The People’s Republic of Desire: Inside China’s lucrative livestreaming craze

Editor’s note: A version of this post by Ruonan Zheng first appeared on Jing Daily, the leading digital publication on luxury consumer trends in China.

Last Tuesday, the winner of the prestigious South by South West Film Festival 2018 Grand Jury Award for documentary feature was screened in New York at an event co-hosted by our sister publication China Film Insider and Jing Daily. “People’s Republic of Desire” takes the viewer into the lucrative and exploitative world of YY.com, a NASDAQ-listed Chinese social media site focused on live video streaming.

As many luxury brands increasingly use livestreaming to attract fans and monetize that attention, they need to understand what’s driving the estimated $5-billion livestreaming juggernaut in China. Livestreamers can receive money from viewers—which has sent ordinary people on a quest to instant fame and fortune.

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