Metaverse, Metachorus: Virtual Live Music Performance in Second Life

Metaverse, Metachorus:
Virtual live music performance in Second Life

Justin Gagen
jmg@virtualperformance.co.uk
Metaverse, Metachorus: Virtual live music performance in Second Life
Abstract
Music and technology have, from the first instruments to the reshaping of music which has
occurred since the advent of the internet, had a close relationship. Enabled by technology,
virtual environments, like Second Life, can be utilised to mediate live music events and
allow musicians to transmit performance, bringing the nature of liveness into uestion.
!elated to this practice of virtual performance is the concept of "musicking" #Small, $%%&',
whereby all contributions, be it by listening, dancing or playing, are considered to be acts
of participation. (his paper argues that virtual live music events in particular, become less
entertainments and more acts of collaboration.
(he practice of virtual performance also comes under e)amination, not only by situating
live music within a new technological conte)t, that of Second Life, but by documenting the
ethnomethodologies employed by virtual musicians, and assessing the role of the virtual
performer as artist, participant and practitioner.
2
Contents
*bstract.............................................................................................................................. +
,ntroduction......................................................................................................................... -
.hapter $/ 0ey *spects of 1irtual Live Music 2erformance................................................3
$.$/ Second Life and (he 1irtual...................................................................................3
$.$.$/ (he Simulation.................................................................................................3
$.$.+/ (he *vatar and (he *gent...............................................................................&
$.$.4/ 2laying Music in Second Life...........................................................................%
$.$.-/ 1irtual Space and 2lace................................................................................$5
$.+/ Music and 2erformance........................................................................................ $$
$.+.$/ Music as 2ractice........................................................................................... $$
$.+.+/ Music as (echnology..................................................................................... $+
$.+.4/ Music as *rt................................................................................................... $4
$.+.-/ Music as .ollaboration..................................................................................$-
$.+.6/ Liveness........................................................................................................ $6
.hapter +/ Methodology................................................................................................... $7
+.$/ Methods............................................................................................................... $7
+.+/ Methodological ,ssues.......................................................................................... $&
.hapter 4/ 8indings.......................................................................................................... +5
4.$/ Ethnography......................................................................................................... +5
4.$.$/ !obert............................................................................................................ +5
4.$.+/ Sarah............................................................................................................. +-
4.$.4/ Steve............................................................................................................. 4$
4.+/ 1irtual ,nformants................................................................................................. 43
4.+.$/ .onversations with 2erformers......................................................................43
4.+.+/ .onversations with *ttendees........................................................................4&
4.4/ (he .reation and 9se of 1irtual Space................................................................-5
4.-/ Musical *ctivity within Second Life.......................................................................-4
.hapter -/ *nalysis........................................................................................................... -6
-.$/ (he SL Music .ommunity.................................................................................... -6
-.+/ 1irtual 2erformance and Liveness........................................................................-3
-.4/ 1irtual 2erformance as *rtwork............................................................................-%
-.-/ 1irtual 2erformance as .ollaboration...................................................................6$
-.6/ 1irtual 2erformance as 2ractice...........................................................................6+
.onclusion........................................................................................................................ 6-
!eferences....................................................................................................................... 66
:ibliography...................................................................................................................... 63
*ppendi)/ SL Events ;ata................................................................................................ 35
,.i/ <fficial Events Listings........................................................................................... 35
,.ii/ Events .hosen from <fficial SL Events Listings....................................................3$
,.iii/ Events Selected from =roup >otices....................................................................3+
3
Introduction
,n The Anthropology of Music, Merriam #$%3-' writes that "the ultimate interest of man is
man himself, and music is part part of what he does and part of what he studies about
himself" #$%3-/ $3'. Similarly, 2owers #$%%5' considers music to be a result of "thought
processes that give rise to the panhuman e)pression of humanity, the natural or cultural
things of life" #$%%5/ $7'. (his project is an investigation into aspects of a relatively new
form of musical behaviour, live performance in virtual environments.
8or the purposes of this research a virtual performance, considered to be a live musical
event delivered via Second Life, features a simulation of the musician or musicians, and is
attended by remote audiences in the form of avatars. 1arious approaches and methods of
practice are considered, as are the roles of audience and performers ? collaborators in this
activity.
(he nature of the live in relation to virtual performance is also e)amined. *uslander #+5$$'
in his lecture Digital Liveness
$
, when discussing live television broadcasts, states that
performers and audience are temporally co!present, in that the audience "itnesses the
performance as it happens, #ut they are not spatially co!present$% @hen speaking of live
recordings he says that the audience shares neither a temporal frame nor a a physical
location "ith the performers%$
, propose that virtual live music performance represents a new paradigm in livenessA the
virtual spatiality of Second Life provides a venue for an event, unlike live broadcast or
recording, but the temporal nature of a performance is indeterminate B it is different for
each and every attendeeA it is a new, mediated form of liveness.
&
9tilising in?world participant observation as the primary research method, as proposed by
:oellstorff #+55&', and reinforced with face?to?face interviews and observation in
consideration of =olub #+5$5', (urkle #$%%6' and Suchman #+557', this project e)amines
the relationship between musical and technical practice, and investigates the temporal,
the live and the collaborative as aspects of virtual performance.
,nterrogation, via the works of =ell #$%%%', ,hde #+557' and *uslander #+55&' among
others, serves to offer insights into virtual performance that are primarily concerned with
the practitioner and the act of creation. <ther data, gathered via surveys and from official
sources, offers a backdrop to this research.
'
Chapter : !e" Aspects of Virtual Live Music #erformance
$: Second Life and %he Virtual
$$: %he Simulation
Second Life #SL' is a 4;, game?based, online virtual environment studied at length as an
anthropological field?site by :oellstorff #+55&'. ,t is persistent #it remains running when the
user logs off' and time, set from the clocks of the creators, Linden !esearch in San
8rancisco, passes. (he "world" of Second Life runs on arrays of servers in data centres,
and freuently supports 65, 555 concurrent users
+
. Linden !esearch, or Linden Lab as
they are collouially known, were themselves studied in some depth by Malaby #+55%'/
they opened SL to the public in +554.
Second Life, which users access via free client software
4
, consists of regions known as
simulators or "sims". Each sim represents an area of virtual land siCed +63 metres by +63
metres, and users move around this space as avatars, create objects, and run small
programs called scripts. Sometimes, when an area contains too many objects #or avatars,
or running scripts' indeterminate delays in server operations and client?side rendering
occur/ this is known as lag.
Land in SL can be owned by Linden Lab, sold directly to individual users #or "residents"', or
leased to land owners who can then sub?let it to residents. Some regions, or groups of
regions, are themed by the residents, owners and landlordsA many genres, including
western, sci?fi, steampunk, and furry are represented, as are recreations of !L #!eal Life'
locations, like London, :erlin and (okyo. =eneric environments, such as "beach front" and
"forest", have also been created.
<bjects can be created in SL using a variety of methods. (he main building system works
(
by combining sets of primitive shapes #or "prims"' and te)turing their surfaces with images.
(hese primitive shapes have an impact on the virtual land on which they stand, as each
land parcel can only support a certain number #typically 4-& prims per 4+m ) 4+m plot'.
* later addition is the sculpted prim, or "sculptie". (hese are used by te)ture?mapping a
prim with a file known as a "bump map", which defines the shape. (he most recent
development in building is mesh modelling, whereby 4; models from .*; #.omputer
*ided ;esign' applications can be imported and used in?world. Mesh objects still have a
land use value #this is only a representation of the load that the objects place on the
server', but are a more efficient way of generating comple) builds than are regular
primitives. Many types of items have been created by SL residents, ranging from trees
and houses, to spaceships, cars and musical instruments. .lothing made from objects #as
opposed to just images' is also popular.
1irtual objects can be programmed to e)hibit behaviours using a Dava?like, in?world
scripting language called LSL #Linden Scripting Language'. (hese behaviours can range
from simple types, such as movement, colour and te)ture change, and the running of pre?
programmed animations, to fully functional artificial?intelligence or combat?gaming
systems. LSL can also be used to access e)ternal data sources.
Second Life has an economy based on an internal currency, the Linden ;ollar or LE,
which is traded on the Linde) currency e)change
-
#the e)change rate is currently around
LE+65 per 9SE'. (he LE can be purchased, or earned in Second Life by selling land,
products or servicesA a common form of payment for virtual performers, is the voluntary
"tip", paid in EL. =ambling, though popular, was banned from SL in +557
6
.
(hese factors ? the virtual space, the ability to create objects with behaviours, and the
economic system B allow Second Life to be treated as a workable platform for the
)
simulation of a world?like environment. SL can also facilitate interaction, communication
and collaboration through the residents representations #avatars' and their view of the
world #agents'.
$$&: %he Avatar and %he Agent
(he avatar is the representation of the user within the virtual space, and is described by
Murray #$%%7' as "a graphical figure, like a character in a video game" #$%%7/ $$4'. (he
avatar, as far as interacting with other users is concerned, is also the site of presence for
a resident. Feim #$%%4' raises this issue, an important element in any study of the virtual,
and uestions it from the Feideggerian perspective/ "G>How we are facing such things as
Ipresence.J @hat does it mean Ito be present,J somewhere, as a human beingK 2resence
as the e)istence of an entity is a crucial uestion in the building of virtual reality
technology" #$%%4/ 45'.
8rom another perspective, that of the user, the site of their presence within Second Life is
called the agent. (his can be thought of as the camera view, and is fundamentally different
to the avatarA a resident can see their own avatar in Second Life via the the camera B the
agent. ,t is from the viewpoint of the agent that actions are performed.
