RE: NME18 Mar 2020 19:21
From the article
One option is MelodyVR, a virtual reality platform dedicated to bringing live music to fans’ smartphones and VR headsets, if they’re lucky enough to have them. Users can already access specially recorded sessions or witness more traditional gigs through their devices from the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Ashnikko, Mabel, and Panic! At The Disco. The company could also provide a new income stream for acts – for the vast majority of their content, around 80 percent of the revenue goes back to the rights holders, including labels, songwriters, and artists.
“In our conversations with artists, that is a concern,” says CEO Anthony Matchett of charging an audience who are having an equally hard time as the stars. “Brands, thankfully, still have budget and they’re potentially able to lend some input in terms of actual cash and investment into helping make content for free.”
MelodyVR’s upcoming projects include running a series from LA, New York and London, taking over closed venues “with some very high and stringent safety measures” for artists to perform in and record. Whatever they film will then be made available to fans for free. “We’re not trying to capitalise on all these tragic events but, when we’re in a world where people potentially can’t leave their homes, we can bring a bit of joy and happiness that they might not have had otherwise,” Matchett reasons. “It’s certainly not a cure for anything that’s happening but if it helps 0.1 percent, we’ve done a good job.”
The downside to the virtual reality platform is it’s not really the kind of thing artists can just manage themselves, as they do with their Instagram and Twitter feeds. Matchett says the technology is “pretty complex”. But this pandemic could see the industry come on board with VR. “I’d be lying if I said our phone has been quiet over the last week,” he says.
I’ll repeat the last sentence for some of the 3 brain cell wonders on here
I’d be lying if I said our phone has been quiet over the last week,”
Sign In
Follow the stocks
