When she saw the reporter, Xiaoyu took out "Yanli Shuangkou Dropping Pills" from her pocket - this was a necessary medicine for her before starting the broadcast. She has been away from the live broadcast industry for more than a year, but she is still used to taking it with her every day.
Photographed by The Paper reporter Fan Jialai
has been a fashion anchor for more than 4 years. She still maintains a weight of less than 90 kilograms. This is also the strict requirement of the live broadcast industry: because she is too underweight, some colleagues are broadcasting on the station. She fainted and was sent out of the live broadcast room, and Xiaoyu never saw her again.
"This is a youth-oriented job. There will never be a shortage of new people, and there will always be younger and more beautiful people entering the industry." She once entered the live broadcast industry with a longing for it, but now she is very happy to leave, "If your advantage is that you are young Work hard, you can live broadcast for 8 hours a day when you are 20 years old, but when you are 35 years old, you will still have to broadcast for this long time, and your competitors may have just graduated from high school and are only 18 years old"
and face Double 11. Year-end promotions, working for more than ten days in a row, more than 20 hours a day, day and night, and reverse day and night are the norm for anchors.
On the eve of Double Eleven, a live broadcast company is working overtime.
Internet anchors have become an emerging force in attracting employment. The "China Online Audiovisual Development Research Report (2024)" shows that as of the end of 2023, the number of professional online anchors in China has reached 15.08 million, which means that there is 1 professional online anchor for every 100 people.
However, behind the glamor of the camera, anchors generally work more than 10 hours a day, and there are many hidden dangers in their labor and security. Behind the crazy "money-making" of super anchors, more small and medium-sized anchors and amateur anchors are fleeing live broadcasting. "This is a job with a very low ceiling," Xiaoyu told The Paper.
Live broadcast rooms trapped by “vicious competition”
As fake news about sales in live broadcast rooms such as “Meicheng Mooncakes”, “Fake Moutai” and “Zhaotou Rou” have been exposed frequently, the outside world is quite suspicious of the quality of the products sold in the live broadcast rooms. . Regarding this question, Xiaoyu bluntly told reporters that since she stopped being a host, she has never placed an order in the live broadcast room.
"It is normal for anchors to bring goods without conscience." She recalled that when she entered the industry, due to her mature and steady temperament, she was asked to bring a type of tangerine peel and play the role of a "proprietress with ten years of experience in making tangerine peel." At that time, She knows nothing about tangerine peel. The company stated that all lines and expressions are prepared in advance by the operator, and she only needs to be responsible for the performance. The sales of this tangerine peel exceeded 2 million yuan in one week. Xiaoyu was also considered a potential new anchor and was qualified to stay in the company.
Later, she was arranged by the company to carry new Chinese clothing such as cheongsam and mandarin jacket. "Sometimes I saw with my own eyes that the quality of cheongsam was very poor. It only had a thin layer. It felt similar to the 20 yuan product on the e-commerce platform, but it had to be sold. The price is a few hundred yuan.” But the company’s requirements for her were to describe the material of the product as “very thick.”
"I'm not happy to do such a thing, but the boss forces you to say it." Xiaoyu didn't want to damage her reputation, so she tried to express it in a roundabout way. For example, instead of describing the material of the clothes in detail, she roughly described the benefits of the clothes. Feeling or fit, "The boss said that for bad fabrics like polyester, don't be too specific, otherwise no one will buy it." Despite this, there are always anchors who are willing to ignore their conscience and cater to the company at all costs. Demand, under the pressure of competition, it is impossible not to compromise.
"Traffic horse racing" is an unspoken rule in this industry. For anchors, there will be traffic and GMV (transaction volume) rankings almost every week. If they fall behind, they will be eliminated. The anchor's performance is determined not only by his personal ability, but also by the time period, etc. “Resource” considerations. For example, around 8 pm every night is the prime time to bring goods. In order to strive for better scheduling and avoid being eliminated from the bottom position, internal fighting among anchors is also very fierce.
