Nowadays, the digital and the virtual are more and more an integral part of our lives. Experiences in the metaverse are gradually diversifying, and we have seen in the last few years music being integrated into it.
Last March, Epic Games, the American giant of the development and distribution of video games, including the famous Fortnite, announced that creators of Fortnite islands would be paid according to the engagement on their content created on the game.
What if it was possible for artists to take advantage of it from now on? Will video games become a new source of income for artists?
The introduction of remuneration for Fortnite island creators
On Fortnite, players can create maps accessible to others, called “islands”. There are thousands of island creators on the game, including classic players, influencers, or even brands. Until now, the creation of these maps was not paid and was simply done by passionates. Today, this passion will finally be rewarded: Epic Games has announced its willingness to pay creators 40% of Fortnite revenue generated by engagement on their map, including purchases made on the Fortnite Item Store. To be eligible for this payout, players simply need to be 18 years or older, and have a Fortnite account for more than 90 days.
The rise of virtual music experiences
But Fortnite is not the only platform to offer its players this possibility: we could see for example on its competitor Roblox immersive virtual experiences created by artists for their fans. Roblox allows its players to create their own mini-games, not an island like Fortnite, but mini-games integrated into the video game. For a long time, there have been many player-creators on the platform. And for the past few years, just like on Fortnite, players from the music industry have been taking advantage of these features. We could thus find on Roblox several artists having set up immersive virtual experiences for their fans.
Here are some examples of experiences offered by players in the music industry on these platforms.
Travis Scott:
In April 2020, during the lockdown, Travis Scott performed on Fortnite a historic concert marking the alliance between music and video games. Gathering no less than 12 million players for the occasion, the rapper offered his fans eight minutes of interpretation of his songs and unreleased ones. It was the first concert given in the metaverse.
Zara Larsson:
In May 2021, Zara Larsson held a virtual concert on Roblox to promote her album Poster Girl. In addition to the show, the players attending had the opportunity to buy items related to the artist on the game and to participate in several activities such as interactive quizzes.
O2 Globe, Universal Music UK, Island Records UK:
In June 2021, Epic Games partnered with O2 Globe, Universal Music UK and Island Records UK to recreate on Fortnite the famous London stadium: the O2 Arena. The objective was to offer an interactive virtual experience with a show by the alt pop group Easy Life. Six different spaces could be visited by the players and were inspired by some songs of the band.
Twenty One Pilots:
In September 2021, the band performed the Twenty One Pilots Concert Experience, an immersive virtual concert on Roblox, during which fans participating in the experience could purchase exclusive merch.
David Guetta:
In partnership with Warner Music Group Wonder Works Studio, David Guetta was able to perform a 45-minute DJ set on Roblox in February 2022, which included DJ battles, dance battles, and a Q&A session with his fans, all in an intergalactic universe filled with neon lights and holograms.
iHeartMedia:
In September 2022, iHeartMedia created its iHeartLand island on Fortnite to offer a virtual concert of the artist Charlie Puth. This first concert in the metaverse for the media was also followed by an interactive game between the artist and his fans to test their knowledge on his music.
The Kid LAROI:
Last January, The Kid LAROI created his Wild Dreams island on Fortnite, on which players could live an immersive musical experience retracing his journey. Visitors of the island could discover new songs. Merchandise outfits were also available in the game’s item store. Finally, a virtual performance of the artist was given, with both his most famous songs and his new unreleased songs.
Music and video games: a competitive market?
In short, there are plenty of interactive music experiences on video games. And thanks to Epic Games’ update, all the owners of Fortnite islands will now be paid, even if this was not their primary goal: good news for everyone.
Maybe this concept will make artists think about creating their own immersive virtual experience, inviting their fans to it, and then generating revenues?
In any case, Epic Games and music are extremely linked here, but this is not the first time. In fact, the American giant had bought in 2022 Bandcamp, an online music store highlighting independent artists.
So what will be the brand’s next moves into music? Will Epic Games become more than just a video game developer? To be continued…
