London-based virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR is buying Napster for the price tag of $70 million, TechCrunch reports. MelodyVR specializes in live virtual reality music experiences, and it plans on combining with Napster to create the "first ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming".

Virtual music events have to offer things that other types of entertainment can’t - Music x Tech x Future says, suggesting 8 ways to make live-streams different and better (The Streets went in that directions, NME says it was great):

Lying around a (virtual) venue or invisibly teleporting on to the stage to see what the artists are doing

Make events interactive among fans

Make 'em in a virtual environment

Real direct interaction between the artist and the fan

Create social meaning by bringing scenes and communities together online

Watching a show online with faraway friends will make them feel closer while being unable to travel

Artists should find a role to play for the viewer

Fear Of Missing Out is powerful - artists should think of something different each time

The Weeknd will perform next week on TikTok in an interactive livestream concert, People reports. The Weeknd Experience will feature the singer as a digital avatar, in an augmented-reality gig created especially for the platform. The unique show, scheduled to take place on August 7th, will mark TikTok's first such concert and will feature 3D graphics and picture-in-picture video. Viewers will also be encouraged to support the campaign to fight racial inequality by donating to the Equal Justice Initiative during the broadcast, with TikTok bosses agreeing to match funds "up to a generous amount".

Lollapalooza has announced a massive four-night livestream including archival footage from previous editions of the festival, as well as new, original performances from the likes of Kali Uchis, Vic Mensa, Jamila Woods, Tanks and the Bangas, Pink Sweat$, H.E.R., and more. There woll be three special performances throughout the weekend - the first Porno for Pyros reunion in 24 years, a tribute to David Bowie with pianist Mike Garson, and a special performance of Kind Heaven Orchestra featuring Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins. The lineup also boasts “fan-favorite” archival sets from Paul McCartney, Metallica, The Cure, OutKast, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Lorde, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tyler the Creator, Run the Jewels, ASAP Rocky, Chance the Rapper, Tenacious D, Cypress Hill, Jane’s Addiction, Alabama Shakes, Tove Lo, Portugal. the Man, Kehlani, LL Cool J, Princess Nokia, Polo G, and more. Lolla2020 livestream goes down Thursday, July 30th – Sunday, August 2nd beginning at 5:00 p.m, on YouTube.

"I didn’t miss it [tour shows]. I’ve always wanted to perform from my bed at home... I never wanted to do the packing and going through the car and luggage and the hotel and, 'What’s the password? What’s the internet?' You get tired after years and years of doing it, you know?" - Erykah Badu told the New York Times about not touring and performing live-streams instead. She was among the first to start charging for her streams, that were richer production-wise - "I wanted the audience to feel like their money not only got them into the show, but they also got to help create the moment". Neighbors, it seems so, loved it as well - "I had to get a truck to broaden the bandwidth of my house. All the neighbors had high-speed internet for a couple of weeks because of it".

Normal live gigs won't be back any time soon, but there's potential in live-streaming shows, as the New York Times points out. Management company 11E1even Group began organizing Live from Out There, a recurring virtual festival. Using multiple paid ticketing and subscription options, the festival, which ran across 10 weekends between mid-March and early June, grossed more than $700,000, with some musicians making more money than they might’ve on tour. One artist made close to $25,000 on Topeka, a company that charges fans for bespoke mini-concerts, putting in about 10 hours a week for six weeks in April and May. Digital ticketing company DICE (worked on Laura Marling's successful online show) is working on software that will enable friends to buy tickets to a live-stream together and have their own private chat room at the show...

Jason Isbell has a great new album out, and he might be at the start of something new and big. So, next week (July 7, Tuesday), he'll stage a $100-per-ticket interactive livestream in which he and up to 150 fans will be able to watch each other, Tennessean reports. A company called Topeka is providing the tech. A taped replay is scheduled for July 23 for $25.

