Live concert from the living room

Virtual reality and music - a start-up from Berlin called "Granola Studios" brings the two together. The viewer sits on their couch at home, the event is live, 3D animated and in colour.

Concerts are often overcrowded, with people standing in the back rows or not getting a ticket in the first place. Dominik Faber and Axel Zehden, founders of Granola Studiosthe creative tech company from Berlin, want to change that. Their project aims to make it possible to enjoy 3D-animated live concerts from the comfort of your own home. The artists and audience can interact with each other, just like at a real live concert.

Faber founded his first company "Softgarden" at the age of 17. However, the e-recruiting app to make applications and job searches easier did not offer him enough creative freedom. His interest in 3D animations, for example in films and computer games, led to the idea of organising concerts in a different way. Together with Zehden, he founded Granola Studios in July 2017.

The software developers first tried their hand at two apps. "Marius", in which you play a little rabbit in a virtual library, and "Out of Colours", a multiplayer game with toy car races. They then brought "Mimic Productions", a company specialising in the creation of 3D characters, on board as a partner.

The artists are copied virtually

In a process lasting several hours, a virtual copy of any artist is created in the studio. His head is photographed from various perspectives and his body is measured. Later, he wears a special suit with sensors on all his joints so that his 3D-animated self can imitate his movements. His face is also filmed so that the audience can later recognise his facial expressions. During the show, the artist can then also see the avatars of his fans, react to them and perform in the usual interactive concert manner.

Artists can apply for the line-up

In March 2019, the company will stream the first virtual shows together with selected musicians from various genres in Central Europe and the USA. Artists and record labels can apply now on the company's website.

The concept is certainly interesting for artists: this new technology comes at a time when the music industry needs new ideas on how to promote artists and generate revenue. After all, more than 43% of the US music industry's revenue, i.e. around 17 billion US dollars, is generated from the sale of tickets to live concerts. Theoretically, even more people can be reached with this concept.

Source: Tagesspiegel, Granola Studios