Wave has launched the first virtual reality platform for live concerts which allows fans to interact as if at a real-world event.
The entertainment technology company’s platform will allow fans to tune in to see their favourite artists perform live via online games, social networks, live-streaming channels and entertainment networks.
Wave’s broadcast technology transforms artists into digital avatars in real-time, casting them onto a virtual stage built with customised interactions that complement each artist’s style. The virtual concerts are distributed via YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, as well as other major digital and gaming channels.
Wave has already collaborated with acts such as Jean-Michel Jarre, Imogen Heap and Lindsey Stirling.
“There’s a surge of next-generation viewers flocking to digital channels of all kinds to find engaging entertainment. And gaming, the largest and fastest-growing entertainment category, has become a driving force in music discovery,” said Wave co-founder and chief executive Adam Arrigo.
“Today, we’re extending the groundbreaking work we’ve done in VR to make virtual concerts more broad-reaching, so that artists can unleash their creativity and reach fans across any digital, social or gaming platform.”
Within social channels, the Wave platform integrates chat directly into the live experience, allowing fans in the chat to appear via their own avatar in the audience and directly impact the artistry within the live performance. Wave said this is “an interaction not possible in other live-streamed concerts”.
Wave’s free-to-play concert experiences allow artists not only to reach global and massively larger audiences than live events, but to monetise new fan bases through the sale of virtual and physical merchandise, bit cheering/tipping and sponsorship.
“The fan engagement is what makes the Wave experience so exciting,” Arrigo said. “Fans become active participants in the concert experience, chatting directly with the artist and each other, cheering and sharing reactions. This two-way dialogue and intimate interaction is what Wave is all about.”
Wave’s VR and PC desktop apps are supported on Steam for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality.
Earlier this year MelodyVR, which has broadcast events featuring Liam Payne, Mabel and The Streets, announced net losses of £11.3m (€13m/$14.7m) in 2018.
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