*vatars in SL, initially chosen from a series of default options, are highly customisable and
many users spend time and money on their representation. (he standard avatar can have
the shape and colour altered in?world, and clothing and accessories can be purchased or
made. *lternatively, entire avatars can be bought or created. >usselder #+55%' discusses
this act of representation, and considers the avatar to be functioning as a mask/ ":y
picking an avatar, , can formaliCe certain tendencies #for e)ample, eroticism, aggression,
animality' that remain otherwise dark and obscure... avatars... function as masks that both
*
hide and reveal aspects of one"s personality, mostly without the person being immediately
aware of this" #+55%/ %$'.
*nother aspect of an avatars apparent "being" is that of animation. Second Life has a
series of built?in defaults, but animations can also be purchased or created by residents,
using tools like 2oser #a commercial application' or *vimator #an open?source euivalent'.
*nimations are often built into musical instruments in SL, and many performers simply
utilise these in their shows. <thers prefer to create their own animations, as they are
considered a vital component of performance practice.
(he avatar is really only "the resident" to others, whereas the agent is the source of action.
*n in?world presence can therefore be considered a hybrid of user, agent and avatarA an
avatar may appear to be moving, building or performing, but is actually serving as a
representation of the activities performed by the user, via the agent.
$$': #la"ing Music in Second Life
Many musicians today have fairly comple) technical set?ups. (hese take advantage of the
cost reductions that have altered the landscape of music creation, and often utilise digital
technology in the creation of sounds, and the recording and production of music. (he
recording studio #once an e)otic place' is now, at the amateur level, often located in a
spare bedroom. Some Second Life performers use simpler set?ups, maybe just a guitar
and a microphone, but even this entails mi)ing the signals and feeding them into a
computer. * certain level of technical competence is therefore necessary to successfully
perform online, or in SL.
*s well as the music technology, a computer running audio encoding software, such as
+
Ed.ast
3
, is also reuired to perform in Second Life. (he sound produced by the musician
is encoded #to M24 or a similar format' and streamed to a remote serverA here a 9!L
#9niform !esource Locator, or "link"' for the audio stream is generated. Listeners then
connect to this stream using an audio?player #such as @in*mp
7
or Luicktime
&
', or via the
Second Life client software. (he audio streaming server is not provided by Linden Lab or
Second LifeA these are third?party devices, rented by musicians by the day, week or
month. (he land within SL provides a facility to add the audio 9!L to the properties of the
land plot, allowing the music to be heard. (he performer also reuires a computer running
the SL client software #it is possible to run both Second Life and Ed.ast on the same
machineA it depends on the specification of the computer
%
'. (his instantiates the
musician"s avatar within SL, whereby the show can proceed. (he ways that the avatar and
features of SL are utilised in performance can vary greatly, as discussed in ,hapter 3.
$$(: Virtual Space and #lace
* number of spatial environments e)ist in SL to facilitate virtual live music, ranging from
recreations of historic music venues #such as .:=:
$5
', to generic places such as festival
sites, music clubs and stadia. Some performers prefer to build their own venuesA others to
seek e)isting environments, which are not necessarily designed for events, and subvert
them to the purpose of performing.
(illey #$%%-' describes how places are defined by the living e)istence of those who
e)perience them, when he writes that "GtHhe meaning of place is grounded in e)istential or
lived consciousness of it. ,t follows that the limits of place are grounded in the limits of
human consciousness. 2laces are as diffuse and differentiated as the range of identities
and significance accorded to them. 2eople are immersed in a world of places which the
geographical imagination aims to understand and recover B place as conte)ts for human
-.
e)perience... places are always more than points or locations, because they have
distinctive meanings and values for persons. 2ersonal and cultural identity is bound up
with place" #$%%-/ $6'.
*ccording to my informants, virtual places in SL can also be ascribed meaning in this
manner. Some of them e)pressed love for particular environments due, in some cases, to
the aesthetic ualities. <ften though it is due to the events they have attended in a
particular place, and the communities that are present.
$&: Music and #erformance
$&$: Music as #ractice
(he differences between the act of listening to music and the bodily practice of musical
performance are summarised in Musica /ractica by :arthes #$%77'/ "(here are two
musics... the music one listens to, the music one plays. (hese two musics are two totally
different arts, each with its own history, its own sociology, its own aesthetics, its own
erotic... (he music one plays comes from an activity that is very little auditory, being above
all manual" #$%77/ $-%'.
Manual activity, in the form of playing an instrument, is considered from the technological
perspective by ,hde #+557', who writes "GfHlutes, simple stringed instruments, percussion
instruments... all fall under a distinctive human?technology use , have... called embodied
relations. :y this , mean that the human or humans producing the music, do so through
material artifacts or instruments" #+557/ +6-'. 8innegan #$%&%' considers music to be, pre?
eminently, a bodily practice. "Music... is not essentially a cognitive code, and e)tends
beyond the "mind" to the "body". ,t is associated not primarily with words, but with rhythm,
--
movement, and overt physical enactment... a different and uniue modality of human
action" #$%&%/ 4-5'. ,n opposition to this idea of uniueness, Miller #+5$+' considers music
and gaming to be similar activities for a number of reasons/ "Musical e)perience... is so
much like play. ,t is immersive, unfolds in time, and is intrinsically motivating" #+5$+/ ++3'.
(he practice of musical performance is a phenomenon that differs from music itself. (he
term music is necessarily vagueA does it refer to the sound, the score, the actK (o cite
.ook, writing in .layton et al #+554', performance is more than the result of interpreting a
score/ "8undamental to GtheH... concept of performance is the idea that it generates
meaning, rather than simply reproducing a meaning that resides elsewhere" #p.$&6'. (his
implies that musical practice is as much an act in its own right as it is an attempt at
reproduction.
$&$&: Music as %echnolog"
(he playing of music has, from it"s inception, been closely tied to the technical
development of instruments. ,hde #+557' illustrates this in a discussion relating to
mechanically controlled plucks or hammers, utilised in the harpsichord and the clavier/
"G*Hrguments broke out concerning the alienation of IpureJ hand playing as it IdegradedJ
into ImechanicalJ playing... <bjections regarding the loss of e)pressivity, the loss of
nuance, the ImechaniCationJ of music, and the loss of IromanticismJ occurred... , am
suggesting that modern musical e)perience in conte)ted in a history?of?technologies
setting in which instrument innovation plays a major role" #+557/ +66'. Fe also contends
that music technology, in the most basic of electronic forms, the amplifier, has a
transformative effect on music itself/ "*mplification ImagnifiesJ sound, but unavoidably it
also transforms it. *ll technologies are nonneutrally transformational, including musical
ones." #,hde, +557/ +63'
-2
=ell"s thinking on this topic, in The Technology of 0nchantment and The 0nchantment of
Technology, is interesting because he argues that technical practice is instrumental in the
production of the artefact. Fe writes/ "GwHe recognise works of art... because they are the
outcome of technical process, the sorts of technical process in which artists are skilled"
#$%%%/ $3+'. (his is directly opposed to the more familiar perspective on techniueA the
perspective that normally differentiates the artist from the artisan/ "GtHechniue is supposed
to be dull and mechanical, actually opposed to true creativity and authentic values of the
kind art is supposed to represent." #=ell, $%%%/ $7&'
Music then is, largely, produced via technical processes and utilises, in most cases,
technological artefacts.
$&$': Music as Art
(he virtual performance event can be thought of as an artefactA one that creates a site of
intersection between performer and spectator. @hen considering live performance as the
process by which this artefact is created, =ell #$%%%' can be invoked once again. Fe
describes his idea about the power of artefacts being an inherent property of their birth/ ",t
is the way an art object is construed as having come into the world which is the source of
the power such objects have over us B their becoming rather than their being" #=ell, $%%%/
$33'. ,n the conte)t of live performance, this is implicitA the #ecoming is what the audience
bears witness to.
Some of my informants e)pressed that their aim when participating in virtual performance
was, in some form or another, a more complete piece of art than a music show. (his is
reflected in a piece by Stubbs #+55%', when he writes of the concept of the complete
-3
artwork, the =estamtkunstwerk/ "0andinsky was producing the first abstract watercolours
at the same time as Schoenberg was doing away with tonality. :oth men, in GsicH turned
out, had dreams of a =estamtkunstwerk, a theatrical piece perhaps, in which the spiritual
ualities of the new music and painting of the +5
th
century could come together in glorious
synthesis" #+55%/ +$'.
(he virtual environment allows for the creation of a =estamtkunstwerk in a way that is
uniue ? the webcast model of audio performance has e)panded into the facilities offered
by fast networks, 4; graphics, and game?based environments.
$&$(: Music as Collaboration
@hen considering virtual performance and the collaborative nature of the
performerMspectator dynamic, much of the relevant literature already considers this. .ook
#$%%&' believes that "artistic value lies in the e)perience of the spectator, who is no longer
detached from the artistic process but becomes an essential participant in it" #$%%&/ 77'.
,nwood #$%%7', though discussing visual art, concurs/ "G*Hn artwork... is not Iself
contained... ,t calls for an observer or interpreter" #$%%7/ $$7'. (he collaboration between
artist and audience seems to be an important element in art as a wholeA the act of
e)periencing an artefact is completed by the spectator.
:arthes #$%77' considers the empathic relation between the performer and the spectator,
reinforcing the concept of the collaboration that brings about the live performance event/
"(he modern location for music... is the stage on which the musicians pass, in what is
often a daCCling display, from one source of sound to another. ,t is we who are playing,
though still it is true by pro)y" #$%77/ $64'.
