Live Virtual Gigs in the Gaming Metaverse

Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Live Virtual Gigs in the Gaming Metaverse

In November last year, a live virtual gig took place in the gaming Metaverse of world platforms. Rapper Lil Nas X took to the stage in Roblox, and performed in a free-to-view event, which broke all previous records to become one of the the most viewed concerts of all time, pulling in a worldwide record-breaking audience of over 35-million visits.

Roblox is a platform of over 50-million user designed video games. The concert was their first, but they have also partnered with music label Monstercat and delivered an album release party for Ava Max. Could this collective gaming audience be the music world's perfect audience of the future?

Taking inspiration from Lil Was X's videos and songs, various stages were created for in-game virtual performances using PBR rendering, lighting, shadowing and facial recognition technologies available on the Roblox platfom. Speaking ahead of his performance, Jon Vlassopulos, global head of music at Roblox, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Columbia Records to bring Lil Nas X fans and the Roblox community together in an entirely new way.“This concert with Lil Nas X will transport players and their friends into the metaverse, and bring to life the future of what immersive, social experiences can look like.”

The experience is a long way from the first pixelated forms of performers or being able to control Michael Jackson in the 1990's 'Moonwalker' whilst he rescues children to the sound of his hit 'Smooth Criminal'. However, the online gaming world became a far greater player when Grand Theft Auto realised the potential of licensed music. They allowed players to access perfectly curated radio stations whilst creating chaos and mayhem in the streets of Miami.

Michael Jackson in the Moonwalker video game

Roblox are not the only gaming platform to take on the music gig. Fortnite allowed Travis Scott to host a gig from a stage in the water off the resort of Sweaty Sands. People attended the concert from wherever they were in the game, as their personally created avatar, whilst they continued to fire at the people around them.

The following concert was brief, just a 10-minute pop of Scott's hits, with incredible visual pyrotechnics. The world of Fortnite transformed kaleidoscopically around Scott and the artist came right up to the viewers, giving the sense of being able to reach out and touch him. One moment, fire poured from his body; the next, his face melted to reveal a robotic skull. According to developer Epic Games, more than 28m people watched the show.

Gaming Metaverse platforms like Roblox, Minecraft and Fortnite are being chosen for these live virtual gigs because their worlds are moving into something beyond gaming. The platforms are used by kids wanting to hang out with their mates and socialise, a virtual environment which has become so relevant and meaningful to the users during the pandemic lockdowns.

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28
Jan

Weekly Round-Up #8

The latest developments and additions to Jeeni's mission! Rock-star Eden James joins Jeeni! New York based Eden James has joined Jeeni’s ranks of global stars. “I like what you do and I would love to help,” Eden says. "I was fortunate to have musicians from Bruce Springsteen's, Paul Simon's and David Bowie's bands contribute to my studio recordings. The last 6 months have been a huge success for me, winning 25 music and video awards around the globe, and receiving a slew of reviews and interviews from some of the biggest music magazines out there, including Classic Rock magazine and American Songwriter magazine.” We’ll be bringing you exclusives from this Number One chart topper right here, meanwhile check out his Jeeni showcase at https://jeeni.com/showcase/edenjames/ New Content Contributed to Jeeni’s Database of Talent! Fresh, new music has been poured into Jeen’s diverse collection of artistry and talent. The aforementioned Eden James has provided a vintage and classic collection of tracks for our ever-growing rock channel, including ‘New York’ and ‘Black Book’. The industry legend, Lennox Campbell also contributed some of the stellar RnB and soul tracks that he’s produced such as ‘Beautifull’ and ‘Lost One’s’. Another exciting new addition to Jeeni is the UK chill-rap artist, Cassius Gray. Achieving over 2 million streams across his discography, Cassius has achieved so much already and we can’t wait so promote him further. Check out tracks like ‘From Here On Out’ and ‘Flight 22’ on Jeeni, now. Featuring members with connections to Elton John and Hanz Zimmer, ‘Coolstar’ is an epic collaboration of all sorts of artists and have offered the tracks ‘Homeland’ and ‘I Keep Walkin.’ to Jeen’s database. Brand new music from Daisy Chute and I K 8OY has also been added to Jeeni today, on the same day as their releases. Check out Daisy’s ‘Cradle Songs’ and I K 8OY’s ‘Let You Know’. New Jeeni Blogs Published! In anticipation for Maple Sky’s new single, ‘Vision’, set to be released next Saturday, we prepared an ‘Artist Focus’ blog for the smooth jazz quartet, “Maple Sky specialise in a broad and flexible portrayal of jazz with influences from Esperanza Spalding, Yebba, and D’angelo.” We’ve also been reviewing and praising the stunning work of our artists. Beginning with Glaswegian rock band, Respite’s first EP, ‘Vol.1’, “This five-track project is a triumphant and proud announcement of a new advancement in their style, synergy and musicianship.” We also had two single reviews, for Arianna May’s ‘Suffolk Bay’ and Baby Panna’s ‘Golden’. On Suffolk Bay, Arianna May’s “vision is translated through her expressive piano playing and is then fully realised by her sweet, graceful vocals which glide as delicately as the accompanying strings.”. Baby Panna’s ‘Golden’ is an impactful final track for his debut mixtape, “The instrumental landscape set for this frank and passionate narrative is an atmospheric and soulful wave of spaced-out beats and crackly samples.” Jeeni also featured its first live review of Giack Bazz’s incredible set from last Friday (21st, January), “Considering the arsenal of instruments Giack typically uses to convey his vision, the emotive power that he communicated with just his voice, a guitar and a pedal board was astonishing.” We loved attending Giack’s gig in East-London and we’d love to see our artists perform more often. Reach out to the Jeeni marketing team at doug@jeeni.com or ella@jeeni.com. Make sure you're following us on social media to keep up to date with new releases from our artists, our blogs and any job openings. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeenimusic/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeenimusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeenimusic Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/33222018/admin/