The Roots and Michelle Obama are hosting a virtual festival on June 27, with a lineup featuring The Roots, SZA, Roddy Ricch, Lil Baby, Kirk Franklin, H.E.R., G Herbo, Earthgang, Polo G, DJ D-Nice, Snoh Aalegra, and Musiq Soulchild, CNN reports. Various non-musical guests will make appearances as well (no word on Barack Obama yet). The virtual fest, organized through When We All Vote as the 13th annual Roots Picnic, can be watched via the Roots’ YouTube page.

Laura Marling hosted "the most authentic and exclusive live music event we’ve seen so far in the age of coronavirus. Held in an empty Union Chapel in London, the gig is ticketed, geo-locked to fans in the UK and Europe, and brings with it the delicious buzz of exclusivity and climax that makes live music so special" - NME wrote in a review of singer-songwriter's exclusive live stream. "The production values are simply exquisite, with 360 degree cameras intimately swirling around Marling... her cut-glass vocals spine-tingling throughout (turns out beautiful old chapels have better acoustics than bedrooms or living rooms) and transmitted wonderfully by the pop-up mixing desk set up in a truck outside the venue... More important than anything, though, the gig feels like an event".

Indie-folk singer-songwriter Waxahatchee has announced a run of five livestreams where she will play all five of her albums in their entirety. She'll play five virtual sets, one every Monday in June, performing one of her albums in full at each. She will be raising money for her band and crew, but also for indie promoters around the country - "who have been so warm and hospitable to me over the years but are now facing a huge strain on their business". At NoonChorus.com, a $15 per show.

Korn recently did a performance in 'AdventureQuest 3D'. Late last year The Offspring performed in 'World Of Tanks'. Recently, Travis Scott staged a big concert in 'Fortnite'. The latter is special - "a very different kind of social network" - says Nathan Brown, a video game writer, consultant, and the ex-editor of game industry bible Edge. "It is a pop-cultural phenomenon, yes, but a cross-cultural one as well – a place where Batman can snipe John Wick from halfway across the map, only to get ganked by a 'Star Wars' Stormtrooper while hoovering up the loot. It is the closest thing modern society has to the metaverse”. GQ reports on that particular part of live concert future, merged with video games.

On Saturday, June 6th, singer-songwriter Laura Marling will play two live shows at London’s Union Chapel to a limited audience online, who have each paid $12 (for US audience) or £12 (for UK and EU audience). Tickets sold at $12/£12 apiece are enough for an “economically viable” show, and they will generate tens of thousands of dollars for the artist and her team. There's also creative possibilities for filmmakers when they don’t have a crowd to navigate while capturing a live concert, while a beautifully shot and performed concert could potentially become monetized long into the future. Rolling Stone envisages that paid-for livestreamed concerts like Marling’s will prove popular even after the traditional concert industry is back up and running - creating an enduring and meaningful new revenue stream for performers.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs have shared a video of a remote performance of their track 'Phenomena'. The camera focuses on Karen O in a darkened closet while Nick Zinner plays guitar on a laptop in front of her. For added effect, Karen decorated her closest with streamers, strobe lights, and even a smoke machine.

'From the Basement' was a live performance web series created by producer Nigel Godrich that ran from 2006 to 2009, and it is coming to YouTube "in its full glory". It was shot at the BBC's Maida Vale studios and had no host or audience or interviews, just artists performing live. The first episode featured Thom Yorke previewing then-new Radiohead songs and The White Stripes. Other guests included Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop, PJ Harvey, Sparks, Beck, Jarvis Cocker, The Fall, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Thundercat, Andrew Bird, Super Furry Animals, Willis Earl Beal, Damien Rice, José González, Eels, Albert Hammond Jr, Jamie Lidell, CSS, Seasick Steve, Queens of the Stone Age, and more.

British singer-songwriter Laura Marling has sold out the first major geo-blocked concert of this year - a live, multi-camera, ticketed event taking place at 7 p.m. ET on June 6 at London’s Union Chapel, limited to North American fans, Variety reports. She has announced a similar show on the same day, taking place at 8 p.m. GMT / 9 p.m. Berlin time (three hours before the first-announced show) geo-blocked for U.K. and European Union fans. Tickets, priced at 12, will also be capped to a limited number.

