2021 Emerging Leaders — AmazeVR’s Eric J. Krueger

Eric Krueger joined AmazeVR in 2018 as a Creative Producer to develop VR narratives, interactive features, and subscription-based video applications for the VR startup. Eventually, as the market and company developed, Amaze began to expand into the music space, which has become increasingly tied to immersive tech throughout the pandemic.

“VR and music performance go hand-in-hand by giving audiences the intimate feeling of sharing a room with their favorite artist as they perform,” says Krueger. AmazeVR is now working on creating VR concerts that connect artists with their fans and recently announced that its first VR concert experience would be with Megan Thee Stallion, releasing in theaters early next year.

Earlier this year, Krueger was promoted to Head of Creative, and now leads a team of music, tech, and immersive professionals to build VR concerts. “The beauty is that little challenges are different every day while the end goal is the same — we bring people closer to the artist through our immersive technologies,” he says.

Krueger shares that getting people on board with that vision has been one of the company’s biggest challenges throughout the past year and a half. “Initially, we had our tech, a headset, and our distribution model, but something like this had never been done before. It was Roc Nation who first took a shot on us to develop our initial VR concert,” he explains. “After our first VR concert, we created amazing opportunities as we brought in artists, management, labels, and exhibitors to show them what we were capable of. Now, we are working with some of the top talents in the music industry and defining what a VR concert can be.”

As AmazeVR continues to innovate and more and more artists are looking to join the metaverse, Krueger hopes to see the company become an integral part of the audience experience for different music artists worldwide within the next few years.

“We are creating a one-of-a-kind VR concert experience that allows fans to engage with their favorite artists' creative style and music in ways that have never been experienced before,” he says. “Once audiences see this new medium, it will be something they look for as an essential part of artist engagements.”

For Krueger, the future of events and experiences can be summed up in one word: connected. The younger generations have never known a world without the internet or a global community. “I imagine that the events of the future will continue to democratize and offer more availability and more opportunity to those interested in attending them,” he says. “I cannot wait to see how we continue to bring people together in person and through technology to facilitate new experiences and events the world of yesterday couldn't possibly imagine.”

Krueger draws inspiration from many other VR event industry figures, including Colin Northway, Robin Stethem, and the Museum of Other Realities team for their incredible work bringing events into the virtual space; Rene Pinnell, for his fantastic with Kaleidoscope, Artizen, and MOR to bring together creators from around the globe and create endless opportunities for them; and the Entire Tender Claws team for their work with NYC Theater collective Piehole on The Under Presents.

Outside of work, one of Krueger and his wife’s favorite activities is getting a group of friends together and playing strategy board games. “Every so often,” he notes, “it feels good to put the tech aside and spend time with the people you enjoy.”