The metaverse has been around for years, even earlier than Mark Zuckerberg’s big announcement to rebrand Facebook to Meta and create their own version of the virtual space. Despite the attention that the somewhat dystopian presentation received earlier this decade, precious little major headlines have emerged since. As a result, experts are pretty close to being split (54-46) on whether the metaverse in 2040 will be more refined and a truly immersive experience that functions well as a part of daily life.
Yet, there is certainly an opportunity to explore – particularly for anyone working in entertainment. Most recently, The Shredderz established themselves as the world’s first Web3 metal band with a blockchain-powered event that combines digital items with their music. The aim is to enhance the fan experience, build a rocking community, and make the most of what the metaverse has to offer. Given the potential of the virtual landscape, it’d be fair to assume that The Shredderz will eventually be seen as pioneers for the genre, rather than a novelty.
Immersion will be key to capturing a corner of the metaverse
https://youtube.com/watch?v=j3mc271KqlM%3Fsi%3Dugr6nxLwv2y3U02l
When people think of the metaverse and the virtual space, many will conjure up images of people moving around as cartoonish avatars, or perhaps those creepy ones from the Meta reveal in October 2021, interacting with distinctly digital things. The Meta video certainly didn’t help this, with its animation being akin to the generic freemium mobile game style and only slightly better than those on The Sims 2 from 2004.
However, there have been far better-presented outings, particularly from artists performing live. Live streaming itself has come on leaps and bounds outside of the metaverse. It’s not just a way to see an event or someone across the internet live anymore. The live casino in the UK, for example, lets people play actual physical table games in real time. Streamed from London’s premier casino, the croupiers start the games, the players bet on what they see across the internet, and it’s all live.
This is an avenue that those venturing into the metaverse may soon be able to explore. The Foo Fighters leapt into Horizon Venues to perform in Meta’s Metaverse, with viewers through VR headsets being able to get up close to the band during the show. Soon, this will become a much more prominent part of the metaverse. Condense Reality in the UK is working to develop its hybrid virtual and real-world event technology to send live concerts into the metaverse in 3D.
Metal ventures into the metaverse
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HSO3cE1MIDk%3Fsi%3DRgq6EjE-VtPsOUyo
The Shredderz have announced themselves as the first Web3 metal band, and to do so, they released 6,666 hand-drawn characters as NFTs via OpenSea. Each of these characters comes with its own Shredderz song that opens up a gamified experience to listen to the track. Essentially, buying a virtual single becomes more than just an audio experience with this NFT venture.
Now, The Shredderz aren’t the only ones dipping into the metaverse. That 26 April 2024 report was proceeded by the news on 23 January this year that label Nuclear Blast had launched its own metaverse experience. Blast Valley is entirely dedicated to metal music and in-theme gaming, making for an immersive way to be entertained in the metal world. The legendary Megadeth have also jumped in not too long ago, releasing their own NFT collection and launching a dedicated metaverse community area in December last year.
With a whole new space to break into, there’s little doubt that more major and smaller metal bands will be exploring the opportunities presented by ever-evolving metaverse technologies.
