Beyond Live (commonly stylized as Beyond LIVE) is an online live concert streaming service and concert series[1] by South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment in partnership with Naver. It is a paid concert streaming service. It provides full-scaled live online concerts using technology such as augmented reality and with real-time interactions between artists and live audience enabled.[2][3][4][5][1] On its establishment, the platform has been regarded by global media as a relevant response in substituting traditional concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][6] The first live concert of the Beyond Live series was headlined by South Korean boy supergroup SuperM with the concert titled SuperM: Beyond the Future on April 26, 2020; the live concert recorded over 75,000 virtual tickets sold, playing to real-time audiences from 109 countries.[3][7][8] In August 2020, JYP Entertainment joined with SM Entertainment to create the Beyond Live Corporation, a joint venture operating and expanding the Beyond Live platform. It was launched on December 23, 2021.[9] Since its creation, multiple artists from SM and JYP have delivered full-length live online concerts within the Beyond Live series, and other K-pop entertainment enterprises started to produce virtual live concerts in a similar format.
Background, technology and media reaction
In April 2020, South Korea's largest entertainment company SM Entertainment and South Korean Internet search platform and media corporation Naver signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the purpose to expand the reach of concerts to a global audience.[3][2][4] The joint effort lead to the creation of Beyond Live, a series of online live concerts.[4] On April 20, SM Entertainment released a trailer on their official YouTube channel announcing the upcoming series of live concerts, with the first live show to be headlined by K-pop boy group SuperM.[10][6] Initially, Beyond Live was scheduled with four concert dates in April and May 2020. The concerts were hosted on the V Live application and made available to audiences across the world.[11][1] Subtitles in different languages were made available to the live audience.[1] Together with real-time access to the live concert, the paid audience had rights to on-demand viewing of the concerts afterwards.[12]
Beyond Live enables the diffusion of real-time performances for full-length and full-sized arena live concerts in which there are no in-person audience.[2][13] The format and design of the concert is optimized for the online audience with the aid of technology including augmented reality (AR) technology, three-dimensionalbackdrop graphics, live sync camera walk, and digital communication to enable real-time interactions (two-way) between performers and the online audience.[2][1][14][15] Specifically, Beyond Live concerts implement augmented reality graphics .[4][2] Artists perform on a stage before "a backdrop of screens and visuals [...] directed in real-time" by camera operators personnel.[2] Real-time communication and Q&A sessions between artists and online audience are conducted via video calls.[2]
Media reception
Global media outlets like Forbes, Rolling Stone, and ABC News have commended the platform as a viable and timely alternative to traditional in-person concerts, which were being cancelled around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ensuing rules on social distancing and restricted travels enforced in various countries.[6][3][2][14][7] The Beyond Live concert series is also regarded as a digital innovation created to foster interactions between artists and the "technical-savvy audience."[6] In addition, Forbes remarked that, even if the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is to be ignored, the concert streaming service still addresses a prevalent need from international K-pop fans located across regions K-pop acts rarely travel to, highlighting that for areas outside certain countries in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Australia, fans lack the chance for in-person concerts and would need to turn to online alternatives regardless.[6]
On August 4, 2020, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment announced the launch of the Beyond Live Corporation, a joint company for virtual concerts. It was formed to grow Beyond Live into a global online concert brand by strengthening global joint business development by adding synergy between SM's content production capabilities and Naver's technology.[16][17]
Illegal live-streaming has been identified as a potential concern. Before the first concert in the series, the SuperM: Beyond the Future show, SM Entertainment had warned of legal actions against copyright violation streaming.[3] However, Forbes noted it is possible that many people had attempted to stream the first live show via unofficial sources.[3]
