Roblox Monetizing Metaverse With Album Releases, Listening Parties: What Investors Should Know

Online gaming platform Roblox Corp RBLX is expanding its reach as not just a gaming company but as a large entertainment ecosystem with a push into the music space.

What Happened: Roblox announced Roblox Listening Party, a new initiative to expand music into the metaverse.

“With Roblox Listening Parties, artists premiere a new album in select top experiences giving them access to millions of fans who can listen to their music while they play and hang out with their friends,” the company said.

The album “Flux” from singer and songwriter Poppy is being released Friday, Sept. 24 and it will be the first Roblox Listening Party. 

Poppy is a member of the independent record label Sumerian Records and was the first solo female artist ever nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category.

“I feel very fortunate to make music in a time like this. Roblox is a platform with endless possibilities and seemed like a perfect place to launch my new album!” Poppy said.

Related Link: Roblox Acquires Gaming Community Platform Guilded: What Investors Should Know

Why It’s Important: The launch of Roblox Listening Party follows the company signing a deal with Sony Music, a unit of Sony Group Corp SONY, in July.

Sony artists Lil Nas X and Zara Larsson had virtual performances in the Roblox metaverse previously.

“Under the agreement, Roblox and Sony Music will work together to develop innovative music experiences for the Roblox community that offer a range of new commercial opportunities for Sony Music artists to reach new audiences and generate new revenue streams around virtual entertainment,” Roblox said of the Sony deal.

Roblox has a built-in following of millions of daily active users that it can monetize with deals with music and entertainment companies.

“The range of Roblox music experiences, from Launch Parties to virtual concerts and now Listening Parties, are becoming table stakes for artists as they seek to promote new releases and attract new fans,” Roblox said.

Price Action: RBLX shares are up 1.09% to $83.22 and SONY shares are up 1.83% to $117.61 at market close Friday.

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash