What it means to be a music fan is changing quickly—particularly across the Atlantic. Our favorite artists are often an ocean away, so we stream their concerts online, tune in to live social media feeds of their shows, and hope to be able to experience them in person one day. New technology is changing the way the US and UK collaborate, and transforming the way music is made and discovered—could it also change how it’s enjoyed?
A study found that people who experience and engage with music—by going to a festival or a show—are happier than those who don’t. If you’ve ever heard someone talk about a memorable concert they attended decades ago, it’s not hard to understand why. People crave opportunities to be part of something bigger than themselves.
US fans want to see their favorite UK artists and vice versa. According to streaming statistics from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after artists from their own countries, the US and UK listen to more of each other’s music than any other nation. That’s not surprising. From hip hop, indie to R&B, some of the greatest songs ever recorded have resulted from the US and UK collaborating together. What if there was a way that technology could elevate the concert experience, or offer it to fans who can’t be there in person?
Christina Calio, cofounder of Popins, says that it’s hard for any major artist to connect with all of their fans. "It's almost impossible for most fans to ever come face-to-face with an artist that they care about,” she says. Popins, a Seattle-based startup, uses volumetric video technology to capture artists in full 3D to create holograms that can be viewed through your phone. “This is a way to bridge the gap and bring people together.”
Technology, like Popins’, is shifting what it looks like to be a fan—and who can be one. With holograms, people can enjoy an experience no matter where in the world they are. In that way, it democratizes access. Creating innovative opportunities for anyone to have a novel concert experience requires the powerhouses of the music industry—the US and UK—to join forces. At SXSW in 2023, Popins did a live concert with US and UK artists that allowed people to watch a 3D performance from their living room. This allowed fans to connect with performers in a new way—not dissimilar to what it feels like to be in the first row at a show.
For most people, going to a show is less about hearing the music and more about having the experience of being there and sharing joy with other fans. Alex Kane, who is from the US and the founder of UK-based Volta Audio, sees a future where there’s more of a real-time connection between the audience and a performer.
Right now, when we attend a concert, the lighting and vibe are presented to us by stage designers. Volta’s software turns any live event, retail space, or museum exhibit into an interactive scene where people in the audience can control the visual experience from their phones. Concertgoers can adjust stage lights and colors to tailor the mood during a live show.
In 2024, the UK clocked in as the third largest music market in the world—largely due to its high concentration of forward-thinking companies, labels, and artists in a small geographic area. For Amalie Briden, innovation manager at the BPI, embracing new technology and a focus on collaboration is an integral way to foster creativity and grow.
Collaboration between the US and UK plays a major role in driving the industry forward and sparking new opportunities for imaginative work. After the SXSW event, Popins was invited to participate in an innovation program run by the BPI. The program was held in London, which is home to many talented artists and labels. There, Popins was able to quickly join forces with five indie labels and artists to create 60 holograms that the artists could experiment with.
For Daniel Jones, CEO and founder of UK-based Vaudeville Sound Group, collaboration is key to how the company works. Vaudeville specializes in creative sound design for traditional mediums, like film and TV, and also for cutting-edge spatial audio applications. With offices in London, California, and Vancouver, projects often start in the UK and are finished in the US.
“We’re elevating the audio experience by developing new techniques to create an immersive world,” says Jones. Vaudeville uses sound to work within a multitude of sectors from entertainment to automotive to enterprise applications. The company is also at the forefront of creative R&D that builds new formats of open-source immersive audio standards—like Eclipsa Audio, which is rolling out across billions of devices and screens over the coming years. This new format is the result of a creative partnership with Google, Samsung, and AoMedia, is free for anyone to use, and will likely yield innovative new ways of experiencing sound across industries.
Briden wants to continue to make the UK a place where people bring their ambitious and bold ideas, and showcase the opportunities to invest, study, live in, and visit the UK. Kane moved from the US to the UK for college; he wanted to study design at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. Once he was living in the UK, he decided it was the right place to try to get his big idea off the ground: the company that would later become Volta.
The BPI’s partnership with Popins that gave labels and artists the ability to experiment with holograms was the result of Briden’s innovation incubator, which is designed to create exactly those kinds of opportunities.
“For somebody wanting to test and pilot a new idea in music, the UK is the place to do it,” says Briden. As the gap between technology and creativity continues to shrink, Briden is thinking about what the future of the music industry will look like. “Who are the future consumers and creators of music? How will they do it? How can we empower them?”
There are a number of organizations in the UK that are dedicated to not only growing the industry, but also creating new opportunities and facilitating transatlantic partnerships. That’s the reason why the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland campaign is showcasing the power of US-UK collaboration to drive further innovation and economic growth.
