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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
THE days of people watching their favourite artistes performing live online for free will soon be over as popular social media site, Facebook is exploring ways to let users (artistes) charge audiences for access to their live video streams on the site.

This is being done in an effort to help those in the performing arts sector and other industries affected by the coronavirus pandemic, monetise their performances.

The feature which is being put in place, is intended to help people whose livelihoods depend on live events or performances. These include musicians, comedians, personal trainers and speakers.

“To support creators and small businesses, we plan to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to events with Live videos on Facebook — anything from online performances to classes to professional conferences,” Facebook said in a statement about its new offering.

The company however, did not specify when that option will become available or provide further details, including whether there is a limit on how much a performer can charge or whether Facebook will charge a fee or percentage.

The ban on public gatherings in March this year, has rendered many artistes around the world jobless as theatres, bars and galleries have been closed and concerts cancelled. As such, most performers have resorted to performing online although they have not been benefiting financially from those streams, save for those who have sponsors.

All this is about to change as Facebook will now let users charge viewers for access to their live video streams. — @bonganinkunzi