Virtual worlds have long existed but since Facebook rebranded to Meta, the so called Metaverse went from a growing hype to the center of attention. It's not a shock that this has happened, Facebook is one of the largest corporations in the world right now and everyone is already wired into their platform and surrounding social media apps. As large sums of money are being invested into the development of enhanced virtual worlds,  it's only a matter of time until some of us escape this reality for the virtual. For better or worse? I cannot say, but what I do know is that this new world has the opportunity to offer us experiences never felt before and the music industry is taking full advantage of that. 

What is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a highly interactive virtual world, but what makes it unique is that it is not only going to be its own virtual world but will also be an added layer to the current reality we live in. While virtual worlds are gaining popularity, augmented reality is going to be the most focused development of the Metaverse. This added layer of “reality” will be an interoperable world that fits along with our real reality making it such that we can interact with the virtual from the real. These new worlds will only be possible with certain eyewear, and some have speculated that our phones will transition to a form of eyewear. 

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Whilst escaping reality will be the case for some, most of us will simply be enhancing our already enjoyable realities. The true potential of what the Metaverse is going to be capable of has not yet been fathomed as it is still in the very early stages of its existence. Yet, it has been nothing short of spectacular so far in illustrating what is possible within the Metaverse. Digital land ownership, virtual shopping, virtual playing, virtual designing, virtual social events and even virtual concerts! 

Music in the mix

Music brands, record labels, and artists have realized the opportunities in this new world and along with capital investments being poured into the Metaverse, they have also started to pour in their creative works. Fortnite was one of the first to jump on this wave by welcoming DJ Marshmello to host a virtual concert. The show, while successful, did not attract that much of the pop culture's attention. But then in a first of its kind virtual concert, Fortnite hosted a giant, Travis Scott concert, that witnessed over millions of gamers dropping their battle equipment to witness his performance. Travis' set in the virtual world maintained the essentials of a live performance, but gave gamers the opportunity to roam around their favorite island whilst a giant Travis Scott performed many of his hits. It was a surreal sight to see. The concert was nothing but successful. Shortly after, Ariana Grande had a similar presentation within the Fortnite world and it was equally successful, though her tour lasted a whole 3 days. Fortnite took the first mover advantage, but all the hype was stolen by Decentralland who hosted the first ever Metaverse festival. Over 80 artists were lined up with a personal favorite of mine, DeadMau5. The festival lasted 4 days and mimicked a real festival. Each day had its own theme. There were virtual food trucks, NFT merchandise stores, 5 stages and lots of people! 

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Racing to stay ahead, Sandbox has accelerated their developments and opened up their virtual world to Windows users. They are also partnering with some top artists, with a particular mention of Snoop Dogg. Snoop Dogg, recently announced his interest in buying NFTs and owning digital land just before giving us a sneak peek into his sandbox developments. He has informed his fans that they will be able to come and party with the big Dogg. The Weeknd also took to creating a unique virtual experience onTik Tok by launching an interactive performance of Blinding Lights, and Post Malone did a virtual show for Pokemon’s 25th anniversary. All in all the Metaverse has been a busy place for music and in keeping the year end celebrations real while we were all locked up, Facebook paired with Horizon Venues to host three major artists in the Metaverse. On boxing day, Young Thug took the stage attracting over a hundred thousand viewers. On the last day of the year, David Guetta and The Chain Smokers electrified fans' ears all the way into the new year.Though this experience was as hype as you’d imagine, facebook failed to optimize the event for a virtual experience so the media didn't make too much noise about it. 

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What the Metaverse has done for music in the year 2021 while in a pandemic is keep musical entertainment real. It brought a whole new way of experiencing music. From the comfort of our homes. The household is being transformed into a concert venue some have only dreamed of being able to see live. While prior to the Metaverse, the idea was to go to a concert, concerts now come to you. The Metaverse has enabled fans to interact with their artists in a new way. Personalized events, front row seats for everyone, exclusive digital merchandise and an opportunity to infinitely socialize is going to make all of us want to tune in to the Metaverse and get our dance on. 

Looking ahead

The opportunities for artists are tremendous. They will be able to reach wider audiences, and curate limited exclusive shows that will never be public. The revenue that they could generate from the sales of digital merchandise will take their branding to a whole other level. Artists will also be able to perform more shows globally because they won't need to spend time traveling, resting and recovering as much as they have done in the past. New audiences, in the remotest of locations will transcend their current fan base, increasing their fame. These changes are bound to draw a larger number of artists into the space, making music accessible in new formats that we have not yet imagined.

Music is going to go from being a passive background filler to an interactive experience that we will be able to rhythmize. The importance of music is going to change in this new world and we might not be able to get enough of it. The audio and visual experiences will merge and music will have a new meaning. With only the very beginning of the Metaverse potential having been realized, we might even end up experiencing music through touch and smell, but that might be pushing it a bit. Though I must say, I don't think real in-person concerts are going anywhere, anytime soon. In fact , I don't think they will ever go away. The experience of listening to your favorite artist right in front of you, speakers deafening your ears as the music blares is an inimitable experience. So we must keep an open mind and realize that the Metaverse is not here to replace (at least right now) how we currently experience music, but rather is creating a space for us to experience music in new alternative ways. Our world is going digital and web 3.0 is calling every entrepreneur's name. Designers, artists, musicians, collectors, bankers, coders, you name it. 

Pairing VR/AR, Blockchain, musicians, and fans together has got to be one of the best ideas we have had as a species. Brace yourself and immerse in the new age of musical experiences.

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