By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Universal Music Group has just launched a massive new metaverse project on Roblox, in partnership with virtual world developer Supersocial.
The two companies collaborated on the creation of Beat Galaxy, which they describe as “an innovative new music hub on Roblox, the immersive platform for communication and connection.”
In doing so, UMG seems to be ignoring the naysayers who insist the metaverse is dead, instead seeing platforms like Roblox as a key player in the world of musical discovery, similar to the way streamers like Spotify revolutionized the industry.
UMG is not going in blind, as it is actually building on a series of successful activations on Roblox by UMG artists and labels, meaning they also have the user data to back up the investment.
“We’re excited to partner with Roblox and Supersocial on Beat Galaxy, which aspires to take the experience of music in the metaverse to the next level in terms of scope, creativity and commercial opportunity,” said UMG Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice-President Michael Nash. “UMG is committed to driving innovation to expand our portfolio of influential platforms such as Roblox, which our artists can use to connect with and engage audiences as technological change continues to transform the consumer landscape.”
The Beat Galaxy is a bigger and bolder activation than UMG has done yet though, intended as a cutting edge new social experience based around music discovery and fandom. The virtual world that Supersocial is building functions as a fully interactive social space, like a concert hall in a sense, where the fans can meet, discover new artists, and share their favorite music with a wider community. The club features towering amplifiers and will host themed takeovers by various UMG artists, allowing the company to easily unveil new songs or albums. Beat Galaxy launched in the US on Dec. 14, with other markets to follow in the near future.
“For UMG, Beat Galaxy represents a dynamic step forward in entertainment innovation, allowing us to change the way that music fans, artists and labels interact with one another. Beat Galaxy is a living, breathing music experience, and alongside Supersocial, we believe that we’ve created the go-to music getaway on Roblox,” said Alvaro G. Velilla, Senior Vice President, New Business at UMG.
The Beat Galaxy experience on Roblox is architected to become the virtual epicenter for a wide range of UMG labels and artist integrations, launching with Interscope Records Artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist and actor YUNGBLUD. Each new label integrated into the persistent experience will feature an in-experience takeover including exclusive content from their featured artists, such as custom track runners, dedicated world spaces, and limited virtual items including avatar fashion items and accessories.
In that sense, Beat Galaxy also operates as another retail outlet for UMG’s merchandise business, at a time when revenues from virtual goods are skyrocketing.
At its core, Beat Galaxy features songs and labels from UMG’s catalog on the Roblox platform and allows users to socialize and immerse themselves in the music, with fully integrated “track runner” style rhythm gameplay capable of supporting multiple players at once in real-time. Beat Galaxy launches with one of the largest song catalogs of any experience on the Roblox platform, with tracks spanning a wide range of popular music genres from EDM and Pop to Rock and Urban, and includes hit songs by Glass Animals, Kid Cudi, Becky Hill and more.
It’s also an exciting project for Supersocial, which is a leading and trailblazing company that has pioneered many of the most innovative licensed integrations in the metaverse.
“In collaboration with UMG we’ve been able to bring something unique to the industry. Beat Galaxy creates a next-generation music discovery experience on Roblox that not only provides an opportunity for a fun social gameplay, but creates true utility for music discovery beyond the algorithm in a community-driven way that’s never been done before,” said Yonatan Raz-Fridman, founder and CEO of Supersocial.
In addition to acting as a rhythm game and music discovery hub for new music and artists, Beat Galaxy will also serve as a future venue for live concerts and themed pop-up shops centered around live performances in-experience. Future expansion includes the ability for users to travel to other virtual UMG worlds and experiences on Roblox via in-experience portals, creating the ultimate interconnected UMG galaxy.
But it’s the interactive nature of Beat Galaxy that might be the most fascinating part of the new activation, as users now do much more than just listen to the music, travelling through fantastical landscapes while being literally driven by the beat.
In Beat Galaxy, players literally ride the rhythm down stunning, high-fidelity tracks inspired by the music around them. Track themes come in a variety of popular aesthetics, from flaming rock-inspired firescapes to classic ’90s vaporwave highways. The experience further innovates on social expression by empowering players to choose whichever aesthetic they want, no matter what genre of music is chosen.
Beat Galaxy’s integrated track runner features fun, competitive play that gamifies the music as users listen. Users race down the track together as the song plays, hitting notes in time with the tune while simultaneously avoiding obstacles. As users complete tracks, they’ll receive a score on the leaderboard, gain ranks of Fame, and earn access to exclusive rewards including new tracks, titles, and cosmetics.
Each playable song in Beat Galaxy is created using cutting-edge beat mapping technology, ensuring the transition from music to movement is completely seamless. This experience-centric approach extends to device-specific controls, supporting gameplay on multiple devices including iOS, Android, PC, Meta Quest VR, and more.