Xiaoyu gave an example. During her live broadcast, she often found that the best-selling hot-selling clothing was missing. Later she found out that it was secretly hidden by the anchor of the previous shift. Some colleagues also openly shouted to the audience: "Everyone, I'm here." ’s live broadcast room, don’t go to the live broadcast room of xx (name of peer) to buy."The company
is happy to see such competition, "On the day I joined the company, my boss specially told me that I don't want you to be too close to other anchors. "Before Xiaoyu, the company fired three anchors in a row because they had a "too good relationship" and were afraid that they would "break up and fall flat" together.
"I have witnessed the breakdown of many anchors' relationships in the beginning. How intimate it was, how ugly it was when it finally tore apart. Anchors are all about profit and mutual benefit. You had a very good relationship at the beginning, maybe because your live broadcast room is popular and you can play PK and force orders together. Another anchor who has been in the industry for more than 5 years said frankly to reporters, "But if one day someone in your live broadcast room breaks out, or your top brother is snatched away by the anchor's friend, do you think your relationship will still be good?" "
The myth of high salary shattered
For newcomers, the most attractive thing is the myth of instant wealth in the live broadcast industry. For example, the leading Internet celebrity "Crazy Little Yang Ge" who was punished for false propaganda once revealed that he paid employees monthly With a salary of 50 million yuan, he also spent more than 100 million yuan to buy the "Three Sheep" building covering an area of more than 50,000 square meters in Hefei High-tech Zone.
"Worked as a sales anchor for half a year and bought a Mercedes-Benz. "On social media, posts similar to showing that ordinary people can also make a fortune through live broadcasting are quite attractive and have given many people the confidence to jump into this industry.
Anchors who bring goods on site at the live broadcast base
However, such a myth seems It has long been shattered.
“The salary in the anchor industry mainly includes basic salary and commission. "Xiaoyu said that taking Guangzhou where she is located as an example, in the past, the basic salary of new anchors could often exceed 7,000 yuan. This year, it is generally only 5,000-6,000 yuan, and the commission rate is about 1%-5%. After conversion, the monthly income is just over 10,000 yuan. Yuan.
If you want to earn higher income, you need a more intensive work arrangement: for example, broadcasting 3-4 brands every day in different venues, with an average daily broadcast time of more than 12 hours, and a daily income of 2,000 At the level of 3,000 yuan, the monthly salary can exceed 50,000 yuan.
Xiao Lin, who works in Hangzhou, told reporters that the current monthly salary of an ordinary full-time anchor is between 15,000 and 20,000 yuan. "Take down jacket anchors as an example. The hourly salary of anchors in Hangzhou is about 300 yuan or 400 yuan, and the average hourly salary is about 200 yuan. Salary is also related to personal ability. "
According to iiMedia Consulting data, in the first quarter of 2023, the monthly salary of anchors nationwide ranged from 3,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan. The monthly salary of most anchors was 6,000 yuan to 8,000 yuan. Overall, the salary level of anchors was higher than that of the previous year. In the same period, the salary of "supporting actors" in live broadcast rooms such as operators and live broadcast control also dropped by about 20%. On November 7, the Online Performance (Live Broadcasting) Branch of the China Performance Industry Association jointly announced "Report on New Career Development of Online Anchors". The "Report" shows that as of December 2023, 15.08 million people regard online anchors as their main job. It is expected that the talent gap in my country's live broadcast industry will reach 19.415 million people by 2025. More than 60% of professional online anchors live broadcast for more than four days a week, more than 80% of professional online anchors have an average monthly income of less than 8,000 yuan, and nearly 90% of professional online anchors are willing to engage in the profession of online anchoring for a long time.