26
Aug

Jeeni hits another milestone! 85% of £150,000 target on Crowdcube

Jeeni has reached 85% of its £150,000 target on Crowdcube, thanks to over 130 investors who are celebrating their amazing investor rewards. Jeeni is a fast-growing entertainment company that promotes independent musicians and performers ethically and safely, and where artists get to keep 100% of everything they make. over 2,300 brilliant artist showcasesover 2.7 million audience outreachbuilt-in marketing tools for successGRAMMY-Award-Winning supporters We invite you to help us accelerate our success and scale-up for the best benefit of our members and investors. Join our fast-growing family of investors, and grab your rewards as you help us reach our target! Check out our pitch here. https://bit.ly/3BhEeia

06
Jun

My Lockdown A-Z Happiness Manifesto – Why imagination, creativity and gratitude can be a cure for all.

By Sammie Venn Jeeni's Official Writer, Columnist and Blogger. Here at Jeeni.com we celebrate and support all musicians and performers, and poetry has its own dedicated channel for artists and performers to showcase their work and earn 100% of their sales, ticketing, merchandise and donations. Jeeni returned to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent and has already raised £93K, our target is £100K and we have 27 days to go, so we are likely to overfund, which is just amazing. Thanks again to all our wonderful investors. If you want to see our pitch click HERE. Today we showcase Sammie Venn as a very talented and creative writer. I have always been fascinated by the power of the human imagination: the capability of the brain and its capacity to unlock a unique world for every person on the planet. Our thoughts are as unique as fingerprints, so powering up the hippocampus to unravel the labyrinth of our minds can be even more challenging when we are physically isolated from those we love and care for. Lockdown has given us all time to think, sometimes overthink, and evaluate key priorities. These thoughts are often fear-based and at other times they are fuelled by excitement and possibility. At the beginning of COVID-19 I had a long list of ‘lockdown goals’ that I wanted to achieve. I thought I would be able to use the time efficiently to compartmentalise my life, throw some order at the chaos and come through the other side a more polished version of myself. Of course nothing ever goes according to plan. Therefore it felt like the right time to seize the day and further the knowledge and understanding of the human mind, body and soul. The relevance of which resonates even more after being catapulted into a matrix that can only described as something akin to Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’. Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, painter, novelist and writer wrote: “I have been and still am a seeker, but I have ceased to question stars and books. I have begun to listen to the teaching my blood whispers to me.” His works explore how an individual searches for authenticity, spirituality and self-knowledge. Unsurprisingly, he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946 and has been a real influence when it comes to deciphering principles relating to what education means to me. Kindness, hand in hand with knowledge, is key in my happiness manifesto. September has always been my favourite time of year, a throwback to academia. However online courses in every arena conceivable have become the new normal. We have been unable to sit in classrooms or studios with our fellow peers, so zoom has become the portal for the education of the masses, including our children. The upside is that teaching has become readily accessible and certainly not restricted to certain times of the year. We can learn in the comfort of our own homes, in our pyjamas, with a cup of tea, glass of wine or even sat in the garden. However education is not just about studying for an end goal, its about embracing all that surrounds us, what our culture has to offer and the lessons that we can learn from that. Music teaches us how to express our emotions, whether that is through song writing, performing, dancing or just singing in the shower. We can develop our understanding of life’s twists and turns on a completely different level. The world of music teaches us not just about love, lust, happiness and passion but also about the bonds we have with our fellow human beings. It also lectures us on history, politics and sociology. Music is a platform that enhances our understanding of the world in a magical way, we remember song lyrics, we remember nursery rhymes, we remember the chants and hymns of our ancestors. We learn to come back to ourselves through the power of sound. My education in lockdown encompassed all these salient points. I reconnected on all levels with my hearts centre and created a lockdown happiness manifesto, which by and large I have managed to stick to. My A-Z goes something like this: Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com

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