Virtual performance and Metaverse startup Stage11 has raised €5 million in a successful funding seed round to monetise the Metaverse with non-refundable token (NFT) features.
Otium Capital led the funding round, allowing Stage 11 to hire onboard strategists, sign key artists and explore brand partnerships in an effort to redefine the interactive music experience for users.
Jonathan Belolo, Stage11’s founder and CEO, is a music industry veteran with more than 45 years of success working with high-profile artists.
In an press release from Stage 11, Belolo said “building immersive music events and experiences is just the first step” as the Paris-based startup combined gaming, mixed reality (MR), and NFTs “to build something bold, thrilling and timeless — yet accessible and fun.”
Stage11 works across multiple platforms and users can access the app on a headset, desktop, or mobile device to experience digitally-scanned artists perform.
Desktop users will experience a more interactive, high-definition version of Stage11, while mobile users can access functions such as MR integration, content creation, and social interaction.
Additionally, offering the solution will provide affiliated brands, artists, and audiences with immersive content across all devices.
VR Immersive Performances
Stage11 revealed it is working with Music Artists Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Snoop Dogg, Ne-Yo, and Akon, as well as French Viral Street Dancer, Salif Gueye, and the startup is covering virtual fashion showrooms and runways in a key partnership with the Institut Français de la Mode.
The Covid-19 pandemic’s detrimental impact on the music and live performance industry also saw extended reality (XR) solutions facilitate enterprise communications and remote collaboration, which later presented new opportunities for live performers to reconnect with audiences.
The news comes after Stage, Inc debuted its Stageverse virtual NFT-powered platform with a VR performance by British rock band Muse, just months after the classic Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass went virtual earlier in the year with a three-day event.
XR Today recently spoke to Kevin Joyce, Local Coordinator for STYLY and NEWVIEW, to discuss how artists use STYLY’s creative platform for virtual performances and fashion showrooms.