Despite this, Xiaoyu admits that the live broadcast industry Overall, it is still a relatively high-income industry - but the price is irregular working hours and a completely squeezed personal life. Anchors sometimes need to get up at 4:30 in the morning to put on makeup. It’s hard to socialize. “I usually drink at home during my breaks. I’m just a casual acquaintance with my colleagues at the company. We’re never in the same shift, and the time we can talk to each other is only a few minutes between broadcasts. ”
In addition, because the live broadcast industry needs to continuously output, after work, it needs to constantly browse other anchors’ sales pitches, learn the latest Internet terms, etc., and the mind is always in a highly excited state, and can only sleep 3-4 hours a day. Hours are the norm. “I record the screen every day. During the review, listen to whether my speaking speed and tone are comfortable, then turn off the sound to see if the overall movements are natural, and then adjust it little by little."Xiaoyu said.
Lack of Guaranteed Career
According to statistics, as of December 2023, the number of live broadcast e-commerce users in China has reached 597 million, accounting for 54.7% of the total Internet users, and the overall number of employees in the e-commerce industry has also exceeded 70 million. . In July this year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Bureau of Statistics jointly released a new batch of new occupations and new types of work. 19 new occupations such as broadcasting have officially become nationally recognized new occupations
In August this year, the "Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Service Consumption" proposed to "support the development of e-sports, social e-commerce, live broadcast e-commerce, etc." Live broadcasting has become an important emerging industry, but the huge live broadcast market and the anchor group generally have no guarantees in terms of labor standards
According to many anchors. It is revealed that most small and medium-sized live broadcast companies currently sign labor contracts rather than labor contracts with anchors, which also means that the relationship between the company and the anchors is almost a "one-time" transaction.
From a legal point of view, labor contracts and labor contracts are not the same. The main difference lies in the nature of the relationship and the conditions for termination. A labor contract is based on a contractual relationship between equal civil parties. It does not require advance notice or payment of financial compensation when terminated, unless there is a special agreement in the contract. The labor contract is based on labor relations, and it requires advance notice and financial compensation when terminated.
If there are problems such as layoffs and work-related injuries, it is almost difficult for the anchor to obtain compensation from the company. Xiaoyu revealed to The Paper reporter, “If you sign a labor contract. , there will be n or n+1 compensation if you are fired, and the labor contract mentions: 'Party A can terminate the contract if the requirements are not met', and the anchor can easily be fired for unfounded reasons such as 'inappropriate image, incompetence' and other reasons. "
Signing a labor contract does not mean it is legal and compliant. Xiaolin said that many anchors who have just switched to the live broadcast industry cannot tell whether the labor contract they signed is standardized. For example, in the labor contract of the company he worked for before, there was The clause mentioned: In view of lack of corresponding work experience, I need to accept The company can only start work after receiving free training. According to this regulation, the anchor must continue to serve the company for free for at least six months. During this period, if he violates the contract, he will have to pay 10,000 yuan as liquidated damages.
It is difficult to guarantee the working hours. Another big question. According to the People's Republic of China. According to the National Labor Law and the "Regulations of the State Council on Employees' Working Hours", the state implements a working hour system in which workers' daily working hours do not exceed eight hours and the average weekly working time does not exceed forty-four hours. Specifically, employees' daily working hours. 8 hours of work, 40 hours a week, and the anchor's working hours far exceed relevant standards. .
During major promotions such as “Double 11” and “618”, it is normal to work more than 20 hours a day. Some anchors complained, “Without holidays and benefits, you need to broadcast for 108 hours a month, and you will be deducted 100 yuan for every hour missed. , and in the end he got at most more than 9,000 yuan. Without social security, I want to resign every day, but I am afraid of losing my job. "
" Everyone persists in this industry with the dream of becoming an S-level anchor, believing that one day they will become popular, famous, and make a lot of money. "Jie Ge", an anchor with more than 4 million fans, told reporters, "Although it is difficult to become the next Li Jiaqi, maybe one day I will become the darling favored by traffic."
There are also many anchors who are determined to escape. On social media, there are many sharings of "I resigned from the live broadcast industry". "Anchor is a job that makes quick money. Others envy our salary, and we envy others' nine-to-five." "An anchor wrote, "Determine to resign and change cities, even if you start with a monthly salary of 5,000, come on. ”
(Xiaoyu and Xiaolin are pseudonyms in the article)
