Playing the avatar
Since Facebook rebranded as Meta in October last year , the media buzz around the Metaverse has increased exponentially . With promoters and artists increasingly embracing the virtual 3D ecosystem , Access examines what it means for the live events industry
Words : Christopher Barrett
There are wildly different views as to what impact the metaverse is likely to have , long term , on the live music industry , but barely a day goes by without there being news of another significant development , virtual show or artists getting involved .
For the uninitiated , the metaverse is a virtual world , made up of permanent , shared , 3D virtual spaces involving augmented ( AR ) and / or virtual reality ( VR ) technology .
Among the many recent metaverse developments was the news of major was broadcast live from the Los Angeles Convention Center .
Just the previous week , The BRIT Awards hosted a metaverse VIP Party on gaming platform Roblox , featuring a performance from PinkPantheress . Only days before that , Roblox threw a “ first of its Kind DJ party ” involving a virtual performance by an avatar of DJ David Guetta . The show was created in partnership with Warner Music Group ( WMG ), which invested heavily in Roblox last year .
The past year has seen WMG work with Roblox to deliver virtual world
The metaverse isn ’ t just proving to be an increasingly popular platform for concerts , in October promoter Insomniac brought EDM festival Electric Daisy Carnival ( EDC ) to Roblox . It was staged in a virtual world called Insomniac World Party at the same time as the real-world EDC event took place in Las Vegas .
Roblox VP and head of music Jon Vlassopulos says the platform had more than 47 million users in Q3 last year and that the virtual concerts are pulling in vast audiences . Four shows across two days in November by Lil
“ Virtual concerts have the potential to massively grow the live industry .” – Roblox VP and head of music Jon Vlassopulos
acts including Nas , Gene Simmons and Lil Baby being among the investors in a $ 60m Series A funding round for metaverse startup Everyrealm .
On 13 February , Meta hosted a VR live performance by Foo Fighters . The 46-minute set on Super Bowl Sunday could be viewed via the band ’ s Facebook and Instagram pages or the Horizon Ventures app . The show shows by acts including Ava Max , Why Don ’ t We , Royal Blood and Twenty One Pilots , which it claims were viewed by millions of fans spread across more than 180 countries worldwide .
During the Twenty One Pilots show , fans could search for virtual merch and rewards , while controlling the setlist sequence and investigating interactive elements within each song .
Nas X on Roblox saw more than 36m visits and a Royal Blood concert was viewed by around 26 million .
Vlassopulos says that live event promoters , performers and managers , should see the metaverse as an additional revenue generating opportunity rather than a threat : “ Artists will choose to perform to thousands of fans in the real world
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