Just in case there’s still a stubborn few who believe the future of live music events is either in-person or virtual, Roblox presents the latest evidence to the contrary: Alt music duo Twenty One Pilots is kicking off their sold-out Takeover Tour with a concert entirely within the platform—and that’s only the beginning of the co-mingling of real life and metaverse activations, promises Global Head of Music Jon Vlassopulos.
The Pilots concert drops September 17 and features band members Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun as animated avatars performing and mingling with fans. The concert follows Roblox performances by Lil Nas X, Royal Blood and Why Don’t We, and brings a swath of new features including nonlinear, personalized set lists fans select by having their avatars run to different stages.
The evolution of music in the metaverse is coming fast and furious. From virtual album drops and tour kick-off events to help hawk tickets, to activations that connect global fans around tour dates, to permanent metaverse worlds where fans can interact year-round, the ability of the virtual world to complement artists’ physical world endeavors is wide open.
“You’ll see more of these virtual events being used to kick off when tickets go on sale,” Vlassopolus notes. On the back end, “a big problem with touring is when you end, you want to keep those people excited until the next tour. So you’ll see virtual events and virtual worlds coming at the end of tours so you keep fans busy there and then you hit them up again when you’re going out on the road, as opposed to spending all that money again to get them back.”
Ultimately, he envisions music artists simply moving into the metaverse, trading up one-off events for a continuous presence where fans can partake in live shows, music games, meet-ups and more. “The smarter artists are seeing the opportunity to turn these more ephemeral worlds into more permanent worlds for artists and venues and festivals,” he says.
At Roblox, which draws 45 million users per day primarily in the 13-18-year-old demo, “We have the ability to move the needle depending on the band and depending on the demo,” Vlassopolus says. As the platform adds more music and other features, its own demo is aging up; the largest-growing segment is the 17-24 age bracket.
For performance spaces, “Maybe not everyone can get to your venue, but you can have a representation of the venue that’s not limited by physics or gravity, and build showcases there,” he says. “Festivals, radio brands, DSPs, magazine brands… hopefully in next year or two when users come on they will have hundreds of worlds to visit, whether you’re a K-Pop fan to hip-hop to country.”
Brand partnerships are also growing. Footwear company Vans recently launched a “Vans World” skatepark experience in the platform that combines skateboarding, music and subtle advertising. “If you’re a brand with an affinity to music you want to be there on a permanent basis too,” Vlassopulos says. “Why not hang out if you’re a DJ equipment brand, or if you’re Gibson Guitars.”
Interactivity on the Rise
At the same time, Roblox is upping its tech game to enable even more interactivity. The Pilots show, which will air every hour on the hour through Sunday, September 19 to enable easy access for fans across the globe, will bring theatrics, interactivity and fan participation that simply couldn’t happen off-screen.
"The Twenty One Pilots concert experience is a completely new format of interactive music experiences on Roblox,” says Oana Ruxandra, chief digital officer/EVP, business development, at the Warner Music Group, the band’s label. “It is nonlinear, it is choose-your-own-path, and it is the very reason why we have such a close partnership with Roblox. Our goal is to continue to build ever-evolving ways for our artists and fans to meet, connect and create something authentic together."
Preconcert quests were integrated into three Roblox experiences—Ultimate Driving: Westover Islands, Creatures of Sonaria, and World // Zero, which collectively count 400 million visits. Through them, fans can unlock features including a virtual tour bus and exclusive merch, and earn access to portals that bring them into the Twenty One Pilots preconcert venue. Behind-the-scenes footage detailing the creation of the virtual concert and a Q&A with the band are also integrated as part of the preconcert experience.
The activations are not only a way to amplify excitement for the show, they’re a potent in-platform marketing play.
“Basically we’re adding more Roblox into these experiences, where the community feels this is part of us, we are part of them, and it’s cross-pollinating the community which is proving to be popular,” Vlassopulos says. “We have a community of 9 million developers on the platform creating experiences, and we wanted to bring them into the action.”
For the live show, during some songs fans can alter their environment by moving around elements and spray-painting areas. In others they can grow taller or smaller. During one song, fan texts and expressions will be projected on screen among friend groups, and for another, an ode to Twenty One Pilots’ “Car Radio” live experience, every participant’s avatar will suddenly be wearing the same outfit.
“It’s a moment to bring in theatrics, interactivity and participation,” he says. “The whole show is nonlinear. You choose your own path, you have agency. If you watch a livestream or rerecord later on, it’s not the same.”