Stars up close with VR: Warner will soon be streaming live concerts

Today I was on stage next to ACDC. Today I had a box seat with the Rolling Stones. Today Lady Gaga gave what was actually a private concert of a special kind at my house. And you like this? It sounds crazy, but it will soon be true. One of the biggest music labels, Warner Music Group, is launching a VR platform where you can experience stars and starlets up close.

Live stream nothing new

In principle, streaming a live concert is nothing new. Already last May, within the framework of the One FM Star Night broadcast a concert live in Geneva. The Swisscom Event & Media Solutions AG at the time lifted the concert-goers into the middle of the stage by means of virtual reality glasses. This way, everyone could completely determine their own perspective of the show.

Marc Blindenbacher, Business Developer at Swisscom Event & Media Solutions, already believed in this technology at that time and said the following: "With virtual reality, we are currently experiencing a real trend movement. Combined with the live component, there are countless new possibilities for unprecedented event experiences." And he was right. The trend is coming unstopped.

Dreams come true - stars to touch

For many music fans, really big dreams are probably coming true. On the one hand, VR allows them to experience the artists as close as never before and from an exclusive perspective. On the other hand, this is a perfect solution for many fans who hate being crowded into a large crowd and therefore increasingly stay away from concerts. Thanks to this technology, everyone can watch the concert from the comfort of their own home..

Real seat vs. VR box seat

Of course, for hardcore concertgoers who like to stand in the crowd, at best wildly throwing beers, jumping around together or generally wanting the communal feeling, the VR experience doesn't quite offer what they're looking for. But I can well imagine that soon the seats in particular could be less attractive, or at least as attractive as an exclusive VR box seat. After all, you can see the concerts in a whole new 360-degree format. And of course, especially for people with physical limitations, such a live stream offers a wonderful option to experience a concert. Or even in the case of sold-out concerts, it's great to have an alternative. And last but not least, you will soon have the chance to watch missed concerts in a better quality than ever before.

Warner Music Label and Melody VR are ready to go

From a technical point of view, the big challenge for such an application is the sufficient internet bandwidth for good transmission quality, which must be available in the form of a fibre-optic connection. The quality of most videos found on the internet today is still very poor.

The Warner Music Label seems to be ready for regular and bigger stories soon. It is working on this with a platform called Melody VR has entered into a partnership. Melody VR will soon release an app that will provide access to a wide range of 360-degree content. The music label announces that "hundreds of VR experiences" from 2015 and 2016 are available for the new platform. In addition to upcoming live concert broadcasts, it will also be possible to go 360 degrees into recording studios or backstage.

More details and a schedule of upcoming livestreams will be announced soon. Expected in spring 2017, Melody VR will support Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear, iOS and Android, according to the announcement.

Source: vrodo.de / esb-online / musicbusinessworldwide / Photo: L. Obrien / Youtube