Over the years, technology has become embedded across a large range of industries, with the entertainment industry being one of the largest beneficiaries. From blockchain-based video games to major streaming services, technology has reshaped the way we entertain ourselves.
The use of groundbreaking technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality has now expanded beyond tourism, education, and gaming to transform live concerts and events, creating a new way to achieve digital fan engagement. Live events such as concerts provides attendees all across the globe to experience the next wave of entertainment with the help of VR and AR, one unbound by the restrictions of the physical world.
By combining the power of a reliable and high-speed internet connection like Spectrum Internet with the power of AI-powered event technology like VR and AR, fans can enjoy the next level of personalized, interactive, and immersive concert experiences.
This article will explore all you should know about the use of VR and AR in live events, broken down into:
How Do VR and AR in Live Events Improve the Experience?
The History of AI-Powered Event Technology
Advantages and Disadvantages of AI-Powered Event Technology for Fans and Artists
The Future of VR and AR in Live Events
Let’s dive, or should I say, go live into it!
How Do VR and AR in Live Events Improve the Experience?
Implementing AI-powered event technology such as VR and AR in live events provides numerous options to improve experiences and foster high levels of digital fan engagement. Let’s take a look at what both technologies bring to the table when used in live concerts or events.
- Virtual Reality Concerts: Virtual reality uses 3D visuals and spatial audio, or haptic feedback technology to allow attendees to experience the live events in an accurate yet personalized virtual environment based on their preferences, from the comfort of their homes.
- Augmented Reality in Live Events: Using augmented reality in live events allows overlaying digital elements into the real world. This can include projecting holograms in music performances or displaying other visual animations and effects to engage attendees.
Let’s take a closer look at how using VR and AR in live events works.
How Do VR and AR in Live Events Work?
To fully experience the transformative power of VR and AR in live events, there are certain hardware and software that users need. The most essential ones include the following:
- VR Headsets: These are the doorway to the virtual world where the concert or event takes place. By providing 360-degree live streaming, spatial audio, and head tracking, these headsets provide accurate, personalized, interactive, and immersive concert experiences to users. There are many high-quality virtual reality headsets on the market, such as the Meta Quest 3 and The Apple Vision Pro.
- AR Mobile Apps: These are platforms that allow digital elements to be overlayed into the real world, further enhancing the live experience. This provides the opportunity to boost digital fan interaction during an actual event, where fans can point their devices towards the stage to view holograms in music performances as well as a range of other digital effects. Some notable examples include Wave and Snapchat.
- Wearable Tech: Wearable technology also goes a long way in enhancing the digital experience of live events by adding an element of realism to it using haptic feedback. Haptic feedback uses touch and vibrations to deliver real-life physical sensations in the form of haptic suits or gloves. Virtual reality concerts can offer these wearable technologies to align with the beats, capturing the physical experiences such as vibrations felt when attending the actual event.
While the adoption of VR and AR in live events has become more well-known in recent years, the experimentation of these technologies to enhance live events dates back to the early 1990s. The next section will explore a few notable examples of how the use of AI-powered event technology for live events began to make waves.
The History of AI-Powered Event Technology – A Tour Through Time
Over the years, especially post-COVID-19 years, there have been multiple examples of the power of VR and AR in live events. Starting with VR, this section individually explores some notable examples of virtual reality concerts and the appearance of augmented reality in live events.
Notable Examples of Virtual Reality Concerts
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- 2006: Duran Duran, an English pop rock band became the first ever major band to hold a live virtual reality concert on the platform, Second Life, a free 3D virtual world.
- 2020: the globally popular game Fortnite partnered with rapper Travis Scott to hold Astronomical, a free virtual reality concert that brought together an attendance of over 45 million.
- 2021: Roblox, an online game platform partnered with rapper Lil Nas X to create the virtual reality concert titled, The Lil Nas X Concert Experience, which secured an attendance of 33 million.
Now let’s take a look at a few examples featuring the other major AI-powered event technology.
Notable Examples of Augmented Reality in Live Events
- 1994: The first type of live event to blend technology was theater. The performance, Dancing in Cyberspace used AR to display virtual objects on the stage for dancers and acrobats to perform with, providing viewers with a more engaging, interactive, and immersive theatrical experience.
- 2021: Canadian icon, The Weeknd held an AR concert on TikTok, one that provided an interactive and innovative way to fuel digital fan engagement by allowing fans to engage and interact with the singers’ avatar.
