The words “virtual reality” and “music” aren’t mentioned in the same breath all that often. A peculiar development, considering there are various concerts one can experience in VR these days. MelodyVR, a VR music startup, raised $20m to expand their business. The first order of business is to establish a foothold in the United States. A bold move for a platform that still only has a beta application right now.
MelodyVR is a Curious VR Music Startup
Most people outside of the UK will have never heard of MelodyVR. That isn’t entirely surprising, despite their stock being traded on the London AIM stock exchange. More specifically, the parent company’s stock is publicly traded. What this company aims to do is to bridge the gap between virtual reality and music. A rather ambitious goal, but their licensing deals are in place to secure a prosperous future in the coming years.
Thanks to agreements with Sony Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music, MelodyVR is in a good place right now. With an additional $20m in funding, the startup aims to expand its presence. Additionally, they will make further investments in the original content library. Live music capture and digital content creation are two of the other priorities as well. The company’s first main overseas target is the US, a country with a very competitive music industry already.
It is certainly true the US is a key market for any startup these days. In the world of virtual reality, a lot of consumers reside in the US as well. Other countries and continents are far less prominent in terms of user base right now. For MelodyVR, focus on expanding US-centric operations is a smart decision. Doing so will not be a breeze, mind you, as there is some stiff competition to contend with. Then again, the US VR industry needs some more startups with working products to make things interested.
Whether or not there is a bright future for VR music startups, remains to be seen. No one can deny virtual reality is a very niche market right now. Music services may make it seem more appealing to some people. Then again, all other devices we own support music creation and playback already. It will be difficult for MelodyVR to stand out in this regard. An interesting future lies ahead for the startup, assuming they can capitalize on the momentum in the first place.
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