Live Nation wants you to hit that next big concert in VR

Marco della Cava

USA TODAY

Paul McCartney was captured live by Jaunt VR's virtual reality cameras, showing the possibilities of bringing consumers to events from the comfort of their living rooms.

SAN FRANCISCO - Here's a question for you. If in the future all concerts are streamed in high-definition virtual reality, will anyone even bother to go to a show?

That's not a worry at the moment, but it's the natural outgrowth of an evolving partnership between concert promotors Live Nation, virtual reality content company NextVR and banking giant Citi. On Wednesday, the trio announced a plan to live stream 10 as-yet-unnamed concerts, an outgrowth of a five-year VR partnership forged last spring.

The first performer will be named later this year and the concert will be accessible via the Live Nation Channel on the NextVR app, which is compatible with Samsung GearVR and Oculus Rift headsets.

The concert series is part of the "Backstage with Citi" program, which grants credit card members behind the scenes access with their special tickets. The idea here is to use VR to bring patrons into dressing rooms and on stage at sound checks virtually.

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“The time is right to experiment (with VR) in the music space,” Darin Wolf, executive vice president of Live Nation media and sponsorships, said in a statement. “Together we will be able to provide unparalleled access for fans to enjoy live music and see first-hand the emotion and adrenaline rush from artists as they prepare to perform live.”

Virtual reality headsets shut out the real world in order to create a 360-environment for the user. In contrast, augmented or mixed reality glasses such as Microsoft HoloLens and Meta 1 overlay holographic images over the real world. VR's immersive world is concerted the ideal medium for gaming as well as attending live events.

NextVR, which showcased its virtual reality broadcasting technology at the NFL Experience during the Super Bowl, has just closed a five-year deal with Fox Sports to broadcast a range of events in VR.

NextVR inked a deal earlier in the year with Fox Sports to bring a range of events to fans in VR. This past summer, NBC lured viewers to their coverage of the Rio Olympics by offering some events in VR on a one-day delay.

Back in 2014, virtual reality content providers Jaunt VR offered a taste of the concert VR experience when its cameras captured Paul McCartney singing Live and Let Die. Earlier this year, McCartney let Jaunt VR's cameras into his British home-studio for a mini-documentary about his latest album.

But there's still one big unknown factor when it comes to watching concerts or sporting events in VR. Most virtual reality researchers insist that people limit their exposure to the technology to 15-minute periods. How a Bruce Springsteen fan might stay hunkered down in VR for a four-hour Boss-fest remains to be seen.

And while it certainly sounds appealing to use VR to skip out on traffic as well as high prices for parking, beer and tickets, the truly live experience isn't likely to eclipse the virtual one anytime soon.

Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava @marcodellacava.

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