as middle-aged uncles and twist around in front of the camera, while the Changzhou North Station in the background added a sense of age to the live broadcast room.

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

Some netizens commented harshly, "Can they move to another city? It's a bit embarrassing," "It's a bit funny, what's going on?", "Where are there so many spirited young men?", "It feels like the reputation of Changzhou people has been damaged"...

Among the many group broadcasts, the most popular one is the SK girl group. Kaka has become a phenomenal anchor with her image of a pure little white flower. Netizens have commented on her as follows: "She can dance 30 dances a night", "The performance is highly enjoyable and not formulaic", and "Her expression management is impeccable".

Image source: Tik Tok screenshot

In addition, her ability to attract money cannot be underestimated. Her contribution in a single game can exceed one million, so she is also called "Million Kaka" by fans. She even attracts many domestic entertainment and K-pop fans to actively accompany her in her growth and make her a "development system" anchor.

The emergence of girl group live broadcasts has also, to a certain extent, changed the entertainment live broadcast industry, which was previously dominated by male consumption. In the recruitment introduction for amateur girls, Shuaiku network agent mentioned that "80% of female fans follow the fan circle economy route."

Frankly speaking, group broadcasting has become the new straw for MCN to break through and idols to be reborn. For example, Shuaiku Network, the company behind the group broadcasting of the SK girl group, has successfully ranked among the top MCN agencies on Douyin and has become a leading guild for group broadcasting. Before that, this agency had been unknown.

Similarly, Wuyou Media, OST Media, Sujiang Media, Xingdan Media, Sun Entertainment and other institutions have joined the group broadcasting trend and created successful group broadcasting IPs. At the same time, more and more institutions are joining the group broadcasting to share the pie.

An industry insider mentioned that in the past June and July alone, more than a dozen new group broadcast guilds were born in Beijing and the surrounding Yanjiao area, and the group broadcast members recruited were mainly college students in the nearby area. She said, "The cost of part-time work for college students is low, and they can be replaced at any time if they fail to meet the KPI. Even if the monthly income is around 1,000 yuan, it is enough for students to earn extra money, and some companies will also provide food and accommodation."

In addition, high investment costs are also one of the characteristics of group broadcasting. A person in charge of a Hangzhou group broadcasting project said that he invested in a venue of more than 1,000 square meters and planned to build 10-20 group broadcasting live broadcasting rooms. According to him, the investment in each group broadcasting live broadcasting room is at least 40,000 to 50,000 yuan, plus the cost of staffing, the initial investment is about more than 1 million yuan. "If it is a series of programs, the investment in a live broadcasting room for three months is about 150,000 to 200,000 yuan."

02 Why group broadcasting has become a new trend

In fact, group broadcasting is nothing new. It has existed since the rise of show live broadcasting. At that time, the format was that several anchors sang and danced together, without too many tricks. The real rise of group broadcasting should be in 2023, and various types of group broadcasting have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

Today, group broadcasts are once again attracting much attention because of the earth-shaking changes in content and form. In order to improve the live broadcast effect, many unions have invested a lot of resources, including film-level fill lights, sound card acquisition equipment, cameras, etc. In addition, they will also form professional operation teams, shooting teams, dance teams and styling teams.

From the user's perspective, the reason why group broadcasts have become so popular is that the gameplay and interactive forms are constantly upgraded, and the content is more attractive. The costumes, props, interactive forms, theme content, and special effects technology of group broadcasts are not only keeping up with the times, but also scripts, small games, and mutual PK can be designed, which is more variety and easier to attract the audience. It can be said that there is no ceiling for the content of group broadcasts, and it is always innovating. Once in a while, you will see the birth of a new group broadcast, which will make the audience shine.

From the perspective of the organization, group broadcasts have more people and can attract more users. Group broadcasts are usually a mode where the hosts take turns dancing. Many viewers will stay and wait because they want to watch a certain girl dance, so naturally the data of this type of live broadcast room will go up. When people stay in the group broadcast room, according to the platform's algorithm, this type of live broadcast room will receive more traffic recommendations.

A guild operator said that due to the large number of people in the group broadcast room, various hot topics often emerge, such as "CP formation", etc. These topics can make the entire broadcast room more eye-catching and stimulate users to actively participate in the interaction, thereby increasing the popularity of the broadcast room. In addition, group broadcasts are very good for canvassing votes, especially with excellent operations and group broadcast members, the turnover of group broadcasts will be very high.

In addition, the official support of the platform is also an important reason for the popularity of group broadcasting. As early as last year, Douyin launched the "External Site Mature Group Broadcasting Introduction Plan", encouraging guilds to settle in and providing up to 20% of the introduction share incentives for three months; Kuaishou platform provides 4 months of traffic support for live broadcast rooms, including regional traffic and large stage traffic support, and also provides a minimum fund support of 50,000 yuan.

However, it is not easy to get support from the platform. At the Douyin Group Broadcasting Association Exchange Meeting, the platform invited many high-quality group broadcasting organizations to participate and put forward certain requirements for the content of group broadcasting. It is foreseeable that group broadcasting will become a business segment operated by most MCN companies in the future.

03 Group Broadcast Host A and B

The high salary of group broadcast hosts has attracted many users to try.

In July, Xuanxuan, the leading anchor of the SK girl group, won the first place in a guild competition one night. This was also an early 20th birthday gift given to her by a big shot on the list. Some netizens said, "One carnival costs 3,000 yuan, and Xuanxuan's big shot on the list gave her 903 of them, which is almost 3.5 million yuan in rewards. The anchor can at least get about 1 million yuan."

Image source: Xiaohongshu screenshot

Although the authenticity of this statement remains to be verified, it is undeniable that the salary of a popular anchor is much higher than that of an ordinary worker. However, behind the high salary, there are also many hardships and unreasonable terms.

Some netizens said, "I'm a broadcaster and I originally wanted to give it a try, but SK has a mandatory broadcast contract, and if you make more than 300,000 yuan, you must sign a three-year contract. The live broadcast time is not fixed, the work and rest schedule is irregular, and I have to dance for three years. How can I bear this?"

Some netizens also dissuaded job seekers who want to earn a high base salary, saying, "This kind of company usually just looks at how many people can become popular like Kaka. But if your performance for several months has not reached the guaranteed salary, the company will not keep giving you compensation for no reason. They will use a small account to give you small gifts worth one cent and keep you dancing until you can't stand it anymore and quit. In short, I advise all the beautiful ladies to stop dreaming. If you don't have a particularly outstanding appearance or are good at dancing, don't go. You will just be cannon fodder if you go. Not everyone will become a big internet celebrity."

Xiaohongshu blogger @春野钻钻 shared her experience of doing group live broadcasts. She arrived at the company at 2 pm and could not go home until 4 am. She had to train for a long time before the group was formed. After the group was actually formed and the live broadcast started, her day and night were reversed and her body could not bear it at all. After she had been broadcasting for a while, various health problems occurred and she has now resigned.

Overall, group broadcasting is in line with the trend of content upgrades in the platform and the entire live broadcasting industry. For users, group broadcasting enriches the live broadcasting experience; for users who want to become popular through group broadcasting, group broadcasting is not a good choice. As for how long group broadcasting can be popular, we will wait and see.