Scott, on the other hand, realized he had the freedom to leave not only the stage but also his own body, becoming a giant avatar version of himself and, perhaps not coincidentally, the biggest rapper of all time. From the upper deck, Mick Jagger is so tiny that fans watch him on the giant screens above the stage. He treated his set of shows as an opportunity to move beyond traditional concerts and video games towards a new hybrid genre of entertainment.Ĭonsider a traditional Rolling Stones show. But Travis Scott, a diehard Fortniter, didn’t see the gaming platform as a poor stepchild to a live venue. It was fun and it deepened the shared experience.īut post-COVID, musicians have had no choice but to do virtual performances, trying to make the best of what they admit is a bad situation. Shards of virtual diamonds could be pushed from your screen to a neighbor’s. Concert-goers listening to The Chainsmokers could simultaneously stream interactive content on their phones. Last December, fans attended the first 5G concert, a mixed reality event sponsored by Verizon. Just before we all started sheltering in place, the tech world was finding ways to make a live concert even more immersive. Somewhere along the way, we got stacks of Marshall amps, laser light shows and walls of LED screens. A hail storm could be fun when you can’t feel pain.Īnd lines for virtual bathrooms are, well, virtually non-existent.Ĭoncerts have been evolving ever since Pan brought a flute to the campfire. Weather isn’t a factor when attending a virtual concert, unless the organizers plan it that way, and perhaps they would. No Coachella walks across the Birkenstock-melting desert. Thousands of others suffer from social anxiety or have physical limitations. Many young people live in rural areas or smaller cities that don’t ever see the major tours. No word of a free set of steak knives, but that’s a pretty sweet deal. Add in food and lodging and you’re getting close to the cost of a small island.Ĭompare that to Rave Family Block Fest, where general entry will be $10 and a $15 VIP experience will include early entry to a virtual camping ground, plus a chance to win a private performance by a headlining artist. General admission passes for this year’s postponed Coachella festival were $429. Whether you live in Manhattan, NY, or Manhattan, KS, that’s still hard to complain about.īack in the days of live concerts, many Americans would never consider seeing their favorite performers live because of the dramatic rise in ticket prices. So what exactly is the draw? And will it still attract crowds when the pandemic ends? Or will virtual concerts get tossed aside like expired N95 masks?įirst and foremost, these concerts were free. But that can’t be the whole story, because back in the pre-COVID-19 days of 2019, a Marshmello concert, also on Fortnite, drew over 10 million. There were literally millions of bored Gen Zers, unable to enjoy house parties, movie theaters or even televised sports. Scott benefitted from that other thing that was happening - the global pandemic. Even the entire festival of Woodstock only drew 400,000. To put those figures in perspective, the top-rated TV show the same week of Scott’s concert was Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” which drew 7.9 million total viewers. According to the game’s owner, Epic, that number swelled to 27.7 million over its many showings, and tens of thousands more watched via Twitch and YouTube. In April, Travis Scott’s “Astronomical” concert on Fortnite drew 12.3 million players-turned-concert-goers. It’s poised to be the biggest event in a suddenly long line of successful concerts on gaming platforms. The event, taking place July 9-12 on Minecraft, will feature a star-studded lineup of over 850 artists, including Diplo, Lane 8, Steve Aoki, Gryffin, and Claude VonStroke, performing across 65 virtual stages. You may not have heard of it yet, but Rave Family Block Fest (formerly known as Electric Blockaloo) could be one of the most widely attended music festivals in history, virtual or otherwise. Woodstock, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Newport Jazz and Rave Family Block Fest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |