News March 3, 2021

The Music VR Backers Fund gives Aussie artists a chance to break new ground

The future of the live music experience looks set to change forever, with live 3D virtual reality (VR) streaming platform Inverse teaming up with Music Victoria and the Victorian Music Development Office to call on artists willing to venture beyond traditional boundaries.

Opening applications today, the Music VR Backers Fund is a newly-announced industry grant that looks to offer Victorian musicians the chance to connect with fans on a global scale by way of 3D VR technology. Providing artists a chance to diversify their income and connect with fans in an entirely new way, VR performances aim to transcend the physical limitations of COVID-19 restrictions and deliver an experience never before seen by music fans.

With applications open to all Victorian musicians and performing artists from all genres, 20 grants are available, with each successful applicant receiving $2,500 to livestream a bespoke performance from made-for-VR venue Project Redstone, along with other iconic venues in the city.

Eligible entrants are set to be judged by an independent panel of leading Victorian music figureheads from Music Victoria’s Artist Advisory and COVID Recovery Advisory Groups, including the likes of Box Hill Institute’s Ben Wiesner, Melbourne Music Week’s Elise Peyronnet, and artists Kylie Auldist, Peta Petidis, and Tim Curnick, to name a few.

A live VR performance being filmed at Project Redstone

Officially launched late last year, Inverse is a Melbourne-based start-up which serves as a cutting edge VR streaming platform that thinks outside of the box. With streaming making up most of the ways in which the majority of fans connected with their favourite artists, Inverse looks now to break down even more barriers, and turning live performances into a much more immersive experience.

With the Music VR Backers Fund, Inverse looks to pioneer the next generation of musical experiences, with each performance from successful grant applicants set to be streamed through the company’s VR platform during the inaugural Beyond Boundaries VR Festival, beginning in April.

In a statement, Inverse founder Darren Vukasinovic explains that each successful applicant will receive one-on-one coaching and support on VR stagecraft to ensure that not only is the Beyond Boundaries VR Festival an experience like no other, but that artists are able to use the technology in order to deliver the most immersive performances possible.

“The Beyond Boundaries VR Festival will be the crescendo of the Music VR Backers Grant, where fans from all over the globe will be invited to virtually attend ‘in person’ and encounter all the facets of a live music festival – audio, visual, ambience and energy of the space – in ways that transcend the live music experience,” Vukasinovic explained.

“Through the Music VR Backers Fund and the Beyond Boundaries VR Festival, each artist will connect with domestic and overseas fans unable to attend gigs in person, as well as reach new audiences in unique and groundbreaking ways through the fast-growing global VR headset market, who are hungry to explore exciting new immersive experiences.”

Sharing a video preview of what the VR gig experience provides, viewers/audience members are transported directly into the action via a series of 360 cameras which capture the performance from a variety of angles. In addition to showcasing the entire performance in 3D, viewers are able to experience the action as a regular audience member, or from less-than-common angles, including onstage and above the performers themselves – delivering a true fly-on-the-wall viewpoint.

Applications for the Music VR Backers Fund are open from Wednesday, March 3rd and close on Sunday, March 28th. For full details, check out the application page on the Inverse website.