Refrigerator stickers, badges, canvas bags, postcards, aromatherapy... Have the audiences who like to watch the show paid for it more or less in recent years?
According to the "2021 National Performance Market Annual Report" recently released by the China Performance Industry Association, although still affected by the epidemic, the overall economic scale of the mainland performance market reached 33.585 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 27.76% over the previous year. In this space with huge potential, a variety of performance-derived cultural and creative products are becoming another point of strength.
National Centre for the Performing Arts "Jane Eyre" "Song of Life" series of cultural and creative products (Courtesy of the National Centre for the Performing Arts)
Showcasing the unique style and hobbies of young people
Seeing the new "Jane Eyre" "Song of Life" series of cultural and creative products on the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the audience Member Liu Xiaoyu (pseudonym) was very moved: "I am an office worker, I will prefer notebooks and file folders, which are more practical products, and they are also better looking and more personalized than other cookie-cutter office supplies." Jane Eyre's "Wandering End" aromatherapy products were also added to her shopping cart. This aromatherapy is a calm woody note that is right for Liu Xiaoyu's appetite.
Liu Xiaoyu is a standard "literary youth", before the outbreak of the epidemic, she basically traveled abroad once a year, and the famous local theater was a place where the clock must be punched. "Every time I go to the theater, I make time before the show to visit the souvenir shop." A canvas bag she often carries, which she bought at the Royal Opera House in 2019, is full of cartoon heads of opera composers such as Verdi and Wagner. She also bought some opera posters, decorated them with photo frames and hung them on the wall of the study, "these posters are basically in the style of decades ago, and they are quite retro and attractive." ”
"Young people who like to watch performances must have a certain pursuit in their hearts, who doesn't want to show their style and hobbies?" Liu Xiaoyu's friend Chun Xiao (pseudonym) confessed. She's a big fan of musical theater, "and sometimes, these products can help us quickly find like-minded friends." About two years ago, Chunxiao met a girl carrying a canvas bag in a café, "I could see at a glance that her canvas bag was a derivative of a work, because for fans of the show, the image printed on the canvas bag is too classic." After Chunxiao came forward to talk, the two girls immediately added each other's WeChat as they were, "Now we will often come together to watch the performance." ”
Domestic related products are becoming more and more designed
Generally speaking, the cultural and creative products sold in the theater are roughly divided into two categories, one is the main image and brand of the theater itself, and the other is closely related to the key plays staged, and there is an intersection between the two types. Liu Xiaoyu and Chunxiao have a common feeling: "To be honest, 5 years ago, I wanted to buy such cultural and creative products in China, but I couldn't get my hands on it, the design sense was really poor, and it was not very practical, and some were like small commodities written in tourist attractions that said 'visit here'." "But in the last two or three years, the situation has improved a lot. In Chunxiao's impression, it seems that since 2019, the cultural and creative products sold in several landmark theaters in Beijing have been significantly improved, "Every time I go to see a performance, I will carry a few stickers, notebooks and other small objects." ”
Chunxiao's feelings were confirmed by the relevant person in charge of the National Centre for the Performing Arts: "When the Grand Theatre first began to operate, everyone may have been most impressed by the unique image of this building, but more than ten years later, the audience has become more and more familiar with the theater. With the continuous accumulation of repertoire production and the increasing maturity of the audience group, we will now focus more on excavating the artistic connotation of cultural and creative products. "The creative design of performance-derived cultural and creative products has its own special features," such products and museum cultural and creative products are not the same. There are many ornaments in the museum exhibits that can be used directly, but the performance of derivative cultural and creative products requires designers to first understand the play, and then convey these dynamic expressions and invisible feelings to the audience concretely, becoming touching objects in life. ”
National Centre for the Performing Arts "Jane Eyre" "Song of Life" series of cultural and creative products (Courtesy of the National Centre for the Performing Arts)
Take the "Jane Eyre" "Song of Life" series as an example, which is inspired by the classic drama "Jane Eyre" of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. "There is a very memorable scene in the play, where Jane Ai sits by the window with a book and reads, and the atmosphere is beautiful and quiet. The audience who likes "Jane Eyre" has a very literary temperament, likes to read, and combined with the background of the era set by the work, we have designed several retro notebooks. "Jane Eyre" itself has distinct female characteristics, and this round is staged in the spring, "So we also chose the category of silk scarves, which are soft and colorful, much like Jane Eyre ushered in the brilliant bloom of life after going through twists and turns." ”