There are over 14,500 Grateful Dead live concert recordings on Archive.org available for streaming for free. They can be filtered by year, by taper, by type of recording, by date added, or searched for specific songs, albums, venues, recording studios... New recordings are being added every week.

Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift and Janelle Monáe will be among those joining “Dear Class of 2020”, a virtual commencement ceremony for this year’s quarantined graduates, Deadline reports. Former American president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are delivering commencement addresses, alongside K-pop powerhouse BTS, Lady Gaga, and more. Live programming event will also feature guest appearances by Alicia Keys, Kelly Rowland, Demi Lovato, Billy Porter, Lizzo, Camila Cabello, Chloe x Halle, Maluma, CNCO, Doja Cat, FINNEAS, Megan Thee Stallion and more. It will be livestreamed on YouTube on Saturday, June 6 (starting at 3 p.m. Harvard time, 8 p.m. Cambridge time, 4 a.m. on Sunday Tohoku University time). YouTube expects it to last a few hours.

There is sense and future to online music, BBC argues, musicians just need to come up with ideas that utilize the Internet as a medium. BBC sees Gary Lightbody as a good example. Every Saturday for the past two months, Snow Patrol singer has sat down and co-written a song with 5,000 fans on Instagram. He asks them for chords, comes up with melodies, and puts them to a vote. He then asks for ideas for lyrics before coming back an hour later with a finished track. When his sessions have generated 10 or 12 decent tracks, he'll release an album for charity.

Jason Isbell and his wife/bandmate Amanda Shires celebrated the release of their new album 'Reunions' with a livestreamed release show from Brooklyn Bowl Nashville. The venue was empty, but the screens above the lanes in Brooklyn Bowl were showing fans watching, and they could be heard in-between songs. Fans were happy and excited to watch the two play, and the pair seemed touched by the warm acceptance by the audience. Everybody was apart, but they really were a collective for that one hour...

"Denmark has already begun putting on drive-in gigs. In Spain, they hope to introduce seated outdoor shows of up to 200 and 30-capacity indoor shows. Arena bands are considering 10-day residencies at club venues, playing multiple shows throughout the afternoon and evening to revolving maximum quarantine capacity crowds. There’s even talk of running limited capacity festivals in the not-too-distant future... Coronavirus gigs sound like ‘VIP experience’... Every gig will be one big golden circle, with added table service. So bring on music’s new normal – I’m ready for the best of times in the worst of times" - NME's Mark, My Words is looking forward to the new live music normal.

There probably aren't gonna be any big concerts in 2020, so the live music industry is thinking about ways to make up the loss. Variety shared some of the ideas for the future of shows - pay-per-view tours that are “geo-blocked” or limited to a specific area; streaming concerts into a separate, socially distanced venue, possibly with food, drinks, merch and the usual concert amenities; virtual merchandise sold during the stream...

Guitarist and singer The Tallest Man on Earth played some beautiful covers in his weekly livestream yesterday - The National‘s 'Pink Rabbits' performed on synthesizer, The Strokes‘ 'Someday', John Lennon‘s 'Jealous Guy', Daniel Johnston‘s 'Walking the Cow', Lucinda Williams‘ 'Greenville', Tom Waits‘ Take It With Me', traditional folk song 'The Moonshiner', and a couple of others. Watch below (80 minutes).

Live Nation’s CEO Michael Rapino said the company would test crowdless broadcasted shows along with drive-in concerts and reduced capacity festival shows over the summer - “we’re going to dabble in fanless concerts with broadcasts, we’re going to go and do reduced capacity shows because we can make the math work”. Rapino explained to Rolling Stone - “There are a lot of great artists that can sell out an arena, but they’ll do 10 higher end smaller theaters or clubs. We’re seeing lots of artists chomping to get back out once it’s safe”. And fans? - Live Nation says that 90% of ticket buyers are choosing to keep their tickets and wait for a new show rather than get their money back.

