The company that represents musicians such as Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers has announced intentions to create a metaverse arena and theme park.
Warner Music Group (WMG) is envisioning a future of virtual concerts in the metaverse, announcing today a partnership with forthcoming Ethereum game The Sandbox to establish a music-themed section inside the shared online game environment.
The big record company will utilise its virtual LAND plots in the game to develop a location that doubles as a music-themed amusement park and a venue for its artists’ performances. It is the first time a label of this kind has been granted placement in a metaverse game.
Warner has made no announcements on which musicians will perform and/or feature in The Sandbox. The company has signed hundreds of artists across its many imprints, including Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Meek Mill, Weezer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Sales of digital land have soared recently, due to increased interest in crypto games and Facebook’s significant foray into the metaverse. However, Ethereum-based metaverse games like The Sandbox and Decentral are available.
The Sandbox is an Ethereum-based metaverse game in which users may acquire LAND offered as NFT assets and then personalise and monetise them inside the game. Sales of virtual land have risen in recent months in response to Facebook’s massive metaverse announcement. Investors acquired more than $100 million worth of virtual land in a single week in late November, the bulk of which came from The Sandbox.
Over 200 businesses and celebrities have already worked with the game’s designers, including Snoop Dogg, The Walking Dead, Adidas, Atari, Steve Aoki, and The Smurfs. In March, The Sandbox will organise a property auction to allow gamers to acquire plots close to those owned by Warner Music Group.
“There is so much possibility here,” Oana Ruxandra, WMG’s chief digital officer and vice president of business development, told Decrypt over email. Artists might, for example, sell NFT artefacts through The Sandbox, including those that provide access to special advantages or experiences. Additionally, the spokesperson referenced virtual concerts, listening parties, award ceremonies, and other in-game live engagements.
“We’re also considering customised experience design and game creation,” Ruxandra said, “which will clearly be a more restricted option, but one that we’re quite excited about.”
Snoop Dogg—who has his own Doggy Style Records label—previously used a similar strategy in The Sandbox. He gave out and sold NFT party tickets to an impending metaverse concert, offered for sale NFT avatars, and auctioned LAND parcels near his in-game mansion. One such plot fetched about $450,000 in cryptocurrencies.
Warner Music Group announced a collaboration with Genies in April. Genies is a firm that develops cartoon-like avatars and sells them on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain. WMG artists will be transformed into Genies avatars as part of the cooperation.
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