Want to stop livestreaming? That’ll be $42,000 - Chinese livestream agencies promise influencers fame and money, but end up trapping them in multi-year contracts

China’s multibillion-dollar livestreaming industry is driven, in part, by about 24,000 talent agencies, which provide training and equipment to livestreamers to help them gain followers and income. These agencies take commissions from the earnings of individual influencers, as they sing, dance, sell products, flirt with the audience, or stage life-threatening gimmicks to make a living.

Over the past few years, talent agencies have recruited aspiring influencers en masse by promising them a shortcut to fame and fortune in a tough job market, hoping some of them turn out to be big earners. But with a flooded influencer market and heightened competition, some influencers are finding themselves trapped in an exhausting, low-paying gig that they have to pay hefty penalties to exit.