Over the last year, 大象传媒 Radio 1鈥檚 New Music Show with Jack Saunders has been hosting an innovative series of immersive live gigs with artists like Gardna, Charlotte Plank and Sam Tompkins. We鈥檝e done this through a new type of partnership with Bristol-based tech company Condense, and I want to share some detail on how we鈥檙e working with them.
Immersive live gigs are sessions with a difference 鈥� where fans at home feel like they鈥檙e in the room with the artist as they perform by entering a virtual venue called the New Music Portal.
The New Music Portal enables the 大象传媒 to bring the best of our performances to younger audiences who are increasingly spending time in these sorts of game-like online environments. In fact, they鈥檝e already seen massively popular music events in spaces like Fortnite 鈥� young people in their millions have gone to online concerts from megastars like Travis Scott, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.
Using Condense鈥檚 technology, we can give artists access to this technology at a much earlier stage of their career 鈥� and give their fans an experience they can鈥檛 get anywhere else. Artists鈥� performances are captured and live-streamed as 鈥渢rue-to-life鈥� video, and fans can join live events as an avatar on their mobile or laptop and move around the venue like a video game. This lets artists and their fans 鈥媠ee and interact with each other live, from anywhere, offering an unprecedented level of connection, community and engagement.
Nick Fellingham, Condense鈥檚 CEO describes the results: 鈥淭his partnership positions 大象传媒 audiences at the very forefront of the evolution of what it means to be a music fan in an age where people all over the world can now come together in-game to experience live music. You can attend a gig with your cousin who lives hundreds of miles away and share a real moment with your favourite artist through the New Music Portal.鈥�
In May, Sam Tompkins treated fans to a special performance in the New Music Portal. It was the first time Sam had performed in a virtual environment, and he said of the experience: 鈥淭he more that this technology moves on, the more we鈥檙e going to get closer to that live experience and I think that鈥檚 so special. This is a much more accessible way for people to hear live music and I鈥檓 all for that.鈥�
This is how it works: An artist performs in a 鈥渃apture area鈥� which ensures every movement is picked up using Condense鈥檚 capture system. The performance is transformed, live into a 3D model and streamed into the virtual venue where it can be viewed from any angle.
To watch the gig, fans simply go to bbc.co.uk/jack, where they choose an avatar as they enter the New Music Portal 鈥� no specialist equipment needed, just a normal phone or laptop will work. Once they鈥檙e in the virtual venue they can move around the artist as they perform and interact with them and other gig goers using in-game emotes and dance moves. While the artist is performing, they can see the virtual audiences鈥� avatars too, and can build a real connection between themselves and the audience by giving shout outs and interacting with fans as they might do at a real gig.
Condense鈥檚 technology also provides us with the option to pre-record performances where we choose to and play them back 鈥渁s live鈥� to audiences in the virtual venue, allowing us to experiment more with types of content and events that will benefit from pre-production.
These immersive gigs are going to be a regular part of 大象传媒 Radio 1鈥檚 New Music Show with Jack Saunders going forward, with more performances coming up over the summer with a host of exciting artists.
As well as the music gigs, partnering with Condense also enables us to explore other ways we can use their technology to bring great live and immersive experiences to audiences. We鈥檝e established a dedicated team 鈥媡o 鈥媏xplore opportunities in sport, education, news and more.
The 大象传媒 has a long history of collaborations where we have worked with an external organisation to help us innovate and bring audiences fantastic experiences using cutting edge technologies.
This partnership is different though. We鈥� 鈥媓ave invested 拢500,000 in Condense to ensure that as they grow and build on their success the 大象传媒 stands to benefit. Jo Sherlock, 大象传媒 group rights and commercial director will be Condense鈥檚 key contact with the 大象传媒 and she will help to shape the growth of the partnership as an observer on the Condense board.
By partnering in this way, we can rapidly explore new ways to engage younger audiences who don't regularly come to the 大象传媒. We can pioneer and shape the next evolution of content creation, and by investing in this Bristol-based startup, the 大象传媒 is backing British creativity, innovation, and technology.
We said earlier this year that we will need to work more strategically with the best tech companies to co-create solutions and form business partnerships that save money, inject capital and create better products. It鈥檚 an ambitious plan, not just to nurture the 大象传媒 but to support the UK, partnering with others and growing the creative industries.
This is us doing just that. Condense鈥檚 expertise, technology, and experience in immersive live events makes them the best partner for us to work with to bring the best of the 大象传媒 to audiences in new and exciting ways.
The partnership is already delivering value for viewers and we are looking forward to using gaming as a new way to get our content to audiences. I look forward to seeing you soon inside 大象传媒 Radio 1鈥檚 New Music Portal.