What does VR mean for musicians and their fans?

Well, a whole lot.

For starters, music no longer needs to be a passive experience. It can fully interactive, gamified, social and physical. By physical, I don't mean dancing, I mean hearing frequencies through your body outside the range of human hearing. More on that in a bit. My music project Cymatic Empire is a research & development project looking to re-invent the album. Our objective is the identify and package up the perfect combination of technologies, that translates into something of fans are willing to pay good money for. If you are like me, then you miss a physical CD. From the amazing artwork to studying the booklet insert.

When I ran had my record label, the artwork was incredibly important. The time I took to unpack the theme and present the designer with a story, a narrative that helped them create an amazing piece of artwork could be days or weeks. Now, this story doesn't just need to to be what I hand over to an artist in a design brief. That artist can be as integral to the band as the producer, drummer or guitarist. This story can now be a whole universe fans can explore and interact with.

When thinking back to when I was conceptualising the bellow album covers and think about what they could have been as VR experiences, my heart skips a beat.

Rather than spell out what we plan to do with the Cymatic Empire project, today I'd just like to share with you some examples of the technologies we'll be using and let your own imagination connect the dots.

Microdose VR by Android Jones

This is an example of how you migh interact with a fully audio reactive 'Music Video' within VR.

Subpac

I will never forget the day I walked into the Subpac office in San Fransisco and tried it for the first time. Our ears cant hear below a certain frequency range. But that information is there, we just can't hear it. So imagine having a subwoofer strapped to your back that enables you to 'sense' those bass frequencies through your body. Suddenly you can perceive an entirely new dimension of the song previously not possible. If you are into bass music, then your life will change with a Subpac.

Julius Horsthuis - Fraktaal

Possibly the best fractal artist in the world. Julius' work is what inspired the story behind Cymatic Empire. If you were to imagine the worlds you might explore in our experiences, it would look a lot like this.

Noys VR

This is an interesting way to perform live shows. Will report on first impressions when I get to have a play.

Soundstage

As a producer, the ability to not be confined by my monitors, and have infinite realistic with which to construct a Virtual Studio brings a little tear to the eye. Will also do a video on my experience with Soundstage VR sometime in the future.

Thoughts?

Are you music or visual artist? A music fan or tech enthusiast?
Let me know what you think about all how you see creativity evolving in coming years.