Second Life maker partners with EDM label on VR shows

Sansar, a ‘social VR’ platform developed by Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life, has joined forces with influential indie label Monstercat to create Monstercat: Call of the Wild Experience, a virtual world that will connect the dance label’s roster with their fans in virtual reality (VR).

Described as “a first-of-its-kind collaboration that changes the face of live concerts and gaming”, Call of the Wild Experience launches on 12 July, when Monstercat will throw a virtual party to celebrate its eighth birthday, with performances from more than a dozen Monstercat artists.

In addition to offering a venue for virtual concerts, Call of the Wild Experience will also host artist meet-and-greets, giveaways and ‘exclusive fan quests’, says Linden Lab.

At its height, Second Life – launched by San Francisco-based Linden in 2003, and one of the first online virtual worlds – had around a million regular users, including major businesses, brands, universities, religious institutions and even countries (in 2007, the Maldives became the first nation to open an embassy; Sweden following suit shortly after).

It also hosted a number of virtual performances by major artists, including Duran Duran, Suzanne Vega and, perhaps most famously, U2, in the late 2000s.

Virtual concerts were thrust into the mainstream once more earlier this year when Marshmello performed inside Fornite, which reportedly became the most-attended ‘concert’ in history, with more than ten million people tuning in.

“This is the future of live music, and we’re excited to have Monstercat on board”

With Sansar, Linden Lab hopes to revolutionise how fans see shows, providing the capability for artists to broadcast their performances to an unlimited number of people, while allowing performers to monetise their work through ticketing and virtual commerce, says Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab.

“Partnerships like these help us realise the very best of what virtual reality has to offer: access, connection, immersion [and] the feeling that we’re part of something bigger, no matter who we are or where we live,” comments Altberg.

“With the Call of the Wild Experience, we’re giving fans all over the world the chance to connect in a shared experience with other fans and the artists they love – but more than that, we’re using gaming to elevate the concert experience, [through] questing, raffles, special in-game prizes, across both VR and PC.

“This is the future of live music, and we’re excited to have Monstercat on board.”

“We’re offering our fans something truly unique in the Monstercat: Call of the Wild Experience – their own space to meet, connect and share creative ideas with each other,” adds Dan Scarcelli, head of programming at Monstercat, which released Marshmello’s platinum-selling ‘Alone’ in 2016.

“Social VR has the power to transform how communities gather online, and we’re thrilled to be leading the charge with Sansar.”

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