Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1489831
24 cgw o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 I t's been a tough few years for the live music industry. It was al- ready a difficult environment with Ticketmaster scandals and last-minute cancellations. The pandemic then poured fuel onto the fire, with increased health risks and significant financial pres- sure put on struggling artists. While the argument could be made that the live music industry is broken beyond repair, one solution po- tentially provides salvation: the metaverse. The metaverse — both the virtual world and the concept — are constantly evolving. The misconception is it will solely be a virtual reality (VR) experience and the term is oen erroneously used in- terchangeably with gaming platforms. Instead, the metaverse is built (or rather, being built) on the convergence of augmented reali- ty (AR) and VR technologies, which enable multimodal interactions with digital items, virtual environments, and people. As a result, the metaverse is a web of networked immersive experiences and so- cial multi-user persistent platforms. From virtual spaces for perfor- mance to defining an artist's identity and even how they ticket their shows, the metaverse can revolutionize how we experience live per- formance. It is becoming a space to empower artists, and it's been estimated that implementing these kinds of metaverse concepts can help the live industry grow its revenue to exceed $200 billion by 2024. The music industry has always evolved with technology — from vinyl to CD to MP3 and streaming. Artists have had to evolve with it, embracing social media to self-promote, experimenting with per- forming online, and combining digital elements with their live per- formances. At the core of all these developments is the desire to connect with fans and galvanize them to spread awareness of the artist. As a marketing strategy, going to where your fans are has al- ways been the driver for change. It's why we're seeing more in-game interaction with brands and artists and players. When the pandemic rendered physical events effectively illicit during lockdowns, the de- velopment of the metaverse became the next logical step for these interactions. Not only could it resurrect the events industry, but it could even help it to flourish — even future-proof it. MTV recognized the metaverse's significance in the industry when it introduced a new metaverse performance category at this year's Video Music Awards (VMAs), with Korean pop girl group Blackpink receiving the VMA for Best Metaverse Performance in PUBG Mobile. Eminem and Snoop Dogg also teamed up for a metaverse-inspired performance. For their collaboration 'From The D 2 The LBC', the art- ists partnered with Yuga Labs, an NFT and cryptocurrency company best known for the Bored Apes project, to create a mixed reality live performance. Successful in-game live performances, including the Astronomi- cal concert by Travis Scott in 2022, had been drawing in younger au- SPOTLIGHT The Metaverse Magnifies Lucrative Opportunities for Live Performance BY REMCO SIKEMMA