Music on Metaverse
It was about time we dedicated a blog to talk about the Metaverse and the opportunities for music in it.
The Metaverse is a virtual world where users, through their avatars, go through interactive experiences without being physically present. It is a sort of Second Life where users experience it as if it were happening live.
Many equate the Metaverse with virtual reality (VR), but Metaverse is to virtual reality what mobile phones are to smartphones today. A concept that is much more evolved thanks to its particularities.
Music in the Metaverse works as NFTs. We recently dedicated a blog to this topic, go ahead and take a look!
Spotify and the Metaverse
Spotify is the first music streaming service to join the platform. Spotify has announced that its venture into virtual worlds is coming via an interactive Roblox space called Spotify Island. The framework is a place where users can create music, relax in virtual places, and access exclusive virtual products.
Spotify has given its virtual space a design that’s true to its brand: lots of green with shapes, colors and icons you’ll recognize from its app. It’s all part of the game, too. You can collect heart-shaped “Like” icons for free products, for example.
Speaking of digital goods, Spotify says the exclusive in-game virtual merchandise will give artists a chance to connect with fans and a way to earn money. The company explains that a portion of sales will go to artists, though it didn’t specify a percentage. It said it has already collaborated to create a collection of items that “truly reflect who they are”.
Artists and the Metaverse
Many artists are already hopping into the idea of the Metaverse, and taking advantage of it. On New Year’s Eve, instead of working as a DJ on fees of up to $1 million, Paris Hilton mixed music from an entirely different location – her own virtual island on Roblox. “For me the Metaverse is somewhere in the virtual world where you can do anything you want to do in the real world,” said Paris Hilton.
Brands such as Tommy Hilfiger have already launched clothing lines for Roblox avatars. Nike opened a virtual world called Nikeland in November, a place where visitors can compete in sports competitions wearing, of course, virtual Nike gear. Rappers such as Lil Nas X and Travis Scott have also performed concerts for millions of fans represented by avatars in this virtual environment, so it’s clear that music in the Metaverse is here to stay, especially after the pandemic era we’ve experienced recently.
The Metaverse is the opportunity for artists to strengthen their virtual presence and brand, using it as a strategically important advertising platform. So, as brands set up shop in virtual malls, invest in product advertising, it is only natural that it will become a highly attractive marketing platform. Parties, concerts and sporting events hosted in the virtual environment are sure to attract a lot of people, so entertainment industry promoters will be just as important in the digital world as in the real one.
The Metaverse provides an environment for musicians to thrive. It’s all about translating the best of our present world into the Metaverse and making it better along the way. Imagination has no limits, nor does music.