.ollaboration is an integral part of musical performance, be it as an act between
-&
musicians or between performer and audience.
$&$): Liveness
(he nature of the live, considered in depth by *uslander #+55&', is articulated in his
lecture Digital Liveness #+5$$'
$
/ 123istorically the live is an effect of mediati4ation, not the
other "ay around% 5t "as the development of recording technologies that made it possi#le
to to perceive e6isting representations as live% /rior to the advent of those technologies%%%
there "as no such thing as live performance, for that category has meaning only in
relation to an opposing possi#ility%%% the concept of live performance came into #eing not at
the appearance of the recording technologies that made the concept possi#le, #ut only
"ith the maturation of mediati4ed society%$
Fe talks of a new definition of liveness/ 153t may #e that "e are at a point at "hich
liveness can no longer #e defined in terms of either the presence of living human #eings
#efore each other, or physical and temporal relationships% The emerging definition of
liveness may #e #uilt primarily around the audiences7 affective e6perience% To the e6tent
that "e#sites and other virtual entities respond to us in real!time, they feel live to us, and
this may #e the 8ind of liveness "e no" value%$
(he notion of technological intermediaries between performer and audience is not a new
topicA @alter :enjamin wrote that "GtHhe artistic performance of the stage actor.. is
presented to the audience by the actor in person... (he artistic performance of the screen
actor, on the other hand, is presented to the audience via a piece of euipment, a film
camera... ,t includes a certain number of movements that need to be recognised as those
of the camera itself... (he screen actor"s performance thus undergoes a series of optical
tests... (he audience empathiCes with the performer only by empathiCing with the camera"
-'
#+55& G$%43H/ $7'.
Liveness is a concept that came into being only when it became apparent that there was
an alternative and, with the uptake of new communication and broadcast technologies,
liveness has a shifting definition. (he mediation of liveness through these technologies
has forced a change in the way we decide what is "live" and what is not.
-(
Chapter &: Methodolog"
&$: Methods
(he fieldwork for this project was largely built around participant observation. *s
Fammersley and *tkinson #$%&4' write, "the ethnographer participates, overtly or covertly,
in people"s daily lives for an e)tended period of time, watching what happens, listening to
what is said, asking uestionsA in fact collecting whatever data are available to throw light
on the issues with which he or she is concerned" #$%&4/ +'. , have been attending live
music shows and performing in Second Life #SL' for over si) years, and have spent
hundreds of hours in?world since , first logged?on in +553. My knowledge of the SL live
music community meant that finding informants was straightforward, and gave me some
insights into issues such as the design of spaces, and the ethnomethodologies of virtual
performance. , nevertheless chose to collect as much information as possible directly from
informants, sometimes via discussions, or through the study of their technical and
performance practices.
*ll informants names have been changed to ensure anonymity. (his, by necessity, also
entailed changing the names of their avatars and their bands where necessary. !egions
and venues in Second Life have not been mentioned by name.
* large part of the data was gathered through in?depth, face?to?face interviews with three
Second Life performersA these were conducted in various locations and, in one case, was
accompanied by a session observing and filming a performance. ,n a second case a
performance was observed and notes taken, but no recording was made.
,n talking to and observing these three informants, appro)imately $5 hours of audio and
video material was generatedA this was used as the source material for the ethnographic
-)
portraits included in .hapter 4. 8urthermore, , conducted numerous interviews, in?world
and via email and Skype, with various performers, builders and event attendees. , also
attended the London SL meet?up in Dune +5$+ to meet other residents and to discuss the
music scene in Second Life, and went to twenty in?world music events during the fieldwork
period. <ther e)periences of attending and performing SL shows has been drawn upon
where reuired, but the majority of the material presented is not auto?ethnographic.
(o gain some general usage information and opinion, two web?based surveys were
employed ? one for performers and one for audience members. (hese were designed to
gain an insight into the processes behind performing in Second Life as opposed to !L
#!eal Life' musical performance practices and, in the case of the audience survey, to
gauge how the attendees felt that SL shows compared to !L ones. , had ten responses
from performers and twenty from event attendees. Several survey respondents agreed to
follow?up discussions, some via Skype and some via e?mail or in?world communications. ,
also gathered metrics relating to SL event listings and music events, and live music at
SL%: #the official Second Life %
th
:irthday event'. (his data is presented in the appendi).
&$&: Methodological Issues
, consider Second Life to be a valid field?site, citing :oellstorff, who writes "GtheH sociality of
virtual worlds develops on its own termsA it references the actual world but is not simply
derivative of it" #+55&/ 34'.
,t is important though to consider to actual alongside the virtual, especially given that my
research was investigating an actual practice delivered via the virtual. =olub #+5$5',
opposing some aspects of :oellstorff"s method, writes "GwHhile :oellstorff is right to insist
that Second life is a Ilegitimate site of cultureJ... and , believe in?game fieldwork to be a
-*
legitimate method, , would resist :oellstorff"s conflation of a valid methodological decision
#to conduct research entirely in?game' with a wider epistemological one #to bracket out of
analysis all other lifeworld conte)ts in which Second Lifers participate'" #+5$5/ +-'. (urkle
#$%%6' makes the point that "virtual reality poses a new methodological challenge for the
researcher/ what to make of online interviews and, indeed, whether and how to use them",
and considered it important to meet her informants "..in person rather than simply in
persona" #$%%6/ 4+-'. Fine #+555' argues for the validity of virtual ethnography, stating
that "GaHll forms of interaction are ethnographically valid, not just the face?to?face. (he
shaping of the ethnographic object as it is made possible by the available technologies is
the ethnography. (his is ethnography in, of and through the virtual" #+555/ 36'.
, consider the musical practice of my informants to be of vital importance, interested as ,
am in the intersection between this and their utilisation of Second Life to deliver live
performance to an audience. ,t is therefore not possible to e)amine this solely within SL,
but virtual ethnography is, nevertheless, an important and valid component of this study.
=olub also notes that "GcHompelling projects may have their origin in and be anchored to a
particular virtual world, but this does not mean that the sociality, action, and cultural
formations created by that project need to be confined to that world" #+5$5/ -5'. ,n the
case of many of the musicians , have spoken to, virtual performance has in fact facilitated
their musical practice within the actual, confirming =olub"s thinking. Second Life, as a
platform, is a legitimate area of study, but the people behind the avatars are the most
interesting components of the system.
-+
Chapter ': *indings
'$: +thnograph"
'$$: ,obert
, suppose the first clue as to what lies within is the alien "schwa" sticker on the front door B
the familiar face of the "grey" alien from The 9!:ilesA !obert"s bookshelves are lined with
science fiction and his South London flat is a kaleidoscope of colours. Fe welcomes me
warmly and offers tea as we proceed to the back of the building. ,t is a pleasant room with
a view of the garden, and is jammed to the rafters with computers and music euipment,
with a brace of guitars on stands. *s we drink our tea and he fiddles with one of his
computers , ask him how all of this came about, the music and the method by which he
chooses to make it/ 5 started on piano as a 8id, #ut gave it up "hen 5 "as a#out -2% My
#rother got an electric guitar a couple of years later% 5 nic8ed it, and found 5 had an instant
sense of rhythm; something 5 hadn7t had on piano%%% 57d listen to #ands on the radio and
pic8 up a fe" <ho or M,' riffs% 57d string 7em together to ma8e my o"n things%$
, first saw !obert playing in the early $%%5"s, and he was then, as now, a one?man band. *
long?haired, tie?dyed figure brandishing a distinctive "8lying 1ee" guitar, he also had an
intriguing rack of electronics and a board full of effects?units. Fe was playing a uniue
brand of "space M prog rock" #to use the artists term'. (o render this vision even more
surprising one has to picture the locationA a pavement outside of .amden tube station.
(his early adoption of computer technology by a musician was unusual, but particularly so
in the world of busking. , was fascinated by sampling and the use of electronics and,
though , didn"t speak to him at the time, his approach to musical construction and
performance left a lasting impression on me. Fe tells me that he started busking in
London in the winter of $%73/ That summer 57d travelled around the => going to free
2.
festivals% 5 arrived in London, a#solutely #ro8e% 5 got hold of a guitar and played some
#lues and stuff to earn money%$
0een to perform his own material, he started putting a band together and finally had
something going by $%&+/ Iafter various line!up changes and very fe" gigs, that fell apart
in 7*(% 5 "ent #ac8 to #us8ing, "hich "as good practice% 5 have very little stage
e6perience, #ut "hen you7re out #us8ing you7ve got a constantly moving cro"d and you
get the chance to chat #et"een songs% /laying in Second Life is similar to #us8ing%$
, ask him about his initial e)periences with Second Life, and how he came across it/
5 found Second Life on the "e# #y accident%%% 57d had a loo8 at Active <orlds Ganother
virtual world platformH, #ut couldn7t connect GemotionallyH "ith it for some reason%%% 57d
played Sim ,ity%%% 5 li8ed SL #ecause 57m a Lego frea8%%%5 li8e ma8ing stuff, though 5 can7t
script at all% 5 don7t have the time to learn%$
*s an enthusiastic SL resident, !obert initially became involved as a builder of tree?
houses. 9ntil +55& he had been involved with projects for "furry" communities, largely
based in woodland settings. 8urries are SL residents whose avatars are animal?humanoid
hybrids, often fo)es or wolvesA !obert prefers dragons. , posit that he isn"t a furry but a
"scale?y" B he laughs. ;uring his early years in SL, he had also been involved with region
administration and support, but soon gave that up, as he found it too time consuming.
