While the world seems to be back to normal, it does not mean that virtual events have stopped. On the contrary, it continues at full throttle. And that is good news for everyone who is interested as the music convention Music Vket 4 is around the corner, starting on Saturday 18 June and until Sunday 26 June.
But what exactly is Music Vket? It takes place in a virtual world, nowadays dubbed as metaverse, to be specific VRChat and you can go around this event strolling around several booths selling (new) music, discover new artists and socialize with other visitors of the event, just like you do that at physical conventions. Although this event can be accessed freely as there is no entrance fee. This event can be visited through the social platform VRChat, with a VR set or with your computer, which is free-to-play and available through Steam.
On Friday 24 June, on the last day of Music Vket 4, visual kei rock band Leetspeak monsters will have their first live event in the metaverse, in collaboration with VampireK.K. The first half of the live performance is free of charge for anyone interested, while the second half of the live performance and the fan meeting after the live performance come with a fee. Since it’s Leetspeak monsters’ first live event in the metaverse, this event will also include a number of challenging experiments for them, such as a real-time call-and-response session with the audience and a fan meeting. It seems that the tickets for the fan meeting are sold out.
To experience the live show of Leetspeak monsters, Vket Cloud is used, which means that you can visit it by a click on a URL and visit it with your smartphone or PC, without installing an app.
There is a whole new world to discover, although virtual in a very convenient way from your home, it is a great way to discover new artists from all kinds of music genres, meet new people and have a fascinating experience that might make you give that after con dip as if you are visiting a physical event. It also attracts the bigger names from Japan, so let yourself be pleasantly surprised when you are roaming around on the upcoming edition of Music Vket. Here are more musical events that will take place at Music Vket 4.
Music Vket 4 Particle LIVE
Particle LIVE is described as a new form of metaverse live performances with dynamic stage effects using particles and 3D images that are impossible to have in real life. The idol group SummerSweet! will do a live performance at this venue, singing and dancing to the songs written and composed by LamazeP. The idol group was formed only one year ago and is mostly active in VR Chat and released their first single, a self-titled one, last August. Furthermore a VR music video of Vocaloid producer Kanaria, titled KING, will also be shown, which is independently produced by the artist Reimhak. KING is Kanaria’s most popular song, which has garnered more than 60 million views on YouTube and Nico Nico Douga altogether.
ALTERNATE WORLD
If you haven’t discovered enough music after your visit(s) to Music Vket 4, ALTERNATE WORLD might be a good option to spend your weekend. This is a two-day live event featuring numerous artists from different scenes that cross the boundaries between virtual and real, from Japan to the rest of the world, organised by the Japanese and international teams of Music Vket.
Day 1 will mainly feature international VR artists and on day 2 there will be a focus on Japanese VR artists and artists that are also active in the real world. Those who watched VTV World Allverse at AnimeCon last weekend will recognise a number of names, such as YSS and AMOKA. Others who are not yet familiar with the virtual music world are more likely to recognise the names Aya Eight Prince (ex-BiS), Camellia, and D.watt (IOSYS).
Day 1 line-up： Odyssey Eurobeat, Creep-p, TFM Jonny, YMLegend, _Silent(VJ)
Day 2 line-up： AMOKA, Aya Eightprince, Camellia, D.watt aka shitijou retasu, DJ SHARPNEL, KAGETORA., Tatsh, YSS
Only a tip of the iceberg of what to expect can be read here, the advice is to experience the event for yourself. More information about all the upcoming music performances can be found back on the website for Music Vket 4 (in English).
Tokyo-based VR company HIKKY Co., Ltd. is behind the creation of Music Vket, it was conceived to support creators that have been struggling due to the pandemic as there were fewer and fewer opportunities for them to present their work. The result was a new form of exhibiting and selling in a virtual space, but it was not meant as a substitute or temporary solution to the real deal. It officially started with Virtual Market in 2018, currently the world’s largest VR event and the winter edition will take coming December. It has been announced that they will highlight cities as Paris, Sapporo and Nagoya. After its success, they established Comic Vket 0 and soon they decided to start with Music Vket 1 in August of 2020 as it was seen that the ongoing pandemic had a big impact on the whole entertainment industry. From the start, it attracted many participants.
