This article originally appeared on Medium, as part of the Open Music Initiative.
Live shows are the most immersive music experiences. There’s an intimate fan-to-fan and artist-to-fan relationship at concerts that is unparalleled in scope and energy.
But concerts are expensive and mostly accessible only in the big cities. Talent and Venue are huge cost drivers whose value goes up even more due to exclusivity (you pay not only for the talent being there, but for their not being somewhere else). Also, the long lines, the parking and the bad seats make it an inconvenient wait for fans before and after the concert starts.
So, we wondered: Could we create an entirely new way of experiencing live music that is as immersive, engrossing, and intimate as concerts, but is portable and accessible like our music libraries?
That’s why we started Lucy.
At Lucy, we own a series of “complete” recording studios, where bands can record a complete experience that captures the visual (3D recording) and auditory (3D binaural recording) data of a live performance in a green screen environment. We use a Dome recording model for the same.
Dome is the backbone of LUCY. It holds HD DSLR cameras that capture the objects inside in 4D. By 4D we mean that we not only record the objects within but also capture how they transform over time. Additionally, with binaural sound, Dome creates an accurate representation of relative distance and position.
The metadata of all involved in the recording process is embedded onto this “complete” file as well. Any money made from downloads is automatically split to all involved through smart contracts.
These “Complete” recordings enable immersive augmented reality experiences for fans. You can launch Lucy on your hololens (or AR interface of your choice) wherever you are, and host the “Complete” recording.
The Lucy Experience is Customizable
You have basic options to customize lights, the location of the musicians in the room, and fireworks/other effects. You can scale the experience to fit a table, or even to fit the whole room you’re in. You get to stand next to your favorite artist while they perform your favorite song in your living room. You can also talk to your friends during your concert without screaming your lungs out, because of the bone-conduction technology on newer AR interfaces that enables you to listen to music on your glasses without earphones. If you have great speakers, you can host the music on them and, via bluetooth interoperability, have everyone still experience the same visuals on their AR interfaces.
Hosting a “Complete” Skrillex Experience in the office
We Value and Embrace User-Generated Content
Derivative Work of the Skrillex Experience
Our “complete” recordings are open-source and programmable. The original artist can choose what they are willing to make public and what they are not. Anyone can download the project file for the audio/video to manipulate the audio/3D video, and can write code to manipulate any of the effects in the experience or add new ones. If any of these derivative works are published, their metadata is added onto this file which already contains previous metadata. This way, users can come up with the most creative and fun experiences.
We Believe…
Live music is embedded in human nature. There’s something magical about it. It anchors hundreds to thousands of people to a single moment in time and space. It is a truly immersive, cultural and spiritual experience.
It’s this intimacy we crave for; the connection, the energy, the magic.
And we want you to experience this when you want to, where you want to, the way you want to.
We are Lucy. Immersive Experiences. Anywhere.