Are Virtual Concerts the Future of Live Entertainment?

By Elijah Chiland from LA Business Journal

Wave’s virtual John Legend concert.

In a year in which massive music festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza were called off, it’s not surprising that the biggest concert of 2020 took place inside a video game.

In April, more than 27 million people logged into “Fortnite” to attend a live event produced by the game’s publisher, Epic Games Inc. Players used their avatars to dance and explore a custom-designed psychedelic game world as a colossal animated version of rapper Travis Scott performed live.

The in-game performance offered an early glimpse of how concerts and other live events might be adapted to a fully virtual format, said Kristen Boesel, senior lifestyles and leisure analyst at Mintel Group Ltd.’s Chicago office.

“You can kind of be transported to different scenarios,” she said. “In one song, you’re transported underwater. These are over-the-top, fanciful things that wouldn’t make as much sense if you were just watching them on a screen at a concert.”

With most in-person events off the table because of the pandemic, musicians and concert promoters have scrambled to keep fans engaged through imaginative virtual events and intimate concerts live-streamed from theaters, studios and homes.

Fueled by innovative Los Angeles companies, these livestream performances could persist long after the pandemic subsides.