New York, NY, United States, 10/06/2021 / Top Wire News /
Roblox has hosted immersive virtual concerts over the past year with artists like Twenty One Pilots and Lil Nas X. Now, the gaming platform has gone one step further by inviting artists to entire albums through virtual listening parties.
Roblox has teamed with Grammy-nominated musical chameleon Poppy and her record label Sumerian records for the first listening party and has decided to stream her brand-new album Flux on the gaming platform starting 24th September. Music from the album will be integrated through nine popular Roblox games. These games collectively boast more than 3 billion visits. The fans of these games can listen to the music as they dance in RoBeats, attend Robloxian High School, or explore the Creatures of Sonora.
Roblox vice president and global head of music Jon Vlassopulos said “Music is such a natural part of the way we express ourselves, entertain ourselves, and find connections with other people, and we want to keep finding new ways to make music more of an integral part of the Roblox experience,” he further added that “Allowing Poppy’s fans to enjoy her new album Flux where they are already spending time with their friends seemed like a no-brainer, and our developers have jumped at the opportunity to participate.”
Poppy will also join her fans virtually in the linked games to answer questions about her album and will offer Roblox users two exclusive virtual merchandise items for free. Poppy said in a statement “I feel fortunate to make music in a time like this. Roblox is a platform with endless possibilities and seemed like a perfect place to launch my new album.”
While Sumerian Records Chief strategy officer Jill Pedone said in a statement that “Poppy already has a fan base on Roblox, thus making the game platform an ideal place to premiere the album”. She further added that “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to help our artists break through the noise and reach fans where they already are,”
As a character born on the internet, Poppy is a natural fit for the Roblox metaverse. When Poppy emerged as a YouTube phenomenon in 2017 (as a project of multimedia artist Moriah Pereira), her eerie videos led viewers to question if the character was human or a computer-generated image. While performing as Poppy, Pereira has since then released critically acclaimed albums across different genres, from her bubblegum pop debut Poppy. Computer to the heavy metal album I Disagree, which also made her the first solo female artist to be ever nominated for the best metal performance Grammy award at the 2021 ceremony of the awards.
The listening party feature is the latest step in Roblox’s pursuit of the music industry. Although Roblox does not has broad music licensing deals with labels and publishers, it has partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment and BMG to bring their artists into the game and Warner Music Group is an investor in Roblox.
Source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/9635709/roblox-listening-parties-stream-albums-artists
Source: Story.KISSPR.com
