Communicating Chinese Immersive Musicals on Social Media: The Role of User-Generated Content
Abstract
In recent years, Chinese immersive musicals, as a niche culture form, have experienced rapid development in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and some other cities, cultivating a stable audience base. This group of audience is highly active on social media and has become a new force in promoting musicals. In July 2025, a user-generated content (UGC) post by the official account of the Chinese immersive musical The Art Supply Store of Xinjilu on Rednote sparked controversy among audiences. The study employs questionnaires and in-depth interviews to explore the impact of social media communication on the theater attending behaviors of Chinese immersive musical audiences, as well as the motivations behind their creation of related UGC. The study demonstrates that consuming and creating related UGC on social media can stimulate audience attendance, while the number of attending times, the number of works watched, the frequency of attendance, and satisfaction with the works also influence audiences’ consumption of related UGC. The officials should encourage audiences to create related UGC on social media and enhance the immersive quality of published content to boost participation and engagement.
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