While the metaverse is still in its infancy, it has already shown the potential to transform the world of entertainment forever. According to Bloomberg, the global metaverse market was worth $478.7 billion in 2020 with projections to reach $783.3 billion by 2024. The magnitude of its impact was first demonstrated in 2020 by Travis Scott’s concert performance on Fortnite, which was watched by 45.8 million people and generated over $20 million, according to Forbes.
But what is the metaverse?
As the next frontier of the internet, the metaverse refers to the rise of online 3D or virtually integrated environments and provides users access to virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. Ultimately, the metaverse has the potential to transfigure the fundamental nature of digital media consumption and social interactions for anyone with an internet connection.
How does this impact the entertainment industry?
With the metaverse, the future is now. By taking your virtual self – your avatar – and using it to enjoy and achieve the things you want on the internet rather than in the real world, the metaverse removes physical barriers to allow millions of people to enjoy immersing themselves in live gigs without leaving the house.
For the entertainment industry, the metaverse holds endless possibilities. The future of entertainment in the metaverse is influenced by three key verticals: unlocking individual creativity, exploring immersive experiences and storytelling, and building new worlds.
Unlocking individual creativity
The metaverse has already begun reaping benefits from individuals wanting to develop and personalize their own avatars, opening a new level of digital creativity. As reported by J.P. Morgan, $54 billion is spent on virtual goods every year – and augmenting avatars has been a part of this industry for years.
As the metaverse develops further, new ways to engage creativity will surface. This can include buying large gifts with personalised “fireworks” or other representations of recognition for a performer, an audience member, or even the person hosting the virtual venue.
A major component of this ecosystem will be cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum, as it eases purchasing processes for decorating avatars. It also ensures unique items (i.e., NFTs) can’t be stolen by recording ownership on a ledger, so they can be sold later.
Metaverse avatars are another key component. Users who want to perform or chat about their entertainment passions in a festival community, spend money to decorate their avatars with “charms”. Spending also increases a user’s reputation in the app and unlocks extra functionality. The higher this level is, the greater the benefit; they receive a different status and respect whenever they go into a different festival venue environment.
In the future, interoperability of the metaverse will likely bring new ways of moving your avatar, its decorations, and unique items that you own between platforms. For instance, instead of logging into different apps with your Google username and password, in the future users will use one metaverse account on different platforms. As a result, users will have access to a metaverse digital wallet by which they’ll buy subscriptions or tickets on metaverse entertainment platforms. When users attend a show in the virtual world, others will be able to tell a lot about them from the way they’ve accessorised their avatar and by the status of their online persona.
Immersive experiences and storytelling
The metaverse has gained popularity over tphysical events because it enables an audience to interact with entertainers in ways that are not typically viable in real life. Fans can effectively talk to performers during a show through text, by making comments via a mobile app, simultaneously enabling the performers to respond.
The next stage of this could be to have audience members jump on stage via a VR headset or mobile phone. As wearable technology enters the metaverse, physical interaction will also become possible. For instance, sensor-fitted bodysuits will enable performers to shake your hand and feel it.
Additionally, the metaverse will offer increasingly exciting ways to be a virtual content creator or part of a like-minded team of enthusiast producers who put metaverse events together for the enjoyment of others.
So what does the virtual world offer these creator and producer segments? It takes away the pressure or prejudice that performers have on how they look in real life. They can instead appear as their avatar, and get judged on the quality of their performance – not their appearance.
Building new worlds
One of the most talked-about metaverse applications is the ability to build new worlds and environments for us to explore. It offers spectacular settings and dazzling backdrops for any virtual performance, without the cost of travel to exotic real-world locations. This gives creators the freedom to set up their environments as they see fit, and as a result, to allow their personalities to shine through.
Essentially, the metaverse enables kindred spirits from anywhere in the world of entertainment to meet, unite and put on events that fellow consumers of those passion points can enjoy. These virtual producer teams will bring their differing expertise to build upon and remix the art forms generated by others, ensuring that even those who aren’t natural-born entertainers will still have a wonderful role to play.
The metaverse is the ideal platform for the entertainment industry because it eliminates real-world restrictions, and allows like-minded people to connect and produce “perfect” content for others. Both as spectators and performers, users can become part of specialist communities dependent on their avatars and their preferences.
When envisioning the future of entertainment, the evolution of the metaverse will offer infinite possibilities.
Gary Knight is the CEO of WOLF (The World’s Online Festival)
