A transcript of a discussion between four SL music veterans reveals some fascinating insights into where music is headed in SL.
Kandi Valkyrie, a DJ, speaks of the way SL has scaled up in terms of numbers of sims, and jokes about the “12 green dots” they would see in the SL sims, circa 2003.
Cylindrian Rutabaga, a performer, writes of the tremendous growth in SL, calling it a “musician and music appreciators paradise,” and speaks to the generosity that music lover’s heap on one another.
Cylindrian also writes that “The relationships that are built amongst musicians and listener alike are imperative to the development of a vibrant and thriving community,” which sounds an awful lot like certain sectors of RL music making.
Kourosh Eusebio, a musician, looks to the future and how “SL will enhance the (music) experience” and reiterates the crucial point that “technology as it continues to advance is about the bringing together of people in many ways.”
Kourosh also speaks to the importance of chats and IMs as a vital way of bringing audiences and performers together, and speaks of the “titration of experience for both the listener and the artist… This very titration makes a certain intimacy possible even in the midst of a large number of people.”
And Komuso Tokugawa notes that “SL Live music is one of the killer apps of virtual community experience” but notes that an awareness campaign of live music in SL needs to happen. Komuso also says “we do not need to be restricted to replicating RL performance scenarios such as playing on a stage in front of a bunch of dancing avatars. There is so much more we can do in terms of interactivity and audience engagement – it’s going to be very exciting.”
