As the people are confined to their homes due the coronavirus pandemic, DJs around the world are offering online performances so people can “club” safely from their living rooms.
The Agence France-Presse reported that DJs have found a way to provide their services to people stuck in their homes as the coronavirus spreads around the globe.
“The outbreak sweeping the globe has shuttered once lively nightspots from London to New York, but innovative DJs have started putting their performances online so clubbers don’t miss out,” the outlet reported. “The trend is another example of how the virus, which has left some 3.6 billion people stuck at home under lockdowns, is upending daily life in ways unthinkable until recently as governments impose social-distancing curbs to stem its spread.”
The online performances have popped up in Singapore, China, and New York for sure, but it’s likely other cities and countries are also engaging in what has been dubbed “cloud-clubbing.”
In Singapore, the popular nightclub Zouk threw one such party after entertainment venues were forced to close to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The nightclub live-streamed performances from six DJs on a Friday night using an app called Bigo Live. A few people were allowed to attend the party at the club – but most of them were staff members running the online event, including Dhanish Nair, known as DJ Nash D.
“When you play for a dance floor with a room full of people, you can feel the energy come back, and I like to DJ off that energy,” Nash D told the AFP.
He told the outlet he became used to playing without an audience by watching live comments from clubbers watching online scroll across his laptop screen.
“Whatever song requests that they had actually guided me in a certain direction,” he said.
For those wondering, the app allows viewers to send virtual gifts to the DJs that can be exchanged for cash, allowing them to collect payment for their work.
Zouk, the AFP reported, also teamed up with Razer, a gaming equipment company, to host the online club experience, which resulted in more than 200,000 views for the three-hour event. At one point, 5,600 people were watching the performance using the app.
Nightclubs in China have been live-streaming performances since the beginning of February while the country was dealing with the coronavirus (the virus originated in China late last year).
“Shanghai and Beijing venues pioneered live-streamed clubbing on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, which also allows fans to buy gifts which can be swapped for cash,” the AFP reported. “Beijing club One Third attracted over a million viewers and generated nearly two million yuan ($280,000) in rewards from its fans in a five-hour live-stream, according to news website iFeng.”
New York has its own approach to night-club performances, the outlet reported. A live performance outfit call “The Dance Cartel” has been hosting “Social Disdance” parties three times a week, describing the performances as “dance nights together, apart.”
“Participants dance with one another over the Zoom video chat app, with some donning costumes and others setting up colourful disco lights,” the AFP reported. “The parties are free but people are encouraged to make donations to the DJs and hosts.”