Digital Corona Concerts Ushers In New Era For K-Pop Fan Experiences

As the global corona pandemic set in during the first half of 2020, live music events came to a standstill. While socially distanced concerts began to take place upon occasion, and there are those who refused to adhere to guidelines, digital concert events have become the mainstay of the music world in 2020. And nobody’s doing it better than the K-pop industry, which has managed a near-seamless shift to online concerts that offers an experience that multitudes of fans across the world can enjoy, even if there have been a few hiccups.

Unrestrained by the limitations of in-person live events, K-pop artists have been putting on digital concerts just about non-stop since April. Beginning with SuperM’s Beyond Live show, there’s been an ample amount of live performances held by South Korea-based artists, with every week or so another act holding a show. Top stars and new acts alike held “ontact,” or contactless, shows, and history’s even been made: BTS’s Bang Bang Con: The Live set was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for the most-viewed live streamed concert ever with over 756,000 fans from across the world tuning in.

For many fans of K-pop acts, it’s been a brand new and welcome experience during the COVID-19 crisis, and has potential to expand beyond the age of corona. Sheree Ng, a 32-year-old K-pop fan from Australia, thinks these concerts are an overall positive innovation. “I think a lot more fans can participate! The price point is lower plus you don’t have to travel or take time off work or other responsibilities. And it’s so relaxing to stay at home in your pajamas eating your favorite food!” To Ng, it would be ideal if digital K-pop concerts continued beyond corona since it’s oftentimes hard to take off work to travel to see shows, and it is more affordable, a win all around for fans who still want to be able to experience shows in realtime without attending in-person. 

Though most K-pop acts were unable to tour in 2020, these digital concerts have become an opportunity for fans to enjoy many of the new performances artists were hoping to showcase during world tours. Ursula Smith, a 33-year-old fan in New Mexico, said that it was a pleasure to watch TWICE perform songs from previous albums and newer releases that they have yet to share with fans. Though it was only Smith’s first show, and IZ*ONE’s will be a second, the overall perception is that K-pop’s online concerts are in another league beyond what most artists are doing. “I have watched YouTube lives and Instagram live shows from non-K-pop artists. The difference is definitely the production. TWICE gave a full performance whereas the lives I have watched are the acoustic, more stripped down performances.” 

S.C., a 25-year-old fan from California who asked their whole name not be used due to privacy concerns, watched five K-pop concerts and compared them with Erykah Badu’s online concert and all the Versuz battles hosted on Instagram. There was a noticeable difference. “I enjoyed them, but the concerts hosted by U.S. artists don’t put a lot of emphasis on production and experience outside of making sure that the sound is good and clear. The Beyond Live concerts prioritize stage production, special effects, visuals, and camera work. When I’m watching the Beyond Live concerts, there are times where I feel like I’m on stage with the group.”  

 A major plus for many fans was the relatively low price; K-pop 2020 digital concert tickets have cost around $30 USD, give or take a few dollars depending on a country’s exchange rate, though prices have varied. Which means that they’re considerably cheaper than most live events. “I was pretty distressed about so many of my other concerts being postponed [and] cancelled that I really wanted to get my live music fix [in] some way,” says Erica Zamora, a 31-year-old fan in Texas who tuned in to over five concerts and spent around $150. “Honestly the cost of all of these added up is the cost of one of the refunds I received from a cancelled in-person concert that was supposed to happen in May, so, I really just switched how I was spending that live music money—at least that’s what I’m telling myself.” 

However, during a global crisis that has left many unemployed or struggling, some fans have felt the prices of the digital concerts aren’t necessarily feasible. Bezya E., a 23-year-old K-pop fan from Turkey, watched several concerts but expressed concern about how some fans were being priced out. “When a K-pop act comes to your country they try to adjust the ticket price in accordance with the market in that country. But digital concert prices are decided only considering the country the concert is taking place in – which is Korea for me because I watch K-pop concerts. I think that leaves fans from other countries who don’t have the same market conditions and have big currency differences in a bitter situation. That price is too much to so many people especially for an online concert that you can’t even get a true concert atmosphere from the computer screen in an age [where] there are tons of free content on [the] internet.” 

Similarly, some fans expressed stress over the limitation of timezones. Since all the K-pop shows took place in Korea, for many fans they were taking place at inconvenient times, oftentimes during hours they’d typically be sleeping during. 

Violette Buchou, a 23-year-old fan in France says she’s “attended” four concerts (quotation marks her own). She thinks the price issues were a point of stress for many fans, and wishes companies could have been more receptive to audience concerns. “Afterwards when I learned just how big the online audience were for these, I thought they could’ve lowered the price a bit because clearly all of their expenses were covered for and more since there wasn’t a set number of tickets like you usually have for a live concert,” said Buchou, referencing how many concerts accrued six-digit audience sizes. “I’ve even come across people saying that you’re not a real fan if you can’t pay for the concert, can’t save money for it, or even eat less for a few days to afford it! No matter what the price is it will always be too high for certain people and they shouldn’t be made to feel bad about it. Everyone behind and in front of the camera is getting paid anyway!” Buchou added that those concerts which offered concertgoers video on demand (VOD) versions of the show post-event felt like a better deal than those which didn’t, though added that the ones that didn’t offer VOD typically were priced a bit lower. 

Many of the teams putting on these concerts took apparent action against those who shared the live concerts to others, with events sometimes flashing user-based ID numbers on screens to ensure an individual’s stream could be traced back to their account. During several shows, audiences watching on social media platforms such as Twitch and Periscope would express frustration when a fan-run stream would go dark as companies seemingly targeted anyone sharing the event to others who weren’t paying. “I understand the companies’ decision of having one standard price because that’s the easiest but when I see the people who can’t afford because of currency differences and go for illegal ways, I can’t stop thinking if it would be possible for companies to give regional prices so more people get to watch the concert. It also helps the companies to fight with illegal streaming,” suggested Bezya as an alternative solution. 

The divide between a true live, in-person event and digital ones is something many fans felt was one major detractor, with many who spoke with Forbes for this piece mentioning stars’ apparent discomfort at performing towards cameras solely without an audience. But this lack of liveness was something artists and fans worked to overcome in various ways, such as incorporating a video audience featured on-screen alongside performers, augmented reality elements, or by interacting frequently with chat messages fans sent their way. Zamora was even part of SuperM’s on-screen audience, and said that itself was a unique experience in bringing fans together. “There was a chat feature and there were people from over 15 countries in the audience all using the chat to talk to each other, sometimes with other fans translating for each other, that was pretty cool.” 

For Gowri Gowda, a 20-year-old Monsta X fan in Canada, not being able to see the act’s tour live this year was a bit of a downer. “What I was really looking forward to with the in-person concert was being in a crowd of people who knew all the lyrics like I did and would go as crazy as I would, y’know? A chance to be a raging fangirl without having to give a ‘this is hyperbole; I am actually a functional member of society’ warning.” 

During the live event, the chat function was one Gowda felt had its ups and downs, but overall helped enhance the event. “With the exception of when the members actually asked questions and were looking for answers, it felt like people were just using it to spam. Like, the text equivalent of screaming over a heartfelt confession to say ‘CAN YOU SAY HI TO CANADA.’ It calmed down by the end though, and it was really sweet when the chat ‘sang’ along to ‘Misbehave.’ Between that and Twitter, I had almost the exact ‘fangirl’ experience I was looking for.” Gowda added that the online option offers an accessible concert experience with a front row view in a way that is often impossible for many fans with disabilities, and that’s something that is important for many fans. 

Overall, this feeling of belonging and togetherness often felt at concerts a notable lack from the experience for some viewers. “There are no fanchants,” Bezya reflected sadly, referring to the distinct element of K-pop performances where fans join together in coordinated call-and-return style chants along with artists’ songs. “That breaks my heart and makes the performances feel empty. [Before their concert] N.Flying asked fans to record the fanchant for their song ‘E-Yo’ and send them via email. They mixed the audios and played it during their concert. The difference between the performances without fanchants and with the fanchant in the same concert was so big! The existence of an audience makes concerts better.” 

As corona continues, and digital concerts become more of a staple of the K-pop industry, there will likely be a larger range of events, some more focused on musical performances and some more focused on the way fans and artists interact. Though live performances are typically a venue where creators and audiences interact, these online concerts offer up an alternative for the digital age, creating a new paradigm that will likely impact the future of K-pop fan engagement beyond 2020. How fans respond to them will depend on how they continue to innovate, but for now at a time when humanity is being kept apart in order to sustain health, it’s an intriguing new way to come together across screens.