Does the future of live entertainment need the metaverse?

Are we still excited by live entertainment in 2022 or do we crave virtual spectacles, experienced in the metaverse from the comfort of our own homes?

Imagine you have front row seats for Cirque du Soleil, preparing to be dazzled by acrobats, aerialists, contortionists and clowns. You can almost smell the popcorn, and hear the gasps and applause. And now imagine you’re watching it through your web browser while wearing pyjamas.

Some things cannot be done remotely. Or at least not in the way you would prefer. But the world of live performances had to innovate during the pandemic and go virtual as best possible. What does this mean for the future of entertainment?

For Cirque du Soleil, at first, it meant going from 40 live shows a day to zero, going from selling tens of millions of tickets a year globally to zero.

“There’s nothing that prepares any company to go through that. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it was devastating on every level,” said Keyvan Peymani, chief brand and commercial officer for the company.

“There’s something incredible about being in an arena together … and I don’t think you replace that feeling with a digital version.”

– Keyvan Peymani, Cirque du Soleil

“It was devastating on the human level for our performers and our artists and our staff. It was devastating for our fans who expect to come to our shows and just have their minds blown and their expectations warped.”

Cirque du Soleil used the pandemic as an opportunity to connect with fans online, sharing experiences of the artist’s lives, and what it means to be in the troop. But this is all ancillary, said Keyvan. It doesn’t replace the show.

A POV experience for Cirque fans

He has thought a lot about what it means to go into the metaverse but wonders if it is the right fit. Currently, they are exploring using the camera as another character in the show, a POV kind of experience, perhaps worn by the performers and bringing the viewer along for the ride.

“When you talk about our stage shows, there’s something visceral about them. There’s something incredible about being in an arena together, or being in a big top and looking up at an artist and just seeing them do something just mind-blowingly complex. And I don’t think you replace that feeling with a digital version,” he concluded.

But the metaverse might work for other avenues of entertainment. Popstars and musicians are beginning to embrace these VR worlds as platforms for both performing live music and doing meet and greets with fans.

Popstars can make a living in Roblox

Swedish pop star Zara Larsson has tapped into this market, first partnering with online sandbox environment Roblox during the pandemic in order to promote her new album, Poster Girl. She has performed live, hosted virtual dance parties and hung out with her fans.

But what is really raking in the Robux (the Roblox currency of choice) is virtual merchandise on the back of these appearances. Zara sells her likeness in the form of an avatar with accompanying outfits, custom hairstyles and even signature dance moves.

“You can do basically whatever you want. There is no limit to creativity,” said the music artist who has, to date, made a seven-figure sum from selling these virtual objects.

Meta is working on more sophisticated VR graphics

Chris Cox, chief product officer at Meta, said the metaverse is still in the early stages but talked about the feeling of presence that can be experienced, aided by audio and visual elements that really place you in the environment.

Meta is working with Industrial Light and Magic to make it more realistic and convincing than the current version, which resembles a room full of Nintendo Wii characters.

“You get to see body language and you get spatial audio, which means you can talk over each other. You can use your hands, which is a huge part of how [people] communicate. You can lean in and change your attention based on posture,” he explained.

Now who’s laughing?: Standup comedy in the metaverse

While Meta is currently marketing this as a work tool in the form of Horizon Workrooms, it is clearly looking to expand. Chris talked about his experience attending a comedy gig in VR, calling it “one of the more compelling experiences [I’ve] had” in a virtual environment.

“One of our engineers moonlights as a standup comic …we had twenty of us in the room. Comedy is a good use case for this because watching comedy alone on a screen is not like getting people in a room and laughing together.”

“Just being in a room with co-workers and laughing together felt really like you were starting to see the beginning of something new,” he reflected.

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Main image of the Barge act performing at Cirque du Soleil’s ‘O’: Cirque du Soleil