Is This Artist Your Invite Into The Metaverse?

Since 2021 we have seen the Facebook/Metaverse commercial that introduces the virtual reality space called “The Metaverse”. Though technically the term “metaverse” belongs to the social media platform’s brand, it is what everyone has been calling any virtual space that can be accessed with a personal perspective.

The metaverse/ virtual reality is part of web 3.0 technology that is being encouraged as a new way to socialize. Currently with your phone or laptop you can enter, but the real experience happens with virtual reality glasses. Those mostly experiencing reality virtually through glasses include NFT creators/collectors, fashion brands, and music artists just to name a few.

How Celebrities Are Re-imagining Their Metaverse Spaces

To our knowledge, no one has invited the general public to enjoy an event in the metaverse without exclusive invite, gear, social media avatar tie-ins, or purchase. Billie Eilish did partner with Facebook’s Metaverse platform late 2021 to give a performance to fans. As of currently JLo & Maluma have done performances on the platform this year. However, it all still came with social media tie-in (snap chat’s bitmoji avatar) to attend. Though celebrity brands are joining this experience, long time independent artist and self proclaimed “girl geek”,  Melissa B. is taking matters into her own hands with creating digital worlds of her own for her supporters.

Who is Melissa B. & Where Some Might Have Seen Her Before

Starting her career on ‘Making The Band’ Season 2 almost 20 years ago, Melissa B. is a multi-Grammy nominated and globally Billboard charting artist. If you are a fan of the Brooklyn Nets, you may have seen Melissa before as she has opened at the Barclays Center twice last year singing the national anthem.

When it comes to technology and integration, Melissa is the one to trust. She has given herself the title of “girl geek” and is proven by her day job as a network engineer.

According to a podcast chat with “82 Points of View w/ Dorian”, Melissa B & Michael DeBarge (yes, that Michael DeBarge), recalls showing Samsung how their own technology worked and how she pitched a commercial to the company in the moment, “We literally recorded [our music] on this little size SSD drive live infront of them…they [Samsung] said they did not even know their product could do this…”

The songstress has not only impressed teams from large tech companies, she has also represented brands such as South Korean messaging app Snow App, which has an augmented reality feature within it.

Continuing her portfolio of high-tech companies she partners with, the ‘Digitally Independent’ author has added Canadian based streaming service BEATiFY to her list of tech forward partnerships. The streaming service is filling in gaps for artists where Spotify and other music streaming platforms are falling apart. BEATiFY uses top-tier crypto technologies and is getting recognition for paying artists their fair share and more for streams. 

Now Melissa B. may be adding another high-tech company to the list of partners.

‘Physical’ Virtual Release Party

Between January and February, the singer released her new song ‘Physical’ in two-phases acknowledging both sides of her supporters. The first phase included releasing the single exclusively to BEATiFY. Phase one allowed those who are interested in digital music investing to purchase and own her music by using the streaming platform service. This also included the use of Twitter Spaces to host the first listening party, where legendary Teddy Riley gave his support of the song and singer.

Phase two was for the general/ traditional release of the single and music video. The song was celebrated almost ironically to its name on the virtual reality platform, Spatial and sponsored by Amada Records and BEATiFY. Melissa B. used Instagram and Twitter to invite her fans to the self-created space on February 22nd.

According to Melissa, it took her 3 weeks to build the space and flow of her release party. 

Major artists such as Cookiee Kawaii attended the event to support Melissa. The exclusive Spatial release event guest list included A-listers such as Regina Hall, Jordyn Woods, Quest Love, Cookie Kawaii, Teddy Riley, and more. The list also included her team; Michael Ashby & B. Howard, as well as upcoming artists such as DJ Nektunez and singer-song writer Mark Borino. 

The event highlighted Melissa B’s work on the song and music video which was shown in the virtual gallery still open to the public. The gallery built by Melissa B herself praises her team that made “Physical” a reality. Which not only makes the artist one of the first independent artists to use the virtual reality space to introduce her new music. It also makes her part of a select group of creators that accredits their team publicly.

Rumours of a Virtual Music Festival?

During the event representatives from Spatial hinted at a possible collaboration with the ‘Physical’ singer. Telling the room, “We would love to explore doing a music festival after this event.” We can see this as a reality. Spatial is one of the elite platforms that use an avatar like space but realistic avatar features that will have you thinking you are really interacting with the person or group.

It felt like being a sim in reality, even from your laptop. So if there is a race to the top when creating a realistic music festival, Spatial would be one of the best to enjoy the experience with.

How You Can Enter the Metaverse With Melissa B.

The girl geek’s mission is to introduce millions of people into the metaverse over the next year to redefine how we socialize or even how we interact with artists. You can access Melissa’s ‘Physical’ gallery by using Spatial. Melissa B. can be found via Instagram or Twitter… or maybe in her virtual reality some days.