You have heard everyone talk about the Metaverse. If nothing else, changing Facebook to Meta should cue you in. In addition to social media, the Metaverse affects how people work, collaborate, trade, and play.
But what about the music industry? Indeed, the migration of live concerts from the real world to a virtual universe has never been seen before. If buying tickets, live performances, and fan interaction are some of the effects of the introduction of the Metaverse on the music industry, what has the industry stood to gain? First, what is the Metaverse?
What is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse merges virtual reality, augmented reality, and the real world. It is derived from the word ‘meta,’ which means beyond and the universe. Therefore, with the help of interoperability, you can shop, create, and build while connecting with others you share. The Metaverse employs real-world experience in the virtual world.
This allows people to buy real estate on the Metaverse, build mansions, and become neighbors with celebrities. The music industry has not taken the back seat in this development. While artists like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg are buying lands and building empires in the Metaverse, many artists use the avenue to connect directly with their fans. People can create avatars, make items for use, and cross to other places without traveling. So, when an artist is performing on the Metaverse, people worldwide can “come” to see him play after paying for the ticket.
Why the Metaverse?
The music industry suffered a huge loss when many live concerts and performances were canceled due to the pandemic. Music downloads and streaming witnessed a surge, and artists turned to other alternatives for revenue generation. Imagine if the Metaverse was fully functional. Fans can have the whole experience of a live performance without needing physical presence. So, the question should not be why the Metaverse but why not the Metaverse?
Although the Metaverse is used in correlation with gaming and NFT, it surpasses them to encompass all areas of human interactions. Yet, there is a strong relationship between gaming and music in the Metaverse.
The Music and the Gaming Industries in the Metaverse
The online game aspect of Epic Games, Fortnite, hosted Marshmello in February 2020 and Travis Scot in April. The virtual performances attracted millions of audiences. The virtual concerts were adjudged an enormous success, but they seamlessly blended gaming and the music industry. While this is one of the earliest applications of the Metaverse for virtual concerts and a replacement for music tours, it is by no means the first instance where music and gaming converge.
In the early 2000s, artists performed on Second Life in front of a virtual audience. Other gaming platforms, such as Adventure Quest 3D, The Sims, Minecraft, and World of Tanks, had, at various times, hosted virtual concerts. Gamers merely needed their accounts to join their favorite artists’ space on the Metaverse to participate in the concert.
The Metaverse creates an avenue to have a more immersive gaming and music experience. This is probably why many gaming services are partnering with record labels. After the success of Lil Nas’s virtual concerts on Roblox, the giant gaming company has signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to enable more artists to take advantage of the virtual environment. Similarly, Sandbox partnered with Warner Music to create a music-themed Metaverse. In addition, Spotify became the first non-game app to be included in the Epic Games app store. This partnership is predicted to bring many benefits to the music industry.
How does the Metaverse Benefit the Music industry?
Decentralization
The Metaverse enhances the community ownership introduced by the Blockchain. Fans can decide how they want to interact with their favorite artists, and the artists can choose how they like to look.
Artists can Monetize their Songs.
In terms of revenue generation, giant companies are eliminated from influence. Artists can monetize their songs directly through their fans. For instance, Spotify currently pays artists $.003 per streaming. This limits the potential profit an artist can make on a song. This primarily affects upcoming artists trying to establish a fan base. However, with direct interaction between fan artists, there are limitless possibilities. Apart from songs, music-makers can sell virtual merch.
New Audience Base
Since the Metaverse is immersive, it feels natural. Whether at a music festival or live performances, people feel like they are together. This means the level of engagement during a performance is higher in the Metaverse than in a mere online concert, allowing artists to connect more with their fans.
Final Words
The Metaverse is the future of the internet, and the music industry is a part of the evolution. Artists performing live on the Metaverse is just the beginning of the range of benefits that the industry can gain from the Metaverse.