, ask him why he started performing in Second life specificallyA there are, after all, other
methods available for online performance, as well as the more obvious route of !L live
performance. 5 do sho"s in SL partly out of convenience% ?ou @ust turn all of the stuff on
and off you go% 5n a real venue, you have to lug all the gear in, set!up, play your set as if
it7s your only concern in life, and then, immediately after"ards, #rea8 everything do"n and
2-
put it in its flight cases "hile the ne6t #and is clim#ing on!stage%%% SL is convenient%%% it is a
"onderful focal point for composing material%%%5 "rite material "ith the reason in mind to
perform it for a live audience% 5 can either rehearse alone or 5 can stream it out to Second
Life% 5t7s got through to a fe" people%%% 57m going to play any"ay% 5 need to 8eep it
rehearsed% 5 li8e to 8eep it fresh%$
!obert then informs me that he has to make dinner and prepare for his show later that
evening. , turn off the recorder and let him get on, while having a nose around his studio
set?up. ,t is, for a home studio, uite comple), consisting of three computers and a large
rack of synthesisers as well as the normal mi)er, effects units and M,;, #Musical
,nstrument ;igital ,nterface' units. (wo of the computers are there strictly to facilitate his
Second Life performance, while the main one is for his M,;, seuencer software and
audio encoder #for streaming the sound for his SL shows'. Fe informs me that he also has
a server in the hallway cupboard that runs the +-M7 internet radio stream that he also
sends to his venues in Second Life. !obert is very attentive to the technical architecture of
his Second Life set?up, to the e)tent that he allocates specific processor cores to specific
functions when an event takes place #using a piece of software called "@inlauncher",
designed for this purpose'. Fe tells me that he has, by trial and error, noticed different
performance characteristics when utilising different pairs of coresA the entire procedure is
detailed to the e)treme. Even his set lists of songs are colour print?outs as opposed to the
more typical scrawled?marker documents commonly used by bands. (his is because
!obert rotates the songs he plays freuently, both to avoid the audience becoming bored
with the songs and to allow him to practice as much of his material as possible. Fe has a
list of around thirty songs that he plays live, and usually plays two short songs #less than
seven or eight minutes' and si) long songs per show/ I5 li8e to start "ith a short one to get
the #lood flo"ing and get into playing mode%$
*fter dinner, !obert concentrates on the final preparations for his performanceA he tunes
22
his guitar and logs the four avatars that make up his virtual band into Second Life. *fter
positioning them on the stage, he changes his shoesA footwear is important for users of
effects pedals.
*s the gig begins !obert greets the audience, some by name #visible as "floating" te)t
above the avatars', and launches into the first number. ;uring the show , keep an eye on
the nearest computer monitor #which is running the Second Life avatar for the keyboard
player' and note that there are around eleven attendees present for the majority of the
show, peaking at fourteen during the performance. (he audience members greet each
other by name and seem uite a friendly bunch but chat levels are generally low,
presumably because they are engaged with the performance. *s the music is instrumental
the microphone is usually muted but, between songs, !obert activates it and speaks to
the audienceA he also reacts to new avatars appearing, greeting each of them by name.
Fe then announces the title of the ne)t song, mutes the microphone once more, and
proceeds to play another tune. <ne avatar admits, in te)t chat, that she is listening but is
doing her laundry while the show is proceeding. *nother attendee suddenly announces
that he has mistakenly been tipped, rather than the artistA he passes the money on to
!obert"s tip jar #which hovers before the stage' ? this inspires two more audience
members to make donations.
Mid?song, !obert says to me/ The left!hand part is a #it loud on that%%% need to t"ea8 it up
a #it$, referring to one of the sound?patches on his newest keyboard. Fe then launches
into a flurry of hammered chords without missing a beat. *fter a couple more songs
!obert introduces the various avatar band members to the audience, and gestures #in the
real world' to where they would be, as if he actually inhabits the virtual stage.
(he set comes to an end. ,t has been a good show. Fe thanks the audience and indicates
23
#verbally' that there are vending devices near to the stage where his albums can be
purchased in?world. Fe makes a sale, and receives a thousand Linden dollars #around
four 9.S dollars'. Fe makes si) hundred Linden dollars in tips, indicating a fairly low
average tip rate given the attendance. (his is, unfortunately, not unusual in SL nowadaysA
in my e)perience many audience members don"t tip anything.
Fe resets his radio stream playing and sinks into his chair with a sigh/ Live is flying #y
the seat!of!your!pants% That "as alright; 57ve done #etter% Let7s put the #oys and girls Gthe
four avatarsH out dancing$% Fe moves them from the stage and clicks the "dance ball"
object to set them going. Fe appears tired, even drained, but nevertheless starts fi)ing the
synth level problem. (he audience starts to trickle away after a few minutes, teleporting to
other Second Life regions. !obert logs out.
<nce the show is over the e)tent of the effort involved is apparent. Fe says/ 5t7s pretty
intense doing this$; , ask him if it"s all worth it, given the low levels of financial reward. Fe
responds/ 5 find playing music has a very positive effect for me% 5 feel more in tune "ith
"ho and "hat 5 am% 5 seem to come alive% 5t #ecomes a focal point for everything else in
life%%% Music is all!consuming%$
'$$&: Sarah
Sarah"s studio is housed in the largest bedroom of a local authority flat. ,t is very high up
so the view from the single window is mostly of the sky. <ccasionally a crow, pigeon or
seagull flies past. Sometimes in the spring you can see kestrelsA she thinks they nest on
the roof. (he building is concrete and the neighbour is deaf so it is, in many ways, an ideal
place to create music. ;espite the generous proportions the room is fullA three large desks
house various computers, effects racks and mi)ing desks. (he floor is covered with guitar
2&
and violin stands, drum machines, echo bo)es and effects pedals and, most of all, cables.
,n the corner of the room the large built?in wardrobe is full of amplifiers, instrument cases,
microphone stands and empty euipment bo)es.
, set the recorder going and ask her to describe how she became interested in music, and
when she started playing. Sarah started on violin at the age of twelve, she informs me,
and performed in school orchestras until she was si)teen. *fter working in a record shop
in Susse) for a while, she was recruited to play violin in a friend"s band, and moved to
London. (he band was of the e)perimental M improvising typeA she continues/ <e "ere
into things li8e ,an, and 5 "as into ,a#aret Voltaire%%% <e @ammed for hours onto &!trac8
tape%%% 5 shared a flat "ith the #ass player and the 8ey#oard player% They had #oth #een in
#ands #efore%%% Gthe keyboard playerH "as very open% 2e li8ed a lot of the music that 5
li8ed%%% li8e Thro##ing Aristle%%% all three of us "ere on the same "avelength%$
Sarah e)plains that her musical method at that time revolved completely around concepts
of e)perimentation, as she abhorred conventional song forms/ I5 got into things li8e
#uilding para#olic receivers%%% and "e got into tape loops%%% you could splice GcassetteH
tape "ith a 8it from <ool"orths% 5 made some interesting loops% 5 li8ed the glitches "hen
they looped%%% it "as li8e a rhythm%%% 5 also had a contact microphone on my violin, "hich 5
stuc8 on a cym#al% Gthe keyboard playerH recorded it and put it through his Boland Space
0cho Ga tape echo effectH and Dimension D Ga stereo chorus effectH, and 5 put some
chanting vocals on it%$
, ask her to tell me about her e)periences of playing live before an audience/ 5t "as the
eighties%%% a summer community festival%%% My second gig "as in an old 0ast 0nd pu#%%%
"e started playing, and 5 GspontaneouslyH started singing, "hich 5 really en@oyed%%%
every#ody loved it, they "ere all dancing%%% At the end the landlord turned up and as8ed
2'
ho" much money "e7d ta8en%%% "e hadn7t realised, and let everyone in for free%%% 5 said 57d
sort it out, so he "ent off% <e got in the #us and ran a"ay%$
She offers me more tea, but , volunteer. , ask her to continue talking. She describes how
she, and a group of musicians she knew, moved into a large house together. *round this
time they also managed to get some free studio time/ 5 spent a day or t"o learning to use
the eCuipment%%% 5 leaned mic!ing and stuff%%% the studio guy hit on me, so 5 "al8ed a"ay
from it% The #and fell apart shortly after"ards%%% After a "hile 5 got a @o#, and met Ge)?
boyfriendH.%% Around then 5 played a gig "ith D4ric Tentacles at the -.. ,lu#%%% 5 moved
into Ge)?boyfriend"sH sCuat at that point, "ent to university to get my degree and then got a
@o#, #ut really didn7t play any music for years%$
, ask Sarah why this was, and she describes the period as being interesting musicallyA her
boyfriend was into music and made mi)?tapes of the newly emerging dance music from
the radio, but he had a tendency of driving people away, including potential musical
collaborators. *fter several years the relationship ended, and Sarah"s interest in making
music was rekindled/ After 5 split up "ith Ge)?boyfriendH 5 "as on my o"n for a fe"
months%%% 5 started hanging out "ith a #and 5 8ne", one of "hom #ecame my current
#oyfriend%%% 2e moved into my flat in -++' and had some music gear, an *!trac8 reel!to!
