YOU ARE AT:5GWhere music and technology meet: Verizon, Pandora announce virtual, 5G-supported concert

Where music and technology meet: Verizon, Pandora announce virtual, 5G-supported concert

The performance will feature a virtual environment using 3D images captured at the Verizon 5G Lab in Los Angeles

Verizon is using its edge compute capabilities and its 5G Ultra Wideband network — the brand name for its C-Band and mmWave network — to deliver virtual concert featuring singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra. The show, developed in partnership with Pandora and XR production team Magnopus, is scheduled for next week and will involve a hologram of Yatra, as well as an immersive virtual environment using 3D images captured at the carrier’s 5G Lab in Los Angeles.

Using Yatra’s music videos and live performances as inspiration, the team designed unique virtual environments for Verizon’s XR virtual production stage. The singer was then 3D scanned using the volumetric capture studio at the lab, which will allow him to perform side-by-side with an AR hologram of himself as he performs.  

The massive bandwidth and ultra-low latency made possible with 5G and edge computing enables distributed rendering of assets like holograms to provide an immersive production experience combining production camera feeds, near real-time virtual camera tracking, virtual 3D environments, the LED stage and augmented reality foreground elements all in virtually real-time, Verizon stated.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 10: General view of atmosphere during Pandora Presenta Sebastián Yatra Powered by Verizon at the Verizon 5G Lab on May 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for Pandora)

“We are thrilled to team up with Verizon to give fans a cutting-edge digital experience where music and technology meet,” said Karina Montgomery, SVP of strategic solutions at SXM Media. “Pairing Verizon 5G technology with Pandora’s expertise in the virtual event space, we are excited to bring fans the next generation of concerts and transport them into an immersive AR world where they can experience Sebastián Yatra’s music like never before.”

According to Christian Guirnalda, director of Verizon’s 5G Labs, projects like this show how technology can help artists “bring their visions to life and provid[e] real-time interaction with fans.” Previously, Guirnalda told RCR Wireless News — this time is reference to The Hxliday’s virtual 2021 performance — that Verizon sees 5G as a “tool for communities and culture.”

“We know that 5G allows for the consumption [of these new experiences],but is also changes how [these experiences] are created too. Artists can build entire worlds that are a manifestation of their creative vision,” he said at the time.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Catherine is the Managing Editor for RCR Wireless News and Enterprise IoT Insights, where she covers topics such as Wi-Fi, network infrastructure and edge computing. She also hosts Arden Media's podcast Well, technically... After studying English and Film & Media Studies at The University of Rochester, she moved to Madison, WI. Having already lived on both coasts, she thought she’d give the middle a try. So far, she likes it very much.