Watch out music videos! The metaverse is coming for you.
Have you ever attended a concert in the metaverse? Judging by the latest category to be added to the MTV Video Music Awards roster, you probably should. This year’s VMAs will hand out a Moon Person for “Best Metaverse Performance,” but there’s no word on whether the award will be received virtually.
The nominees are Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, BTS, Charli XCX, Justin Bieber, and Twenty One Pilots. Yes, your faves have been performing in the metaverse.
Each artist put their own twist on their metaverse concert. Ariana Grande did a space themed performance in Fortnite, while BLACKPINK’s hyperrealistic avatars brought their “pretty savage” essence to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUGB) Mobile. BTS sang their English-language chart-toppers “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” on a stage in Minecraft where the boys’ boxy avatars attempted to recreate their signature dance moves. Meanwhile, Charli XCX and Twenty One Pilots both opted for Roblox concerts. (It should be noted that Charli XCX’s performance was a result of her partnership with Samsung.) And Justin Bieber put on a show in Wave, the virtual entertainment platform.
And they aren’t the only artists performing in the metaverse. Virtual and metaverse concerts became popular during the pandemic when live, in-person entertainment was put on hold. But online concerts and virtual performances are here to stay, especially as the metaverse becomes more engrained with out everyday lives.
Its acknowledgement at the VMAs suggests metaverse performances might even become a mainstay of the music industry. Only time will tell.