reel and a des8, #ut that had to go as his e6!#and @ointly o"ned it, so in -++( 5 #ought a
/, to use for music%%% 5 started using a piece of soft"are called 7Ma8ing <aves7 for
composition using samples, and "e used ,u#ase Ga M,;, seuencerH as "ell%%% 5 "anted
to "rite more e6perimental music, though a lot of things came out more song!li8e than 5
intended%%% 5 li8e to create all of my o"n samples from scratch%%% 5 still use a lot of loops,
li8e "ith the tape splicing 57d done #efore% 5 started playing violin a lot more again as it7s
my main instrument, and #ecame the vocalist%%% 5t "as very li#erating%$
*fter becoming re?involved with music making, this time utilising digital technologies,
2(
Sarah"s band released several singles and albums over the ne)t few years, largely using
the internet to promote and distribute the music, but had not been inclined to perform live,
largely at the beheet of her co?founder. , ask Sarah to describe how she moved back into
live music performance/ 5 @oined a friends #and in 2..( after hearing it on Gradio stationH%%%
it "as mad classical E progressive stuff%%% 5 got in touch "ith him via his "e#site and he
as8ed me to play violin on a short => tour%%% 5 got an electric violin to do this, "hich also
drove my o"n #and into playing live, #ecause 5 could try that in this other #and and then
#ring it #ac8 to GbandH%%% playing in the other #and "as really li8e #eing in a different
avatar%%% it "as really comple6 material%%% 5 did a pretty good @o#%%% 0ventually it all fell apart,
#ut it "as mostly Cuite fun%$
@ith her appetite for live performance whetted, and her fellow band members playing
along, , ask Sarah to describe how she came to find Second Life, and how her
performance practice in the virtual environment began/ 5 met GSL friendH through this
other #and%%% he "as in the audience for a gig and "as already performing in SL%%% my o"n
#and "as starting to rehearse for some live sho"s at this point and 5 Cuic8ly realised that
"e should loo8 into Second Life%%% GSL friendH "as 8een to help us%%% our first gig Gin
;ecember +553H "as on his SL land%%% "e got in and learned the #asics, though it "as all
a #it strange%%% it seemed to #e mostly porn and gam#ling%%% it "as li8e the seediest part of
the "e#% 5 sa" the potential #ut then ran a"ay for 3 months to mull it all over%$
*nd how did she envision her band operating specifically in Second LifeK Sarah tells me
that the band have plans in place for other kinds of event, such as game?based activities
and highly abstract virtual performance installations, but to date the focus has been on the
simulation of live performance. (hey try to enhance this by utilising the facilities that SL
provides #such as like lighting, video streaming and particle features' but, essentially, the
SL shows are not unlike their real?world gigs. ,n terms of the simulation of the band, they
2)
each have an avatar, and their shows consist of three peopleMavatars on most occasions,
but they have played with two and four members. :eyond avatars, they utilise bespoke
animations that are choreographed to simulate live playing. (hey often use a video
backdrop #which uses the same content that they use in !L shows'. , ask her how they
began to get on top of this act of simulation/ <e7d al"ays thought of our #and as
7multimedia7, "hich sounds naff no", #ut in the early days it "as an e6pression of "hat "e
"anted to do%%% something more than music%%% ?ears #efore 57d dra"n some cartoon
versions of us as a virtual #and%%% this "as "ay #efore The Aorilla4 or Second Life, and Gin
+55$ B +55+H 57d #een #ac8 to ,ollege and done an MA in digital animation%%% 57d had a go
at 3D modelling during this, so 57d had some e6posure to 3D "orlds #efore SL%%% <e7d
thought a#out ma8ing a virtual 3D ,A5 version of GbandH "hile 5 "as at ,ollege, #ut that
involved a lot of "or8%%% getting them @ust to "al8 is hard, let alone play instruments%%% you
really need a "hole team of people%%% Second Life "as much more managea#le%%% the
avatars are there%%% you can ma8e clothes, li8e playing "ith dolls%%% 5 hated dolls as a child,
5 "as a tom#oy%%% 5 laughed "hen 5 realised 5 "as dressing!up the avatars li8e they "ere
dolls%%% <or8ing "ith prims also seemed much easier than 3D mesh modelling%$
=iven her M* in animation , ask Sarah if this aspect was particularly appealing to her. She
responds, saying that she appreciates the limitations place on the animator by Second
Life. ?ou7re forced to "or8 in a much more cut!do"n, essential "ay%%% most SL animations
are too #eautiful and too tailored; they7re clichFs%%% "e sa" it as a creative tool, an opening
to ma8e this virtual #and "e7d thought a#out years #efore, and "e had all of the s8ills%%%
GboyfriendH 8ne" coding%%% <e thought, 7"e can play live here7%$
@e talk about the specifics of the first SL gig. Fer SL friend helped a great deal, both with
encouragement and with practical assistance. 2e made me a violin, @ust li8e my actual
one%%% then 5 had to animate the avatars%%% 5 tried /oser Ga 4; animation applicationH #ut 5
2*
hate everything a#out it%%% 5 found Avimator, "hich is free, and started using that%%% 5 made
some clothes and "e "ere all set to go%%% "e started "ith the t"o of us for the first sho",
#ut then dragged our dou#le!#assistE8ey#oard player in for our ne6t series of gigs t"o
months later Gin early +557H. :y then "e had made many more animations and #uilt a
proper stage set% 5t "as much more comple6, and "e got a friend to run the animations for
us%$
,"m aware that Sarah"s band has their own venue, a bespoke build made especially for
them, and , ask her about that. ;id they build it themselvesK Go%%% 5 recognised "hat 5
"anted and 8ne" there "as no "ay on 0arth 5 could #uilt it, especially "ith an economical
use of prims%%% te6turing it "ould have ta8en me a#out a year%% "e 8ne" GSL builderH
already and 8ne" he "as prepared to #uild something for us%%% it "as o#vious really%%% "e
@ust had to find the right thing%%% "e set up a line of communication% 5 had Cuite an in!depth
colla#oration "ith GSL builderH, though he "as doing all the "or8 really, #ut 5 "as sending
him stuff%%% it "as a client!architect relationship%%% it "as really good%%% he produced
something really ama4ing%$
0nowing that this venue is a copy of something that e)ists in the real?world, though not
specifically a music venue, , ask her to e)plain thisA is reality the trigger for their SL
aestheticK The real "orld performances "ere the starting point for our SL gigs%%% "e7re
Cuite strict a#out the portrayal%%% the music is the most important thing and "e "ant to
sho" people "hat "e7re doing%%% "e7re a real #and in SL%%% most other people are duos or
solo performers%%% many are miming their avatars to other peoples music or are playing
covers%%% "e are a genuinely self!#uilt #and, though "e get help from others "hen "e
need to%%% often they can do things much faster than us, li8e "ith complicated #uilds%%% The
eCuipment is accurate%%% our instruments are, to a degree, copies of our real ones%%% "e
ma8e effects pedals that "e actually o"n%%% it7s li8e "hen you7re on stage%%% if you have a
2+
load of pedals it says something to people%%% it says D>, there7s a 8ind of retro thing here,
may#e a Sonic ?outh thing here%%% even a Arateful Dead thing "ith their effects the si4e of
houses% 5t7s got a lineage and a musical history, and you7re ma8ing a statement that
relates to the music that you7re playing% Go"adays, people recognise the tools that you
ma8e music "ith and ma8e certain associations, in the same "ay that people hear a
guitar riff and 8no" the conte6t of that, or "hat you7re influenced #y% 5t spea8s as much as
the music a#out "hat the sounds are that you7re ma8ing%$
(urning to the uestion of the band"s avatars, and given what she has told me about the
;.,.N approach they take, , ask her how she goes about creating their in?world
appearance and persona/ 5 sometimes Cuestion ho" "e present ourselves and try to
thin8 differently a#out it, especially in terms of of more a#stract entities and ho" "e7d
interact "ith each other%%% our avatars are very much individually programmed%%% "e are
thin8ing a#out re!e6pressing ourselves su#tly%%% 57d li8e to control ho" my #and loo8s in
real life, #ut 5 "or8 "ith Gband membersH "ho are o#stinate and opposed to that Gshe
smilesH%%% in SL the "hole visual thing is part of the "hole%%% "e design each gig%%% "here
are "e played, "hat are "e playing% The avatar s8ins are a crucial part of that, and 57ve
started ma8ing those too%%% commercial s8ins are too li8e fashion models or something%%%
they7re too real, #ut they7re not real% They7re too perfect%%% "e "anted to #e slight misfits%%%
sCuare pegs in round holes%%% it7s more interesting to #e li8e David Ho"ie%%% a #it alien%%% it7s
li8e pun8 in its D%5%? ethos%%% you7re ma8ing the #est of a limitation, and not trying too hard
to #e perfect%%% Musicians are entities% 5t7s not @ust a#out music%%% live performance has
al"ays had a visual element and it7s Cuite important that it "or8s%$
*nd her own avatarK 5 am 8ind of 7meta7 myself, #ut that7s my avatar I not me%%% it7s #oth%%
it7s my representation%%% 5 thin8 75 have to loo8 cool7 not 7GavatarH has to loo8 cool7%%% GavatarH
is an entity that7s not there "hen 5 shut SL%%% 5 don7t have 7alts7 Galternative SL accounts
3.
