Engagement and Interactivity in Virtual Concerts

One of the opportunities when it comes to music and the metaverse is a direct connection between the artist and the fans. As in the example of Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert, virtual concerts are a great way to create new form of artist and fan engagement. Throughout the virtual concerts, artists are also able to reach millions of audiences in a single night, more than any conventional gigs and events in our physical World provide, which may impact in growing their fanbase.

On November 13 and 14, 2020, American rapper Lil Nas X performed a virtual concert24 on metaverse platform Roblox. The performance gathered 33 million views across four performances in two days. KSI, another artist that saw the potential of virtual concerts, hosted a virtual concert in Roblox, ran boutique Q&A after the show to engage with his audience.

"Interactivity is a crucial ingredient to achieving success in generating immersive virtual performances"

Justin Bieber held a concert in the metaverse, partnered with the virtual entertainment company Wave, in November 2021. The concert streamed on the Wave’s website, Justin Bieber performed as an avatar in his virtual universe. Throughout the concert, fans interacted directly with the artist using virtual emotes, which are pictographs the artist can see.

Interactivity is a crucial ingredient to achieving success in generating immersive virtual performances. These virtual performances, where the musicians are rendered as avatars in digital spaces, allow fans to move beyond the frame and contribute as active participants rather than passive observers in a virtual crowd, creating a unique value as a meaningful experience.