Over the past year Universal Music Group (UMG) has been gradually moving into the field of virtual reality (VR), partnering with entrepreneur Simon Fuller to bring Abba to VR, and collaborating with music platform MelodyVR. Its latest endeavour sees the company team up with immersive entertainment firm WITHIN to develop augmented reality (AR) and VR music experiences featuring artists from UMG’s roster.
The pair will work together to create multiple immersive experiences that will be distributed on WITHIN’s app, whilst integrating VR and AR across the creation, production, marketing and promotion of UMG’s new musical tracks, from the recording studio to the release parties, concert stages and more.
“Music is one of the most uniquely transformative mediums of human expression; combining it with immersive AR and VR experiences creates a new artform exponentially more powerful than the sum of its parts,” said Chris Milk, Co-Founder and CEO of WITHIN in a statement. “This partnership allows us the incredible opportunity to work with top artists at UMG to create ever more meaningful and expressive immersive music experiences.”
As yet neither UMG or WITHIN have confirmed what content will likely be seen first. But this isn’t the first time they’ve worked together as WITHIN already has two immersive experiences available from UMG artists, animated VR music video for The Chemical Brothers’ song “Under Neon Lights” featuring St. Vincent. And “KIDS” by OneRepublic which premiered worldwide through the app.
“We are huge admirers of Chris’s innovative and creative work in music and VR, as well as the premium experiences WITHIN offers to music fans,” said Michele Anthony, Executive Vice President at UMG. “Working with our labels and artists, UMG has produced numerous VR experiences and this agreement will help evolve our strategy. Together, UMG and WITHIN will push the boundaries of how audiences experience music and create new ways for artists to forge deeper connections with their fans.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of WITHIN and UMG, reporting back with the latest announcements.
via Mint VR