Editor’s note: This is the third installment of Beats, Bytes and Brands, a monthly column on the newest trends and activations converging across the music industry and brand marketing.
Despite popular interest from marketers, the metaverse is not a catch-all phrase. The metaverse merely describes individual virtual worlds, such as Roblox and Decentraland, which together make up the broader hyperverse. Today’s hyperverse strategy is typically one where brands select one metaverse over another—with the mindset of building a long-term presence within that virtual world.
Spotify recently became the first digital streaming platform to launch a metaverse presence in Roblox through Spotify Island, which allows users to mingle with artists and unlock exclusive content. Shortly thereafter, CitizenM became the first hotel group to purchase land in The Sandbox as it begins to build virtual hotel spaces.
As innovation and capital push metaverse platforms closer together, marketers must consider strategies that cut through multiple metaverses at scale. The solution may very well be music. Music has been so popular across metaverse platforms that, according to a recent survey by Morning Consult, 45% of adults would listen to live music in the metaverse, making it more appealing than live sports and shopping.
Not only can music connect branded virtual worlds at scale, but it will also create new opportunities for marketers to interact and engage with consumers in the hyperverse. We spoke with brand marketers and executives who suggested three ways in which music’s synergy across the hyperverse will influence marketing strategy in virtual worlds.
Direct-to-avatar marketing
In Web2, consumers represent themselves online through limited features like profile pictures and social usernames. As consumers begin to adopt the metaverse in Web3, digital identities will be crafted through avatars, which may better represent the brand that consumers want to self-identify with. In Roblox, users update their avatars’ clothing on a daily basis to authentically express themselves online.
For brands, connecting and communicating with consumers’ avatars through music has been quite effective. Samsung recently partnered with artist Charli XCX to deliver a concert in Roblox where she’ll appear in the Samsung Superstar Galaxy universe. Participants in the Samsung event will not only experience the concert, but they will also have unique opportunities to use a virtual Samsung smartphone by snapping in-game selfies of their avatars to be shared across Web2 social platforms.
Samsung will also gamify the concert for fans. Leading up to the event, fans who complete specific tasks will be rewarded with pop icon-inspired items for their avatars. Leveraging music as a social touch point to connect with avatars is a great entry point in building authentic relationships that can transcend an individual metaverse.
“People are craving new forms of self-expression and digital connection,” said Tara Naughton, PR agency MikeWorldWide’s chief marketing and business development officer. “Through avatars and digital possessions, the metaverse is creating a rich canvas for people to experiment and engage in new ways with brands. Considerations for how people feel and dress at virtual events are happening now.”
Greater demand for digital goods
The demand for digital goods is growing. A total of $54 billion was spent on virtual goods in 2021. The method by which virtual goods are being released depends on the brand and the metaverse in which the digital good exists.
Decentraland launched the first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week in March, which featured more than 60 participating brands, artists and designers. The event, which saw over 108,000 virtual attendees in three days, allowed users to buy virtual wearables from the runway. At the same time, flagship stores encouraged users to dress their avatars for afterparty events, where artists like Nicki Nicole, Blond:ish, Bob Sinclar and Icykof performed.
“Any brand that sells status-signaling products like expensive handbags or rare sneakers has an immediate and obvious need to show up in virtual spaces,” said Geoff Sawyer, video games agent at UTA. “If we ever arrive at a point where one wallet can house all of a person’s virtual possessions and they can seamlessly carry, wear, display and use those possessions in any virtual space, then every brand will need to have a Web3 strategy.”
Intertwined virtual brand communities
Communities are the threads that connect a branded metaverse world. Consumers are looking for a balanced relationship in metaverse communities that allows the brand to extract value while also returning value.
For brands like PacSun, this notion of a mutually beneficial digital community took shape through Pacworld, launched on Roblox with gaming partner Melon. The brand allowed its consumers to own and operate their own virtual malls with the objective of making them as profitable and popular as possible. Players were able to create and remove shops, upgrade the shops that did well, decorate the mall to attract more customers and even invite their friends to visit.
“We view our audience as the cultural pioneers of the future,” said Brieane Olson, president of PacSun. “Consumers are more digitally connected and savvy than ever before, and we recognize that audiences like Gen Z value community and accessibility more than any other generation. That is why PACWORLD’s space in Roblox is so important, because it’s our way of creating an even stronger emotional resonance as a brand.”
Beyond gaming, music made itself a cornerstone of community-building in the metaverse. To date, some of the most well-attended events have been branded concerts, such as Lil Nas X’s concert in Roblox, which drew an astounding 33 million viewers. It is this passionate music community that has pushed brands like Logitech to sponsor the first-ever music awards show on Roblox.
“Our priority is in helping creators to pursue their passions, to recognize their ability to shape culture and empower them to make change,” said Meridith Rojas, global head of talent and entertainment at Logitech. “We have a saying: ‘We make the tools, creators change the world.'”
Future opportunities in the hyperverse
Although the hyperverse is in its infancy, brands have an opportunity to be handsomely rewarded for investing in the metaverse. As Jana Arbanas, vice chair of Deloitte’s U.S. telecom, media and entertainment sector, put it, “Once hardware miniaturizes, processing power increases and price of the consumer headsets drops, the metaverse will become much more universal.”
The hyperverse is peeking around the corner. Brands that successfully leverage music as the fuel to power them through each metaverse will see big returns on investment.
