‘Ticketed’ Virtual Reality Concert Has 360° Sound

Why leave home to attend a live concert when you can strap on a headset and replicate the experience of being there—complete with 360° sound?

Los Angeles-based vantage.tv is making history as the first company to sell “tickets” for a virtual reality concert: “Eric Church at Stagecoach 2016,” featuring the performer’s entire set from the Stagecoach 2016 festival held in Indio, CA last spring.

The performance, captured on eight cameras, features 180° and 360° views from the audience and stage and will soon include immersive sound via DTS Headphone:X, which will deliver a surround sound experience with head tracking technology to enhance realism by mapping the soundscape orientation to the virtual environment. The DTS Headphone:X soundtrack is compatible with any set of headphones and will be available in a few weeks, according to DTS.

Access to the VR concert costs $19.99 or you can pay $34.99 for a VR Ticket and VR Viewer bundle for iOS/iPhone or Android (with Google Cardboard) or Samsung’s Gear VR headset. The vantage.tv app lets you choose different viewing angles throughout the show or sit back and enjoy a “director’s cut” of the concert.

“Music lovers will feel like they are there with Eric Church when they watch the VR concert performed live at the Stagecoach Festival,” vantage.tv said. The press release went on to say:

The concert, produced in partnership with DTS, Stagecoach, and UMG Nashville, delivers an immersive way for fans to control their live event experience. Fans will be immersed in the live performance as Church plays his biggest hits like 3x Platinum-certified “Springsteen” and songs off his latest album Mr. Misunderstood including his recent No. 1 hit “Record Year” and “Knives of New Orleans.” With the VR experience, fans can even be there when the crowd, true to Church’s rowdy show, throws their boots on stage during the performance of his famous “These Boots.”

Vantage.tv has been producing virtual reality experiences for more than a decade. The company has filmed and produced immersive experiences at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands as well as at public events such as President Obama’s farewell address. During a typical VR event, the vantage.tv team produces a live stream broadcast with five to eight 360° video cameras.

For more information, visit vantage.tv.

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