Joshua

The Metaverse will transform the live music experience, but will it be decentralized?

joshua-3@newsletter.paragraph.com (Joshua) — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 07:46:13 GMT

As the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic begins to hit us, we don't know when our social life will return to normal, or what the new normal will be. The impact on businesses and musicians such as nightclubs and music venues is immeasurable. For much of the past two years, crowded live events have either been impossible or have become more difficult and laborious, accelerating the pace of industry change that has already been initiated. That said, the music industry is increasingly adopting digital instruments and the metaverse.

First proposed by sci-fi author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 cyberpunk novel Avalanche, the metaverse is described as a virtual world where individuals can interact as avatars in the successor form of the Internet to escape external reaction. Utopia (disease rampant). Sound familiar?

Thirty years have passed since his prophecy, and in the midst of a global pandemic whose restrictions are still lingering with no end in sight, it's time to bring the music metaverse to life. With live music revenue not expected to recover until 2023, one way to accelerate its recovery — and provide a new technological alternative to traditional live events — is to bring more of our events into the virtual world.

There is constant debate about what the metaverse should look like. On the one hand, there are libertarians, crypto enthusiasts, and privacy-conscious people who advocate that the future of the metaverse is decentralized and free from any individual or entity control. On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg is trying to make the Metaverse the successor to Facebook, and a centralized version would be a natural choice. If we're all going to spend more time there, the best option is obvious: one in which we all have a say.

In a way, the metaverse already exists. (Our world is not as dark as Stephenson's portrayal, despite the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic). Musicians like Justin Bieber, DeadMau5 and The Weeknd have all held virtual concerts in recent months. And, while some of these events expand the definition of the metaverse to a certain extent — less like a VR-driven immersive experience and more like a 2020s version of the Habbo Hotel — it’s clear that our perception of live music The key factors for a fundamental shift in perception are present.

The prospect is especially exciting for small events. As any promoter or junior musician will tell you, touring is a necessity for any musician who wants to make art a career, but it's also a time-consuming and expensive operation. A minimally-expensive metaverse "tour" (or series where an artist caters to different time zones) would remove the barriers to live performance, not just for fans but for artists as well.

If your show is small enough that only a few large population centers can hold enough fans to make a live show worthwhile, then the concept of a virtual show - where fans from all over the world can come together without geographic restrictions - is an exciting possibility. This is where the niche fan base and eccentric music lover community will really win.

Planning events in the Metaverse

Clearly, a decentralized metaverse can enhance the music industry in many ways. However, another blockchain-based technology also deserves attention: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). (DAOs are community-supported groups that function almost like a board. Only on this board, everyone gets a seat.

A DAO is the antithesis of a centralized organization like a record label or promotion company, as all decisions are made collectively. Anyone can join the DAO by acquiring the tokens needed to have a voice.

Like other rising stars in the blockchain world, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), DAOs are already starting to make their mark on the music world. In October, deep-pocketed PleasrDAO pooled its resources to purchase the only copy of an album by legendary HIP-HOP band Wu-Tang Clan. Once Upon a Time in Shaolin was deemed so valuable that 74 PleasrDAO members collectively raised $4 million to buy it and then minted the ownership as an NFT. However, their applications go far beyond that.

In the context of the live music business, the DAO is almost as exciting as the concept of the metaverse itself, and even more enticing when you put the two together. For example, a DAO focused on music could buy concert tickets in bulk, fund and curate events such as concerts and festivals, including events in the digital realm, buy investable goods such as art and musical instruments, and even As a fan-owned record label and promotion agency.

The aforementioned quirky communities — those who gather around niche music genres and the artists who innovate those genres — will benefit the most from this new type of fan community.

Isn't this something we can encourage and create? A world where strange, beautiful and live performances like you've never seen before? At the turn of the century, when music first became a major element of our entertainment culture, the Internet had a big impact on music. Web 2.0 has accelerated this diversification and democratization. All Web3 and the Metaverse can do is get the job done and create a live music culture where possibilities have never been more exciting and open. Most importantly, this could be a future that no one controls. We can all.

The Metaverse will transform the live music experience, but will it be decentralized?

joshua-3@newsletter.paragraph.com (Joshua) — Sat, 12 Feb 2022 07:46:03 GMT

Planning events in the Metaverse

The aforementioned quirky communities — those who gather around niche music genres and the artists who innovate those genres — will benefit the most from this new type of fan community.