Reimagining Live Music

When the digital revolution put the music industry’s revenue model in jeopardy, live music came to the rescue giving artists and fans the chance to be together and support artist careers. More festivals and VIP experiences emerged and gave the term “fanatic” a reason for being. The COVID pandemic put a screeching halt to that, but as we come out of hibernation, live music is blossoming with new formats and innovations set to once again transform our experience of music in real time. Here are the companies leveraging technology to improve live music events and redefine live experiences.

MELON, a metaverse development studio, recently designed a concert in the metaverse for rapper Denzel Curry as part of the Guacathon experience, a celebration of life for Parkland school shooting victim Joaquin Oliver. MELON also helped George Ezra perform his new album in the Metaverse. These metaverse concerts allow artists to curate their events on a whole new level. As audiences watch and interact with the artists’ avatars in playfully designed spaces, artists have another venue to implement their creative vision, curating the metaverse events after the themes and personalities with which they want to be associated. These platforms create an entirely new and immersive experience at affordable prices, craft a unique point of view for the fan, and add an additional means of fan connection for the artist.

Even as great alternatives arise, in-person live events will always be a mainstay in the music community. Yet touring is exhausting. Software makers Eventric are hard at work developing technology to benefit the touring community. Their software platform Master Tour, for example, is the industry standard for major tours, and is designed to act as a hub for any information every person on a big touring team may need to know. Eventric is building out new features that promise to link venue information more firmly with tour teams, connecting the two key sides of touring.

Fans First

Fave, a platform designed for superfans to engage with one another, encourages genuine fan behavior and even rewards them for their fan activity. Fans join their respective fandom, and are invited to take part in special activities and contests that can grant them Verified Fan or Superfan status, with access to exclusive events, unique merch, and more. By allowing fans to get verified, Fave unlocks a great opportunity for the ticketing process to eliminate scalpers and bots.

All Access Anonymous (AAA) is using defi, tokenomics, and NFTs to rebalance the out-of-whack independent festival and promoter economy, in ways that promise real excitement for fans. Using web3 tools, AAA is building a global network of presenters, festivals, and promoters designed to self-sustain and -govern, solving for the severe financial woes live events face. Fans get more and better events, secure blockchain tickets and added perks, as they attend their favorite festival, including meet and greets, exclusive merch, and VIP events, for their support of a particular promoter or festival. These exciting rewards keep fans engaged and encourage them to support the creators behind the music industry.

Generate Your Own Concert

Technology can stretch the definition of what a performance is, capturing elements of the “live” experience while layering in interactivity. Imagine performances accessible to millions, but where each fan can fully control her own experience. Authentic Artists and Symphony are two wildly different examples of how varied and creative future visions of live performance can get.

Symphony gives its subscribers on-demand access to the world’s best orchestral music. You can jump around a piece, repeat a movement, or dive into contextual commentary with a hugely savvy guide- an in-depth, behind the scenes look into classical music performances. With interviews and pre- and post-concert footage from the best conductors, performers, and composers in classical music today, you can build your own concert hall program. Symphony’s hosts analyze the performance like a sportscaster does during a game, giving you a fresh, welcoming perspective that expands what a Western Classical concert is.

Authentic Artists shows a very different side of live. The company builds virtual artists using AI who give fully formed livestreamed performances, co-created with a live audience. You can crank the bass up and down, demand a beat drop, all by voting in real time as your virtual DJ does their thing. And that DJ is a mutant iguana or tough-looking bunny, playing amazingly good music.

From edge tech to traditional shows, this is truly an exciting time for artists, fans, and anyone who plays a part in making live experiences possible. Events are more accessible than ever–and the very definition of what an event is changing rapidly. New revenue sources are opening up for artists. We’ve frankly never been more excited to see what unfolds

Our Live Music VIPs

AmazeVR

contact: Jonathan Streetman
AmazeVR is a VR concert platform company that brings fans closer to artists than ever before. Headquartered in LA with offices in Seoul, AmazeVR creates experiences with renowned, bold artists, featuring crystal clarity and unprecedented proximity through live-action 3D footage combined with environments using a proprietary Unreal Engine-based VFX pipeline.