with associated avatarsH, #ut 5 login sometimes as the other #and mem#ers%%% "hen 5 do
that 57m very a"are that 57m in the "rong #ody, 57m @ust not comforta#le #ecause it7s not
me%%% my avatar has ta8en on a life of her o"n%%% it7s li8e having an alter!ego in a #and, 5
don7t thin8 it7s any different%%% you7re not really yourself "hen performing%%% a good
performance almost demands that you go #eyond yourself in that "ay, so for me GavatarH
is an entity unto herself%%% 5 don7t see through my avatars eyes%% it doesn7t matter ho"
GavatarH sees the #and, it7s more important ho" others see the #and%%% it7s all a
relationship%%% li8e, ho" the audience loo8s and ho" the #and loo8s, li8e "hat "e7re all
"earing%%% 57m al"ays so #usy "hen 57m in SL, 57m Cuite anti!social%%% may#e it helps create
a mystiCue%$
, decide to wrap up the interview as it"s getting late. , ask Sarah to sum up, if she can, why
she and her fellow band members choose to continue playing in Second Life after more
than si) years. ,s the venture profitable, or is it more for creative reasonsK 5 al"ays "ant
to do more music than 5 can%% my @o# dominates a lot of time%%% it earns me money, and is a
more fi6ed path"ay%%% #eing in a #and is not li8e that%%% having starved a fe" times 5 didn7t
"ant to do it again%%% it "asn7t particularly romantic%%% GSL isH not a fantasy #ecause you get
real money and real people listening to you%%% it e6ists%%% even if it7s only self!sustaining,
that7s #etter than the real "orld, "here "e can7t sustain it "ithout putting e6tra money in,
not "ith the congestion charge, the van hire, the promotion, the a#omina#le /%A
systems%%% <e have our controlled, studio environment and yet "e can ma8e live music
and e6press ourselves visually, li8e in real life, #ut "ith e6tra #its "e could never afford in
real life%%% that7s the art% 5t still hinges around the music% <ithout that, there7s nothing%$
'$$': Steve
, meet Steve in a pub near to one of my old stomping groundsA he works in the media
3-
industry in the city as a video editor, so , suggest a place , know. , arrive first, but Steve
appears a few minutes later. , fetch beverages and snacks and we settle into a booth. (he
establishment is loud, with intrusive background music and shouting city?types
everywhere and , pray that my audio recorder will be able to deal with itA after a few tests it
seems to be coping.
Steve is the bass player in what , shall refer to as a =eographically !emote Musical
=roup, or a =!M=, with members located in Europe, the 90 and the 9S* . (heir
performances are entirely mediated by technologyA a loop?based, collaborative music tool
called >injam. Steve hasn"t met the other band members face?to?face, but plans to do so
are afoot/ 5 "ould li8e to meet them, #ut 5 don7t 8no" if it7ll ruin it$% , have seen Steve"s
band several times over the years and, as it turns out, he has seen mine a few times too.
Fe says/ 5t7s good to tal8 to someone "ho 8no"s "hat 57m going on a#out%$
Steve started playing bass in the early &5"s, aged $6. Fe can"t read music, largely
because he has dysle)ia, so learned to play by ear. ,n $%&+ Steve bought a 8ender
2recision when he started working full?time, and got involved in local bands around $%&6,
making videos for them and acting as a bass roadie. Fe later joined one of these bands
when the bassist left. (his split?up after + years #due to "musical differences"', and by $%%5
Steve had become a junior (1 editor. Fe had no creative energy left for music, though he
still practised at home/ 5 got into electro type stuff%%% May#e that7s "hy 5 didn7t play much
music then% 5 didn7t have enough gear to do that 8ind of thing$% *round +556 he formed a
band with work colleagues, freuently rehearsing and playing a couple of "work?do" gigs,
though this split up as people left the company.
,n +557 he entered Second Life at the reuest of his boss. Fe was asked to investigate
the business opportunities for the media company he worked forA mainly he discovered
32
the SL music scene. Fe comments on this/ There7s a lot of one man or "oman "ith a
guitar%%% they don7t do originals% 5 don7t thin8 there7s a huge mar8et for originals in Second
Life$% Steve has strong technical skills, including software coding, so SL held no fears for
him and he found it uite easy to become acclimatised. *t the time he was going through
a divorce and he comments that this may have partially driven his use, which was largely
as a social tool at first/ <hat 5 li8ed a#out SL "as you could find "hat you "anted to #e%%%
it doesn7t solve real pro#lems%%% some people spend all day or all night on it, and it7s not
good for people%%% they can get o#sessed "ith it%%% 5 did that a #it during my divorce%$
Steve attended a lot of virtual music shows as an audience member, and had seen his
future?band play several times. <ne day, when they discovered he played bass, they
asked him to join/ 5 "asn7t sure "hy they7d as8ed me, #ut 5 decided 57d give it a go$% *fter
downloading >injam he was uickly up and running.
Steve tells me about the early days of his SL music practice in +557?+55&, when "the
shopping mall culture" #as he describes it' was prevalent. Large stores would be set?up
with a token venue thrown in at the back of the plot. (he music would function to attract
people into the malls to buy virtual goods. Most people assumed no live playing was
happening, and that the avatars were miming to recordings, so Steve"s band ran live video
streams to prove that this was not the case, seeking to authentic the liveness of their
shows.
*ccording to Steve those early years of Second Life and it"s music scene offered
opportunities for making money that have largely disappeared/ 15n3 2..)!2..* the money
stopped%%% my first year in SL, during the first + months of playing "e made '... real G9SH
dollars%%% other people, playing ( gigs a night, "ere ma8ing a living at it%%% "e7re luc8y to
ma8e LJ2... Gappro). E& 9SH a gig no"adays%%% the scene 8ind of fell apart%%% "hen the
33
money "ent it got a #it "eird%%% the culture of payment changed%%% "e needed a musicians
union or something$% , ask him why he continues to play in SL if this is the case. Fe
responds/ ?ou don7t go into SL to ma8e money no"% 5 @ust do it to play and yes, it7s nice
"hen you get ne" audiences or "hatever%%% 5 can @ust play, no lugging gear a#out or
"hatever%%% GSL performerH has #ac8 pro#lems and can7t play real gigs, #ut he could ma8e
a #it of money playing%$
(he discussion turns to the nature of his performance practice. , ask him to e)plain what
it"s like playing a song with geographically remote band members. Fe tells me that it
creates a certain abstract kind of playing e)perience, as nobody hears uite the same
thing/ The streams are in sync, #ut not in time%$
(alk turns to the other band members/ Gthe singerH is also an artist%%% she does oil!on!
canvas%%% 57m going to do al#um covers for each song%%% 5 made 2.!odd art covers that 5 put
in a scripted #o6 at the #ac8 of the stage "hen "e play$% Fe shows some e)amples of her
work he has on his "phoneA some of them are very good and , say so. Fe continues/ Gthe
guitaristH had only #een playing a couple of years #efore Gthe SL bandH, and that7s given
him the confidence to play in real #ands%%% 5 have developed an unspo8en techniCue
#et"een me and Gthe guitaristH of #uilding things up%%% 57ll start, and he7s intuitive to 8no"
"hat 57m doing%%% "ithout ever spea8ing to him%$
, ask him about the use of other online formsA it turns out that they not only use 8acebook
and (witter e)tensively, but also have multiple websites/ There7s a Aerman "e#site, and 5
have a "e#site% At one point Gthe singerH had dot com, 5 had dot co dot u8, and Gthe
guitaristH had dot de%%% The "e#site has an em#edded audio stream%%% it7s useful "hen the
sim GregionH #rea8s%$
3&
, pause the recorder and head to the barA we reuire more sustenance. @hen , return ,
ask Steve about performing in Second LifeA what does it have that real life performances
don"tK :or the artist, SL gives you immediate feed#ac8%%% you can get to 8no" the
audience and #uild a rapport%%% it7s much more sym#iotic Gthan MySpaceH #et"een the
listener and the artist%%% /eople li8e to communicate "ith the artist%%% 5 can message you
"ith a reCuest and -. minutes later you might play it%%% if you "ere playing in a pu# you
couldn7t hear anything% 5n SL you can 7hear7 "hat the people in the #ac8 are tal8ing a#out%
The "hole @oining in, the "hole interaction% 5t never #ecame "hat "e thought "e could do
"ith it, the "hole music scene, #ut 5 thin8 it "as very important for the audience to have
that rapport "ith the artist, and you got to 8no" them%%% ?ou could 7friend7 people really
easily, and through tipping%%% you got noticed more if you tipped more%$
,t"s getting late and , don"t want to take up the entire evening, so , wrap up the interview
and we head for the tube. *s we walk Steve tells about the array of musical euipment he
owns, including fourteen bass guitars, and the various euipment forums he moderates/
he comes across as a true enthusiast/ SL gives me the opportunity to flic8 a s"itch, plug
my #ass in, and 8eep playing%%% Any money 5 ma8e in SL 5 give to charity%%% 57ve put too
much "or8 into it to give it up, and 5 ma8e enough money doing "hat 5 do%%% 57m doing
music for the love of it%$
3'
'$&: Virtual Informants
My other informants, both performers and attendees, were mainly survey respondents.
8ollow up conversations occurred in si) instancesA three with musicians and three with
audience members. (he following section details some of the key points that arose.
'$&$: Conversations -ith #erformers
@hen talking to performers, , was interested in the parallels between their actual practice
and the methods they utilise when playing in SL. , asked all of my informants if their SL
performances attempted to mimic their real world practice in any way, and received a
broadly affirmative responseA one informant stated that 1t3here7s very little difference
#et"een my BL and SL lives% The guitar 5 play in BL has #een customi4ed to #e identical
to the one in SL$% (his is an interesting response, as it would seem easier to customise
the SL guitar, but nevertheless a confirmation that SL and !L practices are closely related,
at least in visual terms. *nother informant insisted that 1m3y BL set!up is instrumental
acoustic guitar "ith the necessary amplification played sitting do"n% 5n SL it7s @ust an
attached guitar and a playing animation played standing up ! so no not really, it doesn7t
attempt to mimic BL that much$% ,n this case then the SL version is of a similar
configuration #i.e. acoustic guitar', but is not an attempt at an accurate rendition. 8rom
further discussions it became evident that this was the result of time and investment
constraints, and a more realistic replication of his !L set?up would be his choice if the
option were easily available.
