Verizon said that it is working with Capitol Music Group (CMG) and Motown Records to explore how 5G and multi-access edge computing (MEC) can help artists reach fans in new and engaging ways, both digitally and in-person, as people return to venues.
The companies are launching a new Emerging Tech and Emerging Artist program that will pair three rapidly rising CMG and Motown recording artists with advanced content production technologies to bring the artists’ creative visions to life in unique and enhanced ways.
Verizon’s 5G Lab in Los Angeles will serve as the production facility for the series, giving artists access to a 5G-powered virtual production stage, a volumetric capture studio, game engine technology, and a suite of Extended Reality (XR) production tools.
The first event in the series launches May 14 and features an immersive VR concert experience with Motown recording artist TheHxliday. The immersive performance will be available in 180-degree live streams on TheHxliday’s YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as on Oculus Venues and Verizon’s 5G Labs site. The performance was recorded in 4K video on a camera connected to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network in Verizon’s 5G Lab in Los Angeles. With 5G, Verizon was able to record and stream TheHxliday’s performance in a visually lossless way, nearly eliminating the side-effects of image compression that’s visible to the naked eye.
With 5G Ultra Wideband’s massive bandwidth and low latency, data intensive 4K video can be recorded and streamed in exceptional quality. 5G enhances applications like motion capture, volumetric video capture and AR/VR, providing the foundation to usher in a new generation of entertainment. Artists will be able to reach fans in new and evolving ways, such as providing song lyrics in Augmented Reality (AR) in concert venues for fans with 5G phones. With 5G and MEC, eventually fans will be able to enjoy 8K live streams on mobile and XR devices essentially in real-time and have their own, personalized viewing experience.
Christian Guirnalda, Director of Verizon’s 5G Labs
Together, we can help usher artists into the post-COVID performance era, using 5G technology to reach fans in new and evolving ways. Whether engaging fans with virtual content, or using 5G to view a live show from multiple camera angles, we want to make sure artists have access to immersive, game-changing content that just wasn’t possible before 5G.
Ching Ching Chen, VP of Business Development, CMG
Technology has rapidly evolved the way we produce and consume content and has drastically changed the way artists connect with fans. 5G has the potential to drive us towards a new paradigm of immersive experiences, and Verizon’s 5G Lab in Playa Vista is the perfect creator’s playground for unlocking and discovering a new age of emotional connectivity.
