For the first time in history music fans across the globe experienced the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) through virtual reality.
Cameras were placed on the red carpet and the main stage, offering the chance to get up close with Justin Bieber and even take a sneak peek around Ed Sheeran’s dressing room.
Packed with tech
MTV’s award ceremonies are no strangers to new tech.
The media giant has invested heavily in VR, first showing it off at this year’s VMA Awards in September. This time round MTV expanded the format, offering the entire ceremony and red carpet pre-show in VR for the first time.
Fans were also treated to backstage livestream videos on Periscope and images from Instagram’s new Boomerang service, which captures 1 second video clips that are halfway between an animated GIF and a short video clip.
VR Roadtest
We gave the MTV EMA 2015 Awards app a road test with our cardboard VR headset, courtesy of Unit9.
The app is free to download on iOS and Android and you will need to buy a simple cardboard VR headset for around £10 to get the full experience.
Once you are up and running, simply slide your phone into the VR headset and select from one of the pre-recorded clips from the night.
At the time of writing MTV offered performances from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Justin Bieber and a behind the scenes look at Ed Sheeran’s dressing room.
If you can’t get your hands on a VR headset we recommend downloading the app to try out the gyroscope mode, where your field of vision moves as you turn your head, which is great for making you feel closer to the action, but also makes you look a bit of a tit at the office.
Read more: VR porn: the ins and outs of virtual reality’s XXX future
Justin Bieber letdown
Despite picking up his sixth EMA award, Justin Bieber’s VR performance was a bit of a letdown.
Unlike the other clips, the cameras were positioned too far from Bieber as he bopped across the stage with his back to you, leaving viewers feeling more like an awkward fly on the wall than being in the heart of the action.
Read more: The 360° future of virtual reality news: a view from inside the BBC
In the heart of the action with Macklemore
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ rendition of Downtown was a complete contrast and showed off VR at its best.
Their high-energy performance saw dancers bouncing across the stage in front of your eyes. When watching something as catchy at this, its hard not to imagine virtual reality becoming as mass market as HD in the very near future.
Behind the scenes
The app also offers an exclusive look inside Ed Sheeran’s dressing room, which we found a little underwhelming, but it give fans a chance to look at his Guitar Hero collection and cute border terrier.
It’s still early days. VR is far away from will replacing the electric atmosphere of a real-life gig. But unlike costly 3D TV, anyone with a smartphone can try it out for as little as £10 with a simple cardboard headset.
With the music industry searching for new ways to make money, VR is an exciting new way you get closer to your favourite stars than ever and MTV’s bold experiment may just pay off.
Read more about virtual reality from The Memo:
VR porn: the ins and outs of virtual reality’s XXX future
The 360° future of virtual reality news: a view from inside the BBC
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