<ne musician with a much more comple) set?up told me about how he used the design
elements of his SL euipment to reinforce the liveness of his practice/ 5n the 7real "orld7 5
perform using several instruments and a looper, "hich allo"s me to record elements of
songs on the fly and loop them% This is done -..K live each time and no elements are
pre!recorded% That7s something that 5 "ant the audience 8no", so they don7t thin8 they7re
3(
hearing merely a #ac8ing trac8 that 5 had "aiting on my i/od% ,onseCuently 5 have
created a 7stage7 that 5 #ring "ith me to all sho"s that mimics my real "orld set!up%$
8inally, an SL performer who had acuired a real world euipment endorsement had to
ensure that his virtual instruments were true to the originals/ 5 am endorsed #y Gbrand
nameH guitars in BL%%% so my SL guitar is a replica of my BL gear%$
, asked all of my musician?informants to e)plain why they played in Second Life, and what
they particularly liked or disliked about the platform. Largely it seemed to be a matter of
convenience and promotion, though some also spoke of an atmosphere that seems
uniue to virtual performanceA one person told me that it7s much more intimate than BL,
much more% The difficulties in setting up the technical reCuirements are annoying%%% #ut it7s
still a remar8a#le "ay to send your music live around the "orld%$
(he straightforward logistics of SL shows, along with the global reach, appealed to many/
5 gig in SL to earn money%%% 5 li8e it, #ecause it eliminates the BL gig logistics of travel L
moving gear% Also, 5 play to people all over the "orld, and 5 can play my original material
to an accepting audience$. (he notion of worldwide ubiuity was disputed by one
informant though/ 5n reality Second Life is not truly glo#al% 5t has a large #ias to"ards the
0astern and ,entral =S time 4ones%%% Those "ho don7t spea8 0nglish that "ell are less
li8ely to integrate "ith the range of live music and musicians or only support one musician
that does spea8 their language%$
(he creative aspects of SL performance are a major incentive for many performers, such
as my informants !obert and Sarah. ,n some cases this is about the whole show, such as
the informant who said 5 can e6periment "ith the visual presentation$% ,n other cases, it is
about the presentation of the music/ As a lyricist, 5 li8e the fact that in SL your audience
3)
are all listening separately, a lot of them "ith headphones% 5n BL 5 seldom have people
tal8 to me a#out lyrics after a sho" #ut in SL it is an ordinary e6perience%$
<ne informant told me how SL had helped him to overcome serious obstacles and
enabled his performance practice/ 57m disa#led and reCuire a lot of eCuipment to perform%
5t is much more convenient to not have to move my musical eCuipment$% <thers felt that
SL provides a good training ground for the budding live performer/ SL is a very free and
lo" pressure place to develop, practice and have an international audience%$
(here are, apparently, some downsides to performing in this way. <ne musician felt that
something was missing/ 5 cannot see and hear the audience for real$% *nother told me
that just utilising Second Life can be an issue in itself/ The do"nside is that it7s hard to
get people to log into SL to attend my sho"s% SL has a very #ad negative image pro#lem%$
'$&$&: Conversations -ith Attendees
,n the case of the audience members, , was interested in their !L gig attendance
behaviour, as well as obtaining opinions about SL live music. , asked all of my informants
why they attend SL shows and what they liked or disliked about them. , received a variety
of responses, typical ones including the ability to control the volume, the ability to leave
and return at any time, and the relatively low cost, even if tips are given. Some referred to
the uality of the performers and the atmosphere at eventsA one person stated that/
1s3ome of the musicians are flat out ama4ing% The performances are usually interesting
and there is a strong sense of connection #et"een the performer and the audience% 5t
feels very personal%$
;ifferent ualities led other residents to music shows/ 5 li8e the social aspect and the
3*
chance to discover ne" music$, , was told by one informant. *nother stated that the main
reason he liked SL events was because he enjoyed listening to live music from the
comfort of his own home. Some attendees utilise the time they are dancing at events to
converse with others. *n informant told me that preferred SL shows to real?world music
events because 1i3t7s easy to have te6tual conversations "ith other attendees, or in
private messages% 5t doesn7t distract others, it doesn7t dro"n out the music, it isn7t
disrespectful, and it helps the colla#orative e6perience%$
, then asked about !L live music events. *round a third answered that they don"t attend
them, largely for reasons of cost and inconvenience. *lmost everybody , spoke to disliked
the e)pense, one informant saying that 5 don7t Gattend live shows in !LH #ecause there
are very fe" to #e had in my area, and they are e6pensive$% *nother typical response was
too much noise, cost too much, 5 hate standing in lines%$
(he reasons people gave for attending !L shows were generally similar. <ne informant
stated/ 5 @ust en@oy the live music e6perience and the interaction of the performers "ith
the audience that you don7t get in recorded music$. *nother had similar feelings/ 5 love
music and live music is al"ays more e6citing, there is a 8ind of emotional stream #et"een
the performer and his audience%$
(he "liveness" of the event was noted several times, one person telling me that 1t3here7s
an immediacy to hearing music live, to 8no"ing that "hat you hear is #eing produced and
amplified #y the artists themselves, right in front of you$. *nother had similar feelings/
These 5 go to more #ecause they are an e6perience% ?es, good music is a positive, #ut
it7s the overall sensation that you simply cannot get from recordings or computers% There7s
a cro"d, a living, #reathing organism that reacts to the performer% /ut simply, it7s more%M
3+
*lmost everyone indicated that they consider SL live music to be a fundamentally different
type of e)perience, one stating it uite clearly/ Df course BL attendance is an entirely
different and much more real thing%%% neither BL or SL e6periences can replace the other% 5
love #oth%$
'$': %he Creation and .se of Virtual Space
(he majority of music venues that , visited during this research were generic facsimiles of
small? or medium?siCed clubs, the most common type of SL venue. , have however, in the
past, attended events in very different placesA massive science fiction sculptures, for
e)ample, or shows played on derelict military hardware. My opinion is that the type and
design of venue has a profound effect on the atmosphere of a performance.
(his interest in the effect of spaces in SL led to a discussion with an informant, ;avid, who
is not only an e)perienced builder in Second Life but is also an architect in daily life. , first
asked him how, as an architectural e)ercise, does Second Life differ from !eal LifeK
The most o#vious difference is freedom from the limitations imposed #y physical reality%%%
gravity%%% #athrooms%%% plum#ing and heating and cooling%%% structure%%% SL architecture can
#e BL realistic, fanciful, futuristic, primitive, generic, a#stract, or surreal% 5t really is up to
the imagination of the designer as "ell as "hat limitations they set upon themselves%$
Surely though, there are new types of limitationK @hat are theseK
IThe #iggest limitation created #y SL and the one architectural designers "ill al"ays have
to contend "ith is /rim ,ount limit for a parcel of land%%% GSLH also differs in ho" you
e6perience the space due to avatar si4e and camera position% Avatar si4e can influence
the scale of door"ays and structures%%% or vice versa since many avatars are scaled to
unrealistic proportions in terms of height% A #uilding #uilt to BL scale might #e unusa#le to
&.
an avatar unless they alter their si4e to suit the #uild% ,amera position%%% informs ho" you
move through a space%%% Moving your camera into first!person vie" "ill also alter your
e6perience%$
So he feels that space has to be treated differently in the virtual environmentK
SL provides many possi#ilities for creating spaces that can #e e6perienced in ne"
"ays%%% even @ust #y flying your avatar% 2o"ever 57ve often found my favourite BL
architects to #e the ones "ho "ere confronted "ith the challenges of many limitations to
their design%%% and they found a "ay to use those limitations to their advantage to create a
great #uilding "ith great spaces% Sometimes, 57ll assign or create my o"n limitations as a
challenge%%% Sometimes, despite the differences, users "ill still use spaces @ust as they
"ould in BL% The saying goes 7Dots attract dots7 and it7s true Greferring to the "dots" on the
in?world map that indicate the presence of avatarsH% <e7re often dra"n to spaces that
appear to #e active "hile not lingering in empty or lifeless places%%% And last%%% @ust li8e in
BL%%% 75f you #uild it, they "ill come7 doesn7t usually "or8% 75f you #uild it and use it and
sho" other people ho" to use it%%% then they might come%7 5nteractive space N#et"een the
user and the #uildO is 8ey and so is interaction N#et"een avatarsO%$
8inally, , asked ;avid to consider the differences between designing an actual music
venue, and designing one in Second Life. , asked him what the most important
considerations would be for him if he was designing and building a music venue in !L/
Acoustics NnaturalO, acoustics NamplifiedO, sight lines, lighting, fire suppression,
protection, and emergency e6its%$
*nd a music venue in SLK
-% ,reate a 7presence7 for the performer% This may #e a literal or figurative 7stage7%
Something that distinguishes the performers from the audience%
&-
2% ,reate a space "ith interactive elements for the audience: a space for avatars to
dance%%% locations for avatars to sit and listen%%% interactive elements possi#ly%%% all of it
supporting the performerNsO%
3% 5s it meant to portray a realistic BL type of music venue Nli8e a pu# or a theatreO or notP
&% 0sta#lish if it "ill portray a certain theme or concept or style%
'% /rim count N8eep enough free prims for performer propsO and /articles N#e mindful of
particle effect emitters%%% these can sometimes inflict client!side lagO%$
(he design of venues was a topic , also broached with several audience members, and ,
asked them what they thought the important factors were. Many referred to lag #the slow?
down that occurs when a location has too many scripts running, or objects. ,t can also be
caused by a surfeit of avatars'. (hey proposed that venues should be constructed,
primarily, to minimise lag and other factors were secondary.