As seen in Billboard – AmazeVR recently signed a joint venture deal with South Korean entertainment group SM Entertainment and its metaverse content production arm Studio KWANGYA. Together they will launch Studio A, a venture that will produce VR concerts for SM’s current roster.

MELON

contact: Alex Ward
MELON is a premier development studio for the metaverse, creating original game properties and building some of the most innovative experiences for brands, artists, and entertainment leaders on the Roblox platform and beyond. MELON has worked with major music labels and consumer brands on partnerships that have gathered and engaged millions of players around the world.

As seen in The Drum – This Roblox event, made possible by their collaboration with Melon, is set to honor and celebrate the birthday of the late Joaquin Oliver who was a victim in the Parkland High School shooting. There will be a performance from rapper Denzel Curry, special art, and shooting hoops to unite the people Oliver has brought together.

Eventric

contact: Brendan Raab
Eventric’s Master Tour is an app based tour management system. Allows touring professionals to have everything in one place with easy access. Connect with booking agencies, travel companies, venues, hotels, and crew members in Master Tour’s massive database, and plan out your tour with time to spare.

Symphony Media

contact: Emily McGee
Symphony Media is an online catalog of classical music. Streaming service dedicated to the genre and all that it offers. The service provides exclusive content as events go far beyond the performance. ‘Symphony Night Live’ offers an immersive experience with interviews, behind the scenes and other unique content. You can’t get any closer.

Authentic Artists

contact: Jonathan Streetman
Authentic Artists is a San Francisco-based virtual entertainment platform that builds virtual artists with AI and deep learning technologies capable of delivering professional performances for gaming and streaming applications. They have developed a new category of real-time, gamified virtual artists and music-driven characters, producing targeted content for live streaming, the metaverse, and all connected channels. The future of music is here.

As seen in Platform & Stream – “We’re excited that we can offer fans an opportunity to embrace their inner creator and shape the music they love.” – CEO Chris McGarry. 

Fave

contact: Emily Morrone
Fave (faveforfans.com) unites fans in a single online space to create, hang out, and support the artists they love, as well as each other. Launched in April 2021 with the Taylor Swift fandom (aka “Swifties”), the platform incorporates an immersive video feed, groups tailored to specific fandoms, a leaderboard that shouts out the most engaged fans, and a points system that lets dedicated fans unlock perks and recognition — with many more features to come.

As seen in Music Tech – The platform uses a ranking system that fans can work their way up through. As users rise up the ranks, they will unlock more rewards and experiences provided by the artists as well as other brand partners. “. . . fans earn these experiences through the authentic, heartfelt activities they’ve already been doing.”- CEO and Founder Jacquelle Amankonah Horton

All Access Anonymous

contact: Leila Grossman
All Access Anonymous (AAA) is a decentralized network incepted solely with the aim of transforming how creators and fans; without the unnecessary influence of intermediaries and cartels, can become the true driving force of the Experience Economy, paving the way to access of new capital, enhanced experiences and a world of rewards designed around the fan experience.

As seen in xLive – The startup was founded to address the challenges facing the live events industry post-pandemic, including funding difficulties for promoters and creators ”AAA is aiming to provide more transparency and structure to music promoters so they can bring their events to fruition according to their visions and more easily engage fans, while relying less on external financing.”

About Rock Paper Scissors

Founded in 1999, Rock Paper Scissors, Inc. is a music tech PR firm composed of a diverse team of communicators, creatives, and business minds. We have represented thousands of projects from six continents. Our roster includes clients in music technology, music gear, B2B music agencies, music consumer products and apps, artist-facing and label services, music sync platforms, music AI, fintech for music, and much more.

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