There has already been so much talk about concerts in the digital age. The ethics of bringing Tupac back to life with holograms, the exploitation of artists depicted in one of the worst received Black Mirror episodes, or the merits of ABBA performing their newest tour from a studio in CGI gear have all been discussed at length. But a new platform has entered the arena and has something to say about the music industry – and that would be gaming.
Multiplayer games are offering their respective gaming environments for artists to perform in as their own virtual stage. It can be a great experience for anyone who loves music, and it’s usually free.
The translation of traditionally in-person events into digital ones has been happening for a long time. Usually, the digital version is highly successful. An extreme example lies in the world of digital travel, where tours of some of the world’s most coveted locations, hotels – even museums – have found success via entirely digital mediums, such as VR. A more familiar example lies in the online casino, which has grown over the past twenty (or so) years into an entity as versatile and as popular as its real-world counterpart.
Concerts are now, more concentratedly, undergoing this translation. Let’s take a look back on the best concerts held so far.
Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert
The best received concert so far saw a CGI Travis Scott tower over an enthusiastic audience as he performed some of his biggest hits like Highest in the Room and Sicko Mode.
The event was free, available to a lot of audience members who hadn’t seen a stage in months, and gave an absurdist surreal experience that simply cannot be replicated in real life. The gig was more of an audio-visual journey where players found themselves in the depths of the ocean or the chasm of space as Travis did his thing.
Roblox’s Lil Nas X concert
Roblox is a silent predator in the gaming world. An urban myth. Some people say it doesn’t exist; others say it’s right behind you. Somehow, it’s grown into one of the biggest console games without anyone noticing. The initial idea of creating your own virtual playground has expanded into the biggest possible playground where even concerts can be held.
So far, the biggest event has been the explosive gig featuring rapper and Twitter icon Lil Nas X. Virtual players entered a virtual environment including a virtual stage with a virtual version of Lil Nas X playing his music for all 33 million of them. For comparison, the biggest real-life concert with a single artist was Indio Solari with 243,000 in attendance in Buenos Aires. The population of Canada is 37 million.
In a stunning 10-minute display, Lil Nas X enters a humble Wild West town to the dulcet tones of Billy Ray Cyrus only for it to crumble and expand into a neon-infused set that he dances and sings in, much to the glee of the many cutesy avatars that are jumping around him. Can’t say there was a tall guy in your way there.
Fortnite’s Marshmello concert
Fortnite is greatly embracing the integration of music stars into their regular gaming content. The game has already worked with names like Ariana Grande and Travis Scott, but it all kicked off with Marshmello.
While fans watched Maroon 5 cause controversy that we can’t even remember at the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show, Marshmallow was lighting up an enormous virtual stage with his tunes. He didn’t quite beat Lil Nas X with an attendance number of 10.7 million, but it was their first crack at it.
Players entering the game were told they instead were being directed to a stage where the mouse-mask- wearing DJ was playing a set, prompting the avatar audience to show off their Fortnite dance moves.
And it seems the idea is here to stay, with more acts scheduled to appear on the Fortnite stage in the future.