Life behind the screens: The pressures of live streaming success

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In China, the internet has created a unique group of people. They live in a cyber world, broadcasting their every move live online, and receiving money for it. They're called Zhubo, or live steamers. They're rewarded in real time with so-called gifts. The most popular streamers are raking in a vast fortune from this new line of work; but at what cost?

Lulu, from Zhejiang province, is a highly-successful, full-time Zhubo. Chatting and singing to her online audience earns her up to 80,000 U.S. dollars a month for four or five hours' work a day. She makes in just sixty minutes the equivalent of a month's salary from her previous job as a dance teacher.

“After I graduated from university, I taught dance for a few years,” Lulu said. “But dancing was too physically exhausting, so I switched to singing. Initially, I just liked singing, I didn't understand the industry. First I did audio recordings, then videos, and finally I ended up in live streaming.”

Lulu's mother was initially very skeptical when she learned about her daughter's career choice. As a parent, she didn't view live streaming as a legitimate job; she was also concerned that there might be a sleazy aspect to it.

“At the very beginning, I thought that it was not an appropriate job,” she said. “When I saw that she got a lot of support on the platform, and so many followers, I started to think this job is actually quite all right. It can be considered a career.”

It's a career characterized by cutthroat competition. Zhubo earns money from “gifts” – money committed online by their audience. To ensure that viewers continue watching, and therefore paying, requires a live streamer to keep their content fresh and appealing. Yet, audiences are notoriously fickle.

"Why do they follow you? Because being your follower gives them face and makes them feel respected,” Lulu said. “When you're no longer Number 1, your followers will leave you for the new Number 1."

Lulu needs to sing on her stream every single day to maintain her follower numbers. /CGTN Photo

Lulu is one of the most successful Zhubo in China. However, around half of live streamers only earn between 8,000 U.S. dollars and 15,000 U.S. dollars a year – hardly the wealth that dreams are made of. And less than two out of ten of them will last longer than two years. Being at the top is essential in order to survive. But the pressures of remaining there make the job extremely stressful.

"I'll cry, never while I am streaming. But as soon as I go offline and turn off my phone, I dissolve into tears," Lulu said. “But the show must go on. You have to make them happy.”

Aside from the emotional toll of the job, singing for hours on end puts a huge strain on her vocal cords. Lulu takes medicine every day in order to soothe the pain. But she accepts there is only so far she can realistically push herself for the sake of her career.

“I've had to change my way of thinking,” Lulu said. “You can't spend your whole life in competition with others. It's better to focus on doing a good job and taking care of your health.”

Rediscovering China is a 30-minute feature programme offering in-depth reports on the major issues facing China today. It airs on Sunday at 10.30 a.m. BJT (02.30 GMT), with a rebroadcast at 11.30 p.m. (15.30 GMT), as well as on Monday at 8.30 a.m. (00.30 GMT) and Friday at 1.30 p.m. (05.30 GMT).