Standing in/out: The platformization of Tencent’s TME Live in post-pandemic China

As the first country to experience the outbreak of COVID-19, China’s music industry reacted quickly to the change of the musical context. On 10 March 2020, China’s biggest music company Tencent Music Entertainment Group announced the launch of its music livestreaming concert brand—TME Live. It is understood that through its online live concerts, TME Live uses multi-scenario, innovative performance and digital audio-visual technology to create a panoramic environment for online musical performances, through which TME Live connects musicians and communities of fans. Through this model, Tencent Music Entertainment Group provides musicians with a full range of services, including customized performance styles and an immersive performing experience. Without the impact of Western dominated social media, China’s online music streaming platforms have developed their own biopolitical logics and characteristics in building up online music community and data connectivity. With the case study of TME Live, this article sets out to investigate how China’s major online music streaming platform survives, transforms and adapts in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2021