Throughout the past 18 months, digital experiences have taken off and have allowed artists to create different types of shows and performances for their audiences, such as Ariana Grande’s recent trip into Fortnite. The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way fans engage with artists and their content, even as live events return, and the industry is taking note.
Immersive entertainment company Collimation, a collaborative effort between Young Guru, Adrian Rashad Driscoll, and Harold Hayes Jr of SunnyBoy Entertainment, is helping artists take advantage of the new entertainment opportunities that are now more accessible than ever to connect them with fans.
Although the company was officially founded in January 2020, Driscoll, Collimation’s Head of Immersive, notes that the team had been considering the value of digital for a while.
“Even before the pandemic, we saw this need for an extension of experiences,” he says. “For example, not everyone can or will pay $2500+ for a ticket. Looking at the current climate there's even more reason to extend these experiences. You can't replace the live show — it's impossible. But what you can do is create experiences that allow social interaction and become an extension of the show. That way, it lasts forever.”
The pause in live shows brought about by pandemic created ideal conditions for Guru, Driscoll and Hayes to accelerate the process of getting Collimation off the ground since no one was busy traveling. And it also accelerated the adoption by fans, since more people were able to experience the power of virtual.
“With VR, a lot of people think it’s just that thing that makes you sick,” says Driscoll. “When in reality, bad VR makes you sick. Until you’re in a headset experiencing truly great VR, you don’t know what you’re missing. And the same thing can be said about hybrid experiences — until you're inside one of these experiences, you don't know how fun it actually can be. Our goal is to provide the energy of a super concert with the intimacy of an MTV Unplugged, and extend it beyond what you can do in in real life.”
Collimation’s approach to creating these types of immersive experiences is not one-size-fits all. “I really don't believe there's a cookie cutter approach,” says Driscoll. “For each artist, the need and the demand are going to be very, very different. You might have an artist that may be better in Altspace, or Roblox, or Horizon. Our goal isn't to try to fit everyone into the same box, it’s to recreate what the box looks like as the artists come along.”
For Collimation’s launch event in February, the company featured a virtual performance by Rapsody, which they built entirely around her requests and what she was interested in showcasing. The event also included an NFT auction of artwork by Dan Lish. “We did a live auction of NFTs before it was a buzzword,” notes Driscoll. “We're trying to not just create experiences, but to create new ways for artists to monetize as well. We always want to be ahead of the curve.”
The way we consume music is constantly changing, and it’s important for artists to keep up with what fans are looking for. “If a venue holds 2,500 people,” says Driscoll, “now you have the ability to have a show for 2.5 million people, and you're able to monetize that as an artist and have more intimate interactions.”
More recently, Collimation worked with Mix Master Mike to produce a hybrid performance that took place live in LA and was streamed in Microsoft’s AltspaceVR where he performed as a hologram. Driscoll explains that one of the most exciting part of the experience was Mike’s ability to host a Q&A after the show to hear from fans in the virtual space and engage with them. “We’re given the accessibility to have some direct interaction on both sides, which is a very special thing,” says Driscoll.
As artists discover and explore the metaverse and the opportunities it presents, they are starting to build stronger narratives around their brands and their content, which we can expect to see more of. Fan interactions with artists are no longer limited to passive consumption of live concerts and music videos — they can now join their favorite performers in fully immersive virtual worlds and be a part of the story.
“Great VR experiences can connect you in ways that you never felt that you could be connected before,” explains Driscoll. “Add that to something like Altspace with the social elements, and now it’s not just you by yourself, it's a bunch of us all experiencing this together. This has changed the world.
“It really it all boils down to how artists want to tell their story, their narrative. Is it going to be an animated version of them? Is it 2D? Is AR or VR? Artists didn't know about this opportunity, but now that they know about it, we’re going to start seeing more events like this that are done well and that are really thought out. Storytellers are looking for new ways to tell compelling and impactful stories, and now that the narrative is starting to shine through more of these experiences, people are going to come back.”