- 2022: The British virtual band, Gorillaz is known to use holograms in music performances, in the form of avatars resembling band members displayed in the real world. In 2022, the band used Google’s ARCore Geospatial API to display these avatars performing their single, Skinny Ape, on large screens in Times Square, New York, and Piccadilly Circus London. Using the Gorillaz Presents app, fans could follow the performance live on their devices.
These notable examples of the adoption of VR and AR in live events are a testament to the numerous benefits these groundbreaking technologies provide for fans and musicians alike. However, there are certain challenges for both parties involved as well. The next section explores these aspects deeply.
Advantages and Disadvantages of AI-Powered Event Technology for Fans and Artists
Starting with the positives, let’s explore how using VR and AR in live events impacts both fans and musicians.
Advantages of AI-Powered Event Technology for Fans
- Convenient and Personalized Experiences: Fans can attend virtual reality concerts from the comfort of their homes, sparing them the headaches involved in physically attending. To top that, these concerts can also offer personalized streaming options, allowing fans to tailor the environment to their needs. When it comes to augmented reality in live events, fans can choose the effects or animations of their choice to enhance their experience.
- Enhanced Level of Digital Fan Engagement: In most traditional live concerts or events, the element of interaction is minimal, and the majority of the viewer experience is a passive one. Using VR and AR for live events gives the viewers a more actionable role, allowing them to adjust their viewing angles, interact with other fans, and in some cases, even meet and greet the virtual avatars of the performing artist or artists.
- Greater Accessibility for Fans Everywhere: Through shared emotions and experiences, an artist may be able to impact the lives of people all around the globe. Unfortunately, many of those fans may be limited by boundaries such as borders, ticket costs, or sickness which may cause them to miss out on traditional live events featuring their favorite artists. This is where these technologies can help such fans get in on the vibe, by bridging physical barriers and sparing fans a large amount of expenses.
Now, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies for music artists.
Advantages of AI-Powered Event Technology for Musicians
- More Revenue Streams: Artists can leverage these technologies to grow their revenue streams in multiple ways such as by selling virtual tickets, locally and internationally, and exclusive digital merchandise such as avatars, or devising different pricing plans for exclusive features such as post-event meet and greet.
- Higher Level of Global Reach: The use of VR and AR in live events bridges borders and allows artists to grow their fanbase beyond what was previously possible. It also adds up to greater revenue in the form of international virtual ticket sales, which would not be possible with traditional live events.
- Breaking Down Creative Limitations: The potential of VR and AR is immense when it comes to creative application across musical performances and videos. From enhancing visual appeal to a wide range of special effects, these technologies can provide musicians with the creative freedom to challenge norms and make their performances memorable.
Disadvantages of AI-Powered Event Technology for Fans and Musicians
- Physical Discomfort in VR Headsets: VR headsets can get uncomfortable for fans after an extended period of use since they apply constant pressure to the head. They can also cause dizziness, nausea, headaches, or eye strain which may negatively impact the live event experience.
- High Level of Technical Dependence: Whether it’s attending virtual reality concerts or overlaying the effects of augmented reality in live events, both call for constant availability of a high-speed internet connection and hardware such as headsets or mobile devices. Any technical issues in either could impact the live event experience for both fans and the artist.
- The Fueling of Digital Divide: Aspects such as the high costs of VR headsets and devices, the lack of compatibility of devices to support AR features, and the digital literacy gap can all play a huge role in further fueling the already large digital divide since they may limit certain people from enjoying digital live events.
The Future of VR and AR in Live Events
Since the implementation of AI-powered event technology has recently caught speed, we have just scratched the surface of what is possible.
As technologies such as 6G connectivity, cloud platforms, and VR and AR continue to advance, countless further applications will highlight what they can bring to live events.
Here are some of the most expected trends that may emerge:
- Hyper Immersive Real-Time Experiences: The power of the upcoming 6G connectivity paired with the processing power of cloud platforms will allow viewers to enjoy highly immersive, real-time experiences with minimal latency, and carry out a seamless overlay of digital elements onto the real world.
- Hybrid Live Event Models: Live events in the future will possibly fuse the best of the digital and the physical realms, resulting in the creation of a hybrid event model where fans have the freedom to choose whether they want to attend the event in the form of a virtual reality concert or enhance their experience by applying features of augmented reality in live events after attending in person.
- Democratization of AI-Powered Event Technology: As the preference for VR and AR devices grows, the costs of adoption of these devices among fans and musicians will go down. This may result in innovations such as entirely virtual concert halls or event spaces that will allow people to attend events remotely from anywhere in the world, possibly supported by technologies such as haptic feedback that add realism.
Whatever the future brings our way, one thing is certain, we must brace ourselves for exciting possibilities that will redefine how we attend and enjoy live events.
