Live onstage, and at home

Chinese rocker Wang Feng breaks new ground to broadcast his Beijing concert online in real time, drawing bigger crowds for his upcoming national tour. [Photo/China Daily]

"Those who want to feel the power of live music, they would pay for the tickets. The online watchers could also be tempted by the live concert's strong atmosphere and become potential ticket buyers," says Xue. "Either way, we win."

"The combination represents a new business model for both the music industry and Internet companions," agrees Yin Liang, music department director of LeTV.com, which has been offering free streaming live shows since 2012.

An online channel was created to broadcast Wang's music videos and his early live performances 24 hours a day. For concertgoers, they also have the opportunity to be filmed and seen on screen, which made the experience fun and interactive.

The 30-yuan fee was determined by the website's standard rate for TV series and movies, which ranges from 5 to 20 yuan.

"The value of broadcasting a live show is much higher. But since it was our first time, we made the price as low as 30 yuan," Yin says.

Wang Man, media operations director of Midi Productions Co, says: "The collaboration benefits both the video sites and live-music organizers and caters to the needs of the audiences."

Her company is the organizer of Midi Music Festival, the oldest outdoor music festival in China.

She says that Midi Music Festival has been working with popular Chinese video sites such as Youku.com and Tudou.com to broadcast live shows since 2007. In April this year, more than 600,000 people watched the three-day Midi Music Festival online. It was held at Shanghai and headlined by the British pop-rock band Suede.

Chinese consumers are already paying to watch movies and TV shows online and the practice can extend to live music, she says. "The potential audience is limitless."