Roblox partners with Sony Music to fill the metaverse with musicians

Roblox has signed a partnership with Sony Music Entertainment to bring more musicians into the metaverse. 

The agreement will see Roblox and Sony Music work together to "develop innovative music experiences" for the Roblox community with a view to helping Sony Music artists to reach new audiences and tap into additional revenue steams. 

Roblox is an online platform that lets users build their own games and play experiences created by others, and it has become incredibly popular. As of May 2021, the platform had around 43 million daily active users. It has also attracted a number of sizeable investments, and recently started working with high-profile companies and artists like Gucci, Zara Larsson, and Lil Nas X (the latter of whom are both Sony Music clients) to host virtual launch parties, digital concerts, and brand experiences. 

For context, over 36 million people watched Lil Nas X when they performed the first ever live virtual concert on Roblox in November 2020, and now both Sony and Roblox are looking to arrange more of those showpiece events.

"Sony Music has been a fantastic partner and I am pleased to deepen and lengthen our relationship. They truly understand the massive opportunity that the metaverse presents for their artists and we are committed to helping them unlock new creative and commercial opportunities on Roblox," said Jon Vlassopulos, VP and global head of music at Roblox. "We are just scratching the surface of what Roblox can deliver to the music industry and to music fans around the world."

The news comes shortly after Roblox was sued by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) for allegedly using songs from a number of artists without permission. As reported at the start of June, the NMPA claims that artists like Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran, and the Rolling Stones have had their work illegally used in games hosted on the platform and is seeking a minimum of $200 million in damages.