Virtual reality, eh? What a flop. Headset sales have been sluggish (and falling), and none of the various music-focused VR startups are making much money. Boo to all that. But wait a minute: some people are making decent money from VR: games developers.
Industry site Road to VR has a piece suggesting that by the start of 2020, there were more than 100 virtual-reality games that had reached the sales milestone of $1m in revenue. This is based on an analysis published by VR-startups investor Tipatat Chennavasin earlier in the month suggesting that 106 titles have now reached the $1m mark. “What’s more, among those 106 titles, some have rocketed past the $1 million milestone; Chennavasin reports that the top seven titles have exceeded $10 million in revenue, with the leading title pulling in a whopping $60 million,” reported Road to VR. “By this time next year, he expects, the first VR game could reach the $100 million milestone.”
One of those big earners is very relevant to Music Ally readers too: music game Beat Saber, which currently retails for $29.99, sold its one millionth copy in May 2019, six months before its developer was acquired by Facebook. The lesson here: money *is* being made in VR, and while the apps doing it may not be music apps, they’re likely to be using music in some way: whether that be original compositions, or licensed tracks.
Music Ally’s next Learn Live webinar will help you understand what’s required for artists to thrive in new international markets!