New York r'n'b duo Lion Babe has just finished their “Around The World, At Home: Virtual World Tour” playing 12 shows in 11 countries over six continents in six days. They treated it like a real tour from a logistical sense - soundchecks and rehearsals, virtual meet and greets, and virtual press runs in each market - in order for their fans to get the best of it. Each venue agreed to Lion Babe take over their IG channels, and fans were only allowed to RSVP for the show corresponding to their place of residence. The concerts were free of charge. Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman told Forbes how their experience as independent artists has uniquely prepared them for moments like this - “We’ve always needed to have the ability to know that we don't have to rely on getting products and renting things, and that we can be really productive on the fly if an idea comes or an opportunity arises like this one. We're just playing all the roles; it definitely takes a lot of work, but it's exciting and affirming to know that in this time we've been capable of doing it”.

Visual effects specialists who regularly work on music projects say that artists and promoters are asking how they can present online performances that go beyond livestreams from musicians' homes - Pitchfork reports on the issue of the future of online shows. Travis Scott has set the threshold quite high - creating a concert like his requires a serious team of developers, but the process can take as little as a couple of months. Virtual entertainment platform Wave might have an answer - they use motion-capture technology to transform artists into digital avatars in virtual worlds. Wave recently announced a concert series including John Legend and Tinashe.

City Winery has put together a livestream special for North American Mother’s Day this Sunday (May 10) which will be headlined by Billy Bragg and also includes Rosanne Cash, Rufus Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright, The Mountain Goats, The Indigo Girls, Steve Earle, Richard Thompson, Shovels & Rope, Jorma Kaukonen, Joan Osborne, Joseph Arthur, Stella Donnelly and more. Tickets ($10) benefit The United Nations Foundation fund addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. The livestream starts on Sunday at 5 p.m. New York time, 11 p.m. Geneva time, 5 a.m. Monday Singapore time.

Concerts in video games are more dynamic and immersive than 2D live streams of artists singing to front-facing iPhone cameras - Pitchfork argues in favor of video-game concerts, so they talked to Minecraft festival organizers for some advice. Open Pit is a volunteer-run collective of event organizers who’ve been making virtual festivals in Minecraft since 2018 - Coalchella, Fire Festival, Mine Gala, and Nether Meant. So, why Minecraft - "[it's] is super open—you can do pretty much whatever you want with it. It’s also the best-selling game of all time, so most people either have it or know someone who has it". On the software side - "there’s a lot of custom software that has to be written for the events we throw, but it’s not super difficult to just run your own Minecraft server with some friends". On Fortnite, an event like Travis Scott’s Astronomical has to be run by the developer of Fortnite - "whereas in Minecraft, there’s a lot of flexibility for the community to organize things".

Leading Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has assembled a team of musicians to offer three weeks of free music classes online, Classical Music reports. Nearly 800 people have signed up so far to teach or play in her virtual sessions (sign up here; registration is free and will be open until Thursday 7 May). Beginning on 11 May, the sessions will culminate in a huge online concert at the end of the month. The sessions are free, donations are welcome.

90% of regular concert-goers have sought to replace the live music experience online during the COVID-19 lockdown, and around 70% of those who have been newly accessing livestreamed shows say they plan to continue doing so even once the pandemic is over - according to a new survey conducted in the US, Complete Music Updates reports. So, in-between real-life concerts, music-lovers will be regularly attending livestreams...

Austra performs on ARTE Concert’s Facebook (11 a.m. Toronto time, 4 p.m. London time, 11 p.m. Beijing time)

Laura Marling is giving guitar lessons on Instagram every Thursday and Sunday (2 p.m. / 7 p.m. / 2 a.m. Friday)

Janelle Monae is doing a livestreamed performance on Facebook and YouTube (8 p.m. / 1 a.m. / 8 a.m.)

Ben Gibbard, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, clipping., Dan Deacon, Valerie June, Vagabon and more play The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s virtual concert, 'Space Songs: Through the Distance' on YouTube. (8 p.m. / 1 a.m. / 8 a.m.)

Washed Out is doing a “magic hour” set on Instagram (8 p.m. / 1 a.m. / 8 a.m.)

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Krayzie Bone and Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul go head-to-head on The Faceoff at Instagram (8 p.m. / 1 p.m. / 8 a.m.)