Leaning over the front row of a railing or balcony, one experiences a connection with an artist and their music that can’t be found anywhere else. That is why, in the summer of 2014, the very first Soundscape stage began to be sculpted from 1’s and 0’s, breaking new ground in the digital realm as the first of our impossible virtual reality venues.
The goal was to create spaces for the enjoyment of music that did not feel like cheap imitations of the real world but rather exceeded it in innovation, imagination, and immersion. Three years later, at Burning Man 2017, Soundscape VR made its debut as a surprise gift for attendees, igniting a chain reaction that would propel Soundscape to become one of the most beloved artistic experiences in the world.
Fueled by enthusiastic word-of-mouth recommendations and making appearances at festivals and events wherever people gathered to celebrate the incredible power of music and visual arts, Soundscape’s reputation grew by making history again and again with the display of previously unfathomable technologies delivered at their highest level. The software was publicly released, bestowed upon the world, so that all music enthusiasts could create, dance, explore, play, and enjoy music together in the most stunning virtual spaces; enabling anyone to have a hyper-immersive concert experience from the comfort and convenience of their own home.
Since its 2017 release, Soundscape VR’s vast public features have been free to enjoy at home, while certain private features have been reserved for galleries & supporters. ‘Founder’s Access’ has been the way for enthusiasts to tap into an all-access pass for the most complete version of our art, while also supporting all the creators who work tirelessly on building this music utopia. A lifetime license for Founder’s Access has been available from the beginning at a one-time donation roughly the price of a single VIP pass, $199. Effective today, we’ve activated an update for Soundscape VR: 2017 that now unlocks Founder’s Access free for all users worldwide. This incredible gift now makes Soundscape VR: 2017 entirely decommodified; with no cost, advertisements, microtransactions, subscriptions, or bloat of any kind. It’s the purest form of art dedicated to all artists who “Do it for the love” and bring people together to celebrate the feeling of being alive by connecting with music, art, nature, and each other.
Countless development hours have been devoted to optimizing Soundscape VR: 2017 to offer the most immersive graphical experience possible while maintaining comfortable performance and system requirements. Over the years, we’ve expanded our universe with countless free updates, introducing new worlds to explore, avatars to create, ways to bring your music to VR, three iterations of Sonic AI, five of our HoloUI, dozens of the highest production-value virtual concerts, and so much more. We have often regarded the project as a canvas to which we could return day after day, adding more detail here and more depth there. But after 9 years, it’s finally time to put down the brush and shift our focus to our next creation. Having explored the potential of Unreal Engine 5 and the latest technologies, we recognized the need to preserve Soundscape VR: 2017 in its current state, allowing us to channel our full energy into building our next generation of The Musical Metaverse.
We are thrilled to announce that we will be launching ‘Soundscape’ soon, a premium audiovisual experience designed for both PC and VR users worldwide. With all-new Soundskin full-body avatars, a dynamic lighting system with full day/night cycles, SoundTag freeform gameplay, Sonic AI v4 visuals powered by any music, and our newest HoloUI to control it all – Soundscape is a sight to behold. We’ve taken everything to the next level, and we can’t wait to share with you all that we have been building.
We hope you enjoy your time in Soundscape VR: 2017 and eagerly anticipate opening our doors for the next chapter of our journey toward an advanced audiovisual future. We’ll see you soon.
Love,
The Soundscape Team
