Virtual Music News — May 2020
Artists & fans are connecting virtually now more than ever. Here I’ve tried to capture the major virtual and immersive music news and events for May, 2020. There is a burst of activity in this space, so I’ll continue to tracking music trends, posting the news and occasionally adding my own thoughts.
Short on time? Read the Overview then skip to the bottom for Events!
Market Overview
Where Can Virtual Concerts Go After Travis Scott’s Fortnite Extravaganza?(Pitchfork) With COVID-19 putting a halt to the live music industry, tech companies are figuring out weird new ways to bring shows into the virtual realm.
Powering the Next Generation of Virtual Music Experiences (The Boolean) From Minecraft to the Metaverse, digital concerts are emerging from diverse platforms. What does this mean for the music industry and how do we level up with virtual reality?
What’s Next for Lockdown Live Music?(Variety) Keep a lookout for Pay-Per-View Tours, Crowdless Concerts, Virtual Merch and More
Investment & Acquisitions
Apple confirms it bought venture reality live events start-up Next VR (The Verge) Apple bought live sport, music and entertainment VR events host NextVR. NextVR works with companies such as Live Nation and Central Station to broadcast live VR concerts, music experiences and more.
Investors Say Emerging Multiverses are the Future of Entertainment (TechCrunch Extra) The adoption of gaming and extended realities is accelerating according to heavy-hitting investors.
Will Smith, Kevin Hart, a16z back virtual events startup Run the World (CNBC). It’s a sign of how venture capitalists and celebrities alike are betting on physical events shifting online as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have rendered mass gatherings impossible….digital platforms are offering an alternative that could help reduce those costs significantly
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Questlove and Black Thought on transcending quarantine entertainment (Fast Company) DJ sets, cooking shows, poetry readings: sheltering in place has changed how The Roots and manager Shawn Gee think about how to engage audiences.
Augmented Reality News
Extended Reality Makes Television History with Katy Perry’s “Daisies” Performance on “American Idol” (PR Newswire) The performance made history as the most comprehensive use to-date of Extended Reality (XR) for television.
New Augmented Reality filters have rolled out for Instagram and they are simply amazing (Digital Information World). The AR Music feature enables the creation of filters that interact with music — bringing an ‘equalizer-type effect’ into filters for Stories and Highlights on Instagram.
How a Snapchat Filter Assisted a Song Up the Charts (Rolling Stone) Four years after its initial release, SAINt JHN’s “Roses” is a hit on Shazam, TikTok, iTunes, Spotify and Snapchat.
Instagram To Pay Content Creators Via ‘Badges’ Program and Ad Revenue (DJCity) As of June 2020, Instagram will begin financially rewarding content creators who use Instagram Live.
Yellock — Future of Music in AR (VRARCRO) Transform your kitchen, living room or bathroom into a nightclub where you can be VJ and control the visual FX to help interactive performer Yellock. Try it Here.
Virtual Reality News
Sony ramps up VR efforts as demand for virtual events surges (Financial Times) Sony is intensifying efforts to perfect its virtual reality headset as the Japanese company bets that the demand for online-only concerts, crowd-free sports events and escapist games will finally push the technology into the home entertainment mainstream.
Another Home, New VR Nightclub, Launching Online Soon (EDM Tunes) Another Home, created by London music duo KOVEN, is an online space that will act just like a real nightclub.
Notable Past Virtual Events
Country doesn’t exist, so they created it in VR! (Business Insider). Finland invited the entire country to a virtual concert in an online version of its capital city.
Event Farm to Host The Echo Sesh Virtual Music Showcase (Music Connection) Hundreds of fans paid $15 to attend this virtual music event. Check out the recap below.
Lightning in a Bottle Festival Goes Virtual (SF Weekly) The virtual stage environment for DGTL LIB used the fabled Unreal Engine technology, from video games like Mirror’s Edge to create an immersive environment.
Notable Upcoming Virtual Events
Wireless Festival announces virtual ‘Wireless Connect’ festival (New Music Express) U.K. music festival Wireless Festival announced Wireless Connect, a live virtual reality festival taking place July 3–5, featuring pre-recorded performances. Viewers can tune into Wireless Connect for free by downloading the MelodyVR app or via Wireless Festival’s Facebook page.
Get Ready, Gamers: A Virtual Music Festival Is Coming to Minecraft (Rolling Stone) Diplo, A-Trak, TOKiMONSTA & more will serve as stage hosts at Electric Blockaloo — an in-game dance music event scheduled for three days in late June.
Lost Horizon Music and Arts Festival in Virtual Reality on July 3 & 4 (NME) Lost Horizon, the team behind Glastonbury’s Shangri-La experience announced ‘the world’s largest music and arts festival in virtual reality’ in partnership with Sansar and VR Jam.
Reinterpreted Reality with Reggie Watts is a show not to miss in AltspaceVR on Saturdays through June.
There are also livestream virtual music concerts and events DAILY that can be found at Oh My Rockness, NPR, Billboard and other music publications.
