The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) now include a new category the “Best Metaverse Performance” category with Six metaverse musical acts up for nomination.
The MTV awards ceremony originally debuted in 1984 as a prestigious way to recognize excellence in music videos. Famous musicians who have won VMAs in the past include Madonna, Nirvana, and Kanye West.
“Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year,” and “Song of the Year” are typical award categories, but this year there is a Web3 twist. The VMAs added a brand-new award category and took into account performances in the metaverse.
Six acts are nominated for nomination in their first year. This includes Blackpink’s The Virtual (PUBG Mobile), BTS (YouTube), Charli XCX (Roblox), Justin Bieber – An Interactive Virtual Experience (Wave), and Twenty One Pilots Concert Experience, as well as the Rift Tour with Ariana Grande (Fortnite) (Roblox).
On August 12, the award show revealed its first-ever metaverse experience in addition to a brand-new award category. The VMA Experience, which is accessible until September 3 of this year, was introduced last week in the Roblox metaverse by Paramount Game Studios.
Roblox, a virtual environment that is quite active with pop culture events like concerts and festivals, has two performances up for consideration.
It collaborated with Insomniac, a significant producer of electronic dance music festivals, last year to develop digital festivals within its metaverse.
The metaverse category for this year’s VMAs was introduced following five years of dwindling viewership. MTV’s decision to feature virtual performance may help keep it current as the metaverse grows and draws younger consumers.
Since the advent of music streaming services, the music business has been on a trajectory of digital consumption and is replete with Web3 integrations.
As NFTs are now eligible for recognition on global charts, artists are releasing singles, and others are using blockchain to enhance music licensing.