At present, aromatherapy products are very popular in the home market. "I think it's because after the outbreak of the epidemic, everyone's stay at home has become longer, and the requirements for the quality of life are higher than before, not only at the level of hearing, vision, and taste, but also by taking into account the sense of smell." The staff member explained that market demand is also an important factor that must be considered for the performance of derivative cultural and creative products, on this basis, considering that "Jane Eyre is another story that takes place in the manor, in the end we chose the aroma as a woody fragrance." ”
In 2019, the "Tianqiao Art Cultural and Creative Store" in Beijing Tianqiao Art Center opened online and offline at the same time (courtesy of Tianqiao Art Center)
Around 100 yuan repertoire derivatives are the most popular
"In actual operation, we see that the audience's demand for the surrounding area of the repertoire and the cultural creation of the theater is increasing." Yang Shucong, deputy general manager of Beijing Tianqiao Art Center, said. In November 2019, during the 4th anniversary of Tianqiao Art Center, Tianqiao Art Cultural and Creative Store opened online and offline synchronously, and the goods independently developed and designed accounted for about 35% of the total category. In the year before that, in 2018, the art center held more than 900 performances and more than 250 events, with more than 500,000 people watching, which is a large, labeled and certain consumption power of the audience group, "Tianqiao Art Center is a comprehensive performing arts center, with musical theater performances as the core genre. We all know that in foreign countries, whether it is London's West End or Broadway in the United States, the degree of industrialization of musicals is relatively high, and related derivatives have a more mature market and audience than other types of dramas, and in recent years, the domestic musical theater market is gradually heating up, and our cultural and creative stores are developed on this background and basis. In 2015, the Tianqiao Art Center began its exploration, initially as a table, then as a sales car, as a "drama shop" that "sometimes has a chance"... Nowadays, whenever the performance begins, the crowded cultural and creative shops in the art center have become a scenery in the Beijing performance market.
"So far, the crowds that buy tickets for the show have been our main purchasing power." Yang Shucong introduced, "The IP derivatives of the repertoire are the best-selling categories, and the sales popularity is more related to the popularity of the corresponding performance works, and the purchase peak is during the performance." At the same time, after the performance, the audience's online and offline repurchase situation still exists, and this kind of situation mostly exists in the sales of derivatives of the classic repertoire IP. "In terms of price, the relevant statistics of the National Centre for the Performing Arts show that the market acceptance of the 50-300 price range is the highest, of which the category of about 100 yuan is the most popular." Data from the Tianqiao Art Center also shows that the unit price of cultural and creative stores is about 150 yuan, "the sales speed of high-priced goods will be much slower." Yang Shucong said.
The concept of future cultural creation has been further enhanced
"Performances are a spiritual consumer demand, and watching a performance is a very unique experience, and these products can reconnect us with the spiritual pleasure of watching the performance." Judging from the current trend, in order to remember this feeling, the audience's demand for such cultural and creative products will become more and more vigorous. Zhang Ligang, chairman of Beijing Jiuwei Culture Media Co., Ltd., which is deeply involved in the domestic performance market, said. Yang Shucong believes that this is also the development need of the diversified operation of the theater: "There are more and more comprehensive performing arts centers, and opening up cultural and creative sections is not only an extension of the theater business, but also the deep cultivation and storage of the performance business unit, which can achieve mutual driving effect." At the same time, as a platform party, the theater can dock with different producers or production teams to achieve benign cooperation, and there is a certain guarantee in the number and new frequency of derivative cultural and creative products. ”
"Previously, this type of product was more inclined to 'derivation', copying the content and elements of the performance to notebooks, T-shirts and other items, which was very practical. In the future, with the improvement of the entire industrial chain and the continuous improvement of audience literacy, the concept of 'cultural creation' is likely to be more prominent, and more and more attention will be paid to ideological and aesthetic expression. Zhang Ligang said.