AR and the Changing Face of Live Music
Over the past few years, we've seen augmented reality (AR) tech make some significant marks on the music industry. Throughout the pandemic, while we were stuck inside, AR flourished, doing its best to remind us of the traditional music events we knew and loved. Flash forward to 2022, and we're starting to see how AR will hold its place in the world of on-ground, in-person live events.
Last month, Flume’s live-streamed Coachella set made waves when it featured some fascinating, ginormous AR parrots, only visible to online viewers.
Last year, we wrote about streaming music events during the pandemic, and how that left a bittersweet taste in our mouths. While it was thrilling to watch artists take to Covid-safe stages, there was a festival-shaped void left in our hearts. But now, as we enjoy the luxury of returning to traditional events, we’re appreciating how AR can be used compliment live music.
The Coachella AR experience wasn’t limited to online viewers either. Punters could also visit the Coachellaverse, which featured geo-specific AR experiences, AR portals and and AR Wayfinder to help guide them to on-site locations.
Earlier this week, Live Nation announced its partnership with Snap, which will see the companies join forces to bring AR to live music events. The collaboration will allow punters to use AR to try on merch and find their friends. Could this really be the end of rash t-shirt purchases and the dreaded undelivered ‘meet @ campsite’ text message? Punters at Lollapalooza, Wireless Festival, Rolling Loud and The Governers Ball, will be the first to trial the features, so they’ll have to let us know.
As the year progresses and more AR tech is integrated into live music events, it's clear that AR is here to stay.
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Last week, IFPI shared the Engaging with Music Report 2022, which features a collection of data sourced from 44,000 respondents, aged 16-64.