Roblox and Sony Music Entertainment have announced a strategic partnership that will bring more of the major’s artists into the Roblox metaverse.
Under the agreement, Roblox and Sony Music will work together to develop innovative music experiences for the Roblox community that offer a range of new commercial opportunities for artists to reach new audiences and generate revenue streams around virtual entertainment.
It follows BMG’s deal with Roblox last month.
The Sony agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies that includes previous collaborations such as Lil Nas X’s hit virtual performance on Roblox in November 2020 and more recently the Zara Larsson Launch Party on Roblox in May 2021.
Over 36 million people watched Lil Nas X perform the first ever live virtual concert on Roblox. In addition the concert venue included virtual merchandise sales, mini-games, a scavenger hunt, an exclusive behind the scenes interview with Lil Nas X, and other interactive activities. Zara Larsson’s launch party broke records as well, attracting over four million visits, the highest recorded visits for a launch party on Roblox to date.
“Sony Music has been a fantastic partner and I am pleased to deepen and lengthen our relationship,” said Jon Vlassopulos, VP and global head of music, Roblox. “They truly understand the massive opportunity that the metaverse presents for their artists and we are committed to helping them unlock new creative and commercial opportunities on Roblox. We are just scratching the surface of what Roblox can deliver to the music industry and to music fans around the world.”
Dennis Kooker, president, global digital business and US sales, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “Sony Music artists have been at the forefront of engaging the millions of music fans in Roblox’s massive user community with forward-looking initiatives like Lil Nas X’s industry-first virtual performance on the platform, and Zara Larsson’s recent listening party event. With this new agreement, we look forward to expanding our successful partnership with the Roblox team to further unlock commercial opportunities at the intersection of music and gaming. Immersive online environments represent a meaningful opportunity for reaching a growing number of fans who want to use virtual communities to enjoy shared music experiences.”
According to the statement, Roblox “respects the rights of all creators and uses advanced technology to screen all uploaded music. Roblox has no tolerance for repeat offenders and quickly responds to all submitted DMCA requests”.
Last month the NMPA and its publisher members launched a legal action against Roblox alleging copyright infringement.
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