Giving Back to the Music Community

The data has been collected and analyzed, the first draft of the dissertation has been turned in, and it is time to reflect on what has been five years of work. This was a study about identity interplay in virtually performing musicians but in the end, my own identity was as affected as much as the subjects.

Performing live music as an avatar was part of Second Life. It just didn’t happen in other virtual spaces. Second Life gave three dimensions to performance and in those early days people were just happy to have a place to play. Maybe back then we were all naive about the possibilities of live music there but at least we were a community.

Then something happened. Venues got bigger and crossed sims (my own venue, the House of Flames among them), performers began to charge venue owners to perform. They brought managers and assistants. Venues had to add hosts to try and cajole visitors out of Lindens to help pay the performers and the tier, while performers walked away with performance fees and tips. After a while it stopped being fun and it was easier to just pay the tier and not hold shows, than to deal with inflated fees and demands of performers who had just gotten “above their raising.”

During this study I was able to work with several musicians, many of who had been in Second Life since those early days. There was something different about them. They didn’t beg for tips; their fans knew how to do that on their own. They shared stories and conversation – they had friends who were fans and these relationships were built up over years of memories. The fans were as immersed in their roles as fans as the performer was immersed in their role as a performer.

In many cases these performers had matured enough to start giving back. They hosted open mic sessions; they played for free or had special concerts that they did for charity. They promoted the work of other musicians and went to their shows. They were mature members of a music community. That is the example they have set and it has been humbling to work with them.

It was time for me to step up as well. Second Life enabled me to have a dream, and to make that dream real. The House of Flames Performing Arts Complex is honored to be the new home of Living Room #13 and Juel Resistance. Her Naked Acoustic shows will be held there beginning April 6, 2011.

House of Flames – Real Music in a Virtual World

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