Features
Virtual Reality Concerts? Yeah, They’re Here
YouTube uploaded a blog post April 18 that got little attention. Too bad; all it did was announce how we will watch live entertainment in the future.
The announcement was eclipsed by media recaps of the first weekend of Coachella. It said YouTube was bringing something new to the April 22-24 installment.
“Today, we’re taking immersive video even further with 360-degree live streaming on YouTube,” the company’s for a virtual tour of the new arena. Still, Pollstar found that many people inside and outside the industry were still being introduced to VR and the headsets.
In fact, a representative of Coachella’s promoter, Goldenvoice, said the company expected festivalgoers would be equally unenlightened with VR. To offset that, each festivalgoer was mailed a cardboard viewer in their “Welcome Box,” which normally contains their wristbands.
Dean Kamen – creator of the AutoSyringe and the Segway – once used the analogy of a person clinging to a galloping horse to describe how quickly technology is advancing and how difficult it is for the common person to keep up with it. Even as this article was written, there were significant advancements in VR.
For instance, on May 12, GoPro and Google announced its 16-lens, $15,000 Odyssey – a 360-degree camera that puts VR technology into the hands of filmmakers with modest budgets (an equivalent camera cost $60,000).
On the same day, HumanEyes announced a 360-degree camera called Vuze VR that will run $799 when it comes out in the fall. Representatives for NextVR were not available at press time.
Pollstar asked Juan Santillan, CEO of Vantage.tv., a few questions about virtual reality.
In fact, a representative of Coachella’s promoter, Goldenvoice, said the company expected festivalgoers would be equally unenlightened with VR. To offset that, each festivalgoer was mailed a cardboard viewer in their “Welcome Box,” which normally contains their wristbands.
It feels like something is happening lately, and quickly.
To be honest, I think you’re only noticing it because you’re doing an article on it. But, for the last year, the growth, the explosion, the dynamics of the market are just incredible. You have GoPro involved, YouTube and Google involved, Nokia, Sony, Facebook. There is a big revolution with a lot of money coming in. More importantly, there is a lot of entrepreneurship.
What about the YouTube announcement on April 18. What did that mean to you?
It was big. We did the first live streaming for YouTube that second weekend of Coachella. We were very happy to be part of a little grain of history by contributing live-streaming 16 bands over three days.
Anything else about the future?
I think Vantage.tv’s mission is to give access to the fans who would otherwise be impossible to attend these events. We’re working on creating a better way to distribute this content live but one of our slogans is giving them “the best seat in the house” for any time and any place. I can’t say much but, in the next three months, we’re launching a platform with a lot of events that people will be able to enjoy live and on demand.