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 The concert, which drew 3.3 million peak concurrent viewers - a
worldwide record for YouTube - was one of the most dramatic
signs yet of how live streaming has gone viral in Brazil as the
coronavirus lockdown has virtually paralyzed Latin America's
most populous country. It was also just the culmination of a
single webcast-filled day that saw everyone from CEOs to
government ministers holding forth from their home offices and
living rooms.
With much of the world stuck at home, YouTube's top 10
most-watched concerts in real time all took place this month -
and seven of those were by Brazilian artists, the Alphabet
Inc-owned platform said. Mendonca led the list, followed by
sertanejo duo Jorge & Mateus, ahead of Andrea Bocelli's solo
Easter concert from an empty Duomo cathedral in Milan.
"YouTube has seen a very specific phenomenon in Brazil with
musical live streaming, especially for sertanejo," said Sandra
Jimenez, Head of Music Partnerships for YouTube in Latin
America, referring to Brazil's brand of wildly popular
country-style music. "'Lives' are the new prime time for
Brazilians."
The webcasts, locally described by the single English word
"live" - can lead to awkward moments, like when Economy Minister
Paulo Guedes realized during one recent session that his
computer was running out of batteries.
"It's saying 'find another energy source' here," he said. "Since
I don't understand this kind of thing, I'm going to call my
daughter."
In addition to Guedes, Vice President Hamilton Mourao, central
bank chief Roberto Campos Neto, and the chief executives of the
country's top-three private-sector banks – Itau Unibanco Holding
SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Santander Brasil SA - have
participated in at least three livestream events each in roughly
a month of social isolation.
The Brazilian business-oriented livestream events differ from
those in most other countries in that they include Q&A sessions
and are open to all interested viewers - not just a bank's
clients, media, or some other targeted audience.
BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL
Taking notice of the big virtual crowds at a time when concert
halls, stadiums, and malls are shuttered, companies such as
Brazilian brewer AmBev SA, payments firm StoneCo Ltd and fashion
retailer Lojas Renner SA have started to sponsor some of the
concerts.
Ambev believes 250 million people have already watched sertanejo
'live' concerts sponsored by the company, which had long
sponsored rodeos and music concerts to promote its brands,
marketing vice president Ricardo Dias said.
CEOs and government officials, connecting using platforms that
include Zoom and Instagram, are using livestreams instead of
business conferences, discussing publicly everything from
business strategy to interest rate policy.
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While their viewership numbers come nowhere close to pop stars like
Mendonca, the business-oriented livestreams are garnering a
surprisingly wide audience in a country that lacks any kind of
specialized business cable channel.
A webcast by Guedes in late March has scored 617,000 views, while
Santander Brasil's CEO Sergio Rial has since last week reached
241,000 views discussing the country's economic outlook.
Zoom Video Communications Inc has seen its share price rocket as the
global userbase for its video chat application has surged to some
300 million in recent weeks.
It declined to give exact figures for Brazil, but said in an email
that it had seen "exponential" growth of its business-focused
product in the country.
"There has been a substantial increase in the purchase and
deployment of our webinar product," said Abe Smith, head of
international market at Zoom.
Brazilian brokerage XP Inc, one of the first companies to ramp up
the use of 'live' meetings amid the quarantine, is organizing
roughly ten webcasts daily and has had among its invitees Campos
Neto and Kraft Heinz's global CEO Miguel Patricio. "People are
hungry for information, so we decided to intensify our schedule," XP
partner Karel Luketic said.
Brazil's largest independent investment bank, Banco BTG Pactual SA,
sees live webcasts with experts as a way to lure new clients. "In a
lockdown, it is harder to be in contact with clients, so 'lives'
turned out to be a tool also for attracting investors," said BTG
partner Marcelo Flora.
Perhaps nostalgic for the country's normally backslapping business
culture, in which people have long greeted one another not just with
a handshake but a half-embrace and kisses, Brazilian business people
and politicians seem to have a bottomless appetite for the live
events, which often stretch into the evening, weekends and holidays.
"There are so many live webcasts going on now that things are
getting blurred," XP's Luketic said.
But is the new live outbreak here to stay?
"Webcasts have proved to be a useful tool, but nothing replaces
meeting people in person," said Credit Suisse's Brazil spokesman
Edgard Dias. The bank's local unit has hosted more than 80 webcasts
in April, most of them with CEOs and CFOs.
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Christian Plumb and Rosalba
O'Brien)
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