<ther informants considered venue design to be irrelevant, one telling me that, in her
e)perience, most of the time, the people and venue fail to appear completely "ith a
popular act%%% "hat matters is the music$% (his was echoed by another, who stated that 5
can move my camera vie"point as 5 "ish, so seating is irrelevant% Venue design may add
interest, #ut is not an important factor%$
* final group saw the design of the environment to be an important part of the show as a
whole. *n e)perienced SL builder told me that you "ant a venue that is attractive and
"hich "ill enhance the overall e6perience and in a style that is in 8eeping "ith the type of
music that is featured$, while a regular show attendee considered the siCe of the venue to
be of importance/ 5 do not li8e small #uildings or #right te6tures% The venue has to #e
spacious and give room to the audience for dancing and "al8ing around$. (he creative
potential of SL as an environment appealed to several of the audience members ,
&2
discussed venue design with, one particular person saying that 1s3ome of my favourite
venues are things that "ould not appear to #e performance areas at all%$
'$(: Musical Activit" -ithin Second Life
*ccording to my findings, musical events form the majority of activity within SL. , limited
my searches to the official events listings, and noted the numbers of events by category
over a 4 week period. (his data #available in the appendi)' shows that, out of $$
categories, "Live Music" accounts for over +-O of the listings total, with over 355 events in
this category during the fieldwork period. (he other major music category, ">ightlife and
Entertainment" which includes dance clubs and ;Ds, accounts for just over +6O. :etween
them, these predominantly musical categories account for nearly half of all officially listed
events.
(here are some common operational methods that almost all of the musical performers in
Second life share. 2ublicising shows, for e)ample, is usually done through multiple in?
world and online channels. .ommon methods in SL include notices to groups #a
mechanism by which notices and live messages can be sent to opted?in residents', the
use of the official events listings, and the placement of posters, or other display objects, in
prominent virtual locations. <nline methods include 8acebook, (witter, web pages, forums
#such as the official Linden forums', email lists, and various web?based publications, such
M4 #Matters of Music' MagaCine
$$
.
Much of the live music in SL seems to revolve around the "single?musician playing covers"
model. (o e)plore this perception, , attended +5 SL shows during Dune +5$+. , noted the
configurations of bands #where applicable', and the types of material being played. , also
noted the freuency and siCe of tips #to both the performer and the venue'. <f those +5
&3
shows, $5 were selected at random from the official, in?world events listingsA the others
events were selected by responding to group notices and announcements sent directly by
performers. (his data is available in the appendi).
(he official Second Life ninth birthday celebration #SL%:' took place during this research
#between Dune $&
th
and Dune +-
th
', and the total number of music events during this period
numbered -$6, ranging between -5 and 74 per day. :ased on observation, audience
numbers tended to be around 45 per event at SL%: #which is held on specially allocated
land, provided by Linden Lab, and is heavily promoted by the company'A this is
significantly higher than the numbers observed at the regular shows , attended, which
tended to be between 6 and +5 attendees.
&&
Chapter (: Anal"sis
($: %he SL Music Communit"
,n Technology as ,ultural 5nstrument, ,hde #$%%4' posits that "technologies in ensemble
are probably more like cultures than like tools" #$%%4/ -+'. (he technical ensemble that
comprises the system necessary for virtual performance is comple) enough to bring forth
a variety of practices and, via social activity based around these practices, renders if not
musical cultures, then music scenes within SL.
,nitially optimistic when , first discovered them, these scenes were largely instigated with a
utopian back?beatA they were presented to me #by various promoters' as the saviours of a
failing industry, much as the web was presented in the late $%%5s. (he main limitation of
Second Life however, that of audience siCe, kept major league artists away with a few
e)ceptions, such as SuCanne 1ega and ;uran ;uran, described by =uest #+557/ +++'A
the economics do not stack up for big record companies. ,nstead, a burgeoning milieu of
amateur and new performers arose, some of whom #, was told by informants' started to
play full time and made hundreds of 9SE dollars per week. ,n some instances, record
labels signed virtual musicians
$+
.
*s mentioned by my informant Steve, much of the money left SL in +557?+55& for a
variety of reasons
$4
. @hen this happened, much of the SL music community infrastructure
disappeared. (he audiences, though they had provided the musicians with tips and sales,
had never paid for the land where the events occurred, or the time that they took to stage.
* model of commerce more closely related to renaissance?style patronage had initially
taken hold, with a select few individuals providing the resources and seeking to promote
the platform as a business model for live music. (hese individuals effectively became the
&'
portals through which e)ternal agents could access the SL music community and, as a
result, tried to shape the community to fit this remit. Follingsworth #$%%-' writes of
renaissance patrons, claiming that "GfHifteenth century patrons were not passive
connoisseurs/ they were active consumers... it was the patron, not the artist, who was
seen by his contemporaries as the creator of the project" #$%%-/ $'. (his seemed, to my
eye, to also be the case for music in SLA a new music industry, very much modelled on the
old, had come into being.
*fter the worldwide credit crunch many of these "patrons" withdrew from SL, if not entirely
then financially, and venues and islands closed down. 2ost?+55&, musicians who could
previously charge a fee played for tips alone. Since then, to compound the problem,
audience tips have also become less generousA many informants tell me that they now
make around +5O of their previous revenues. (hese factors help to define the current
shape of SL music, as in the DaCC scene in <hio, described by :erger #$%%%' when he
writes/ ",n *kron jaCC, fragmented meanings and fragile patterns of practice were the
touchstones... the disappearing venues, and the dwindling audiences all made *kron"s
jaCC scene a tenuous coalition rather than a robust musical community" #$%%%/ $$4'. (he
virtual music industry, unlike SL musical practice, has failed. Second Life, though heavily
hyped as the ne)t big commercial platform
$-
, has proven to be less a place for commerce
and more a space for creativity.
($&: Virtual #erformance and Liveness
;uring my time in Second Life as an attendee and performer, and through the
conversations and discussions , have had with my informants, two main threads of
musical practice have revealed themselves. =enre and ability notwithstanding, there is a
definite collection of performers who are essentially amateursA virtual performance is all
&(
that they have done. *nother group, largely composed of more e)perienced, performing
musicians, have moved into SL performance to supplement their e)isting practice, though
some have found that it has supplanted "real" live gigs.
(he vast majority of performers that , have seen or spoken to in Second Life, from either
camp, have been attempting to simulate their actual live performance in some way when
they play in SL. (his can be achieved via the creation of accurate music euipment or by
modelling other aspects of the show, such as the motion of the musicians or the content of
the stage or backdrop. >ote? or beat? accurate motion synchronisation is essentially
impossible #due to the indeterminate nature of SL "lag"', so all simulated performance
motion is just that/ a simulation. <nly a cursory similarity to the gestures and movements
actually being made by the performer is possible. Sarah"s band, who utilise e)tensive
audio samples and SL animations, signify the nature of this movement simulation more
strongly than most in their song?based practiceA animations are triggered to match musical
events rather than the details of fine movements. (he music is not closely followed by the
avatars, but rather is matched on an informal "scale of dynamics" for each performance
action. (he "choreography", in other words, is defined by the impression that each musical
section is designed to create. ;uring improvisation, which accounts for roughly half of
their Second Life shows, Sarah and her fellow band members are forced to resort to
periodically changing, looping animations that are unrelated to the musical output.
@ith virtual live music performance, the holistic e)perience of the event is only available to
the attendeeA the temporal inconsistency introduced by the technology present in this
architecture renders the concept of liveness differently. Each and every audience member
e)periences their own version of liveness. (o illustrate this, consider the basic procedure
for streaming audio from a music studio to Second Life/
&)
$' *udio is sent to the encoding computer, which converts it to a streaming format.
+' (he encoded stream is sent, via the internet, to a server.
4' (he server distributes the audio stream to any listener who reuests it.
-' (he listeners computer decodes the M24 stream to enable playback.
Every step listed above introduces some element of delay, ranging from the time taken to
encode the audio, to the end?users computer decoding the streamA none of these delays
are predictable in more than the coarsest terms. (he location of the listener in relation to
the server can also have a big impact, as a global audience will receive the audio data at
different times to each other. @hen one also factors in lag, the notion of absolute time
becomes moot. ,t is simply not possible to specify a uanta of time during an SL
performance, as each attendee will perceive this uanta as occurring at a different point.
(he temporal ualities of live performance are also a major consideration when thinking of
my informant Steve and his compatriots. (heir collaboration server deals with inter?band
communication #via te)t chat to synchronise the endings of songs', and accepts and
aggregates multiple audio streams #sent by the client software installed on each
musicians computer'. ,t then delivers a mi) of the results centred around the concept of a
set number of musical measures, or beats, to the audience #complete with time delay',
creating a virtual "when"A a temporal point at which the band "played" the piece.
(he notion of a live, shared e)perience is modulated in a virtual environment by this
indeterminacy, so liveness in virtual performance relies on a contract between the
audience and the performerA the musicians will play live and transmit the data, and the
members of the audience will believe it is live, largely because it is as live as is possible.
(o uote *uslander #+5$$'
$
/ 1D3igital liveness derives neither from the intrinsic properties
of virtual entities nor simply from the audienceQs perceiving them as live% Bather, digital
liveness emerges as a specific relation #et"een self and other% The e6perience of
&*
liveness results from our conscious act of grasping virtual entities as live in response to
the claims they ma8e on us%$
@hy is this notion of liveness important in virtual performanceK (he perception of
authenticity seems to be the root of the liveness issue in Second LifeA several bands and
duos who play in SL use their lack of backing tracks and totally "unassisted" performance
as a means to differentiate themselves from the norm within SL musicA the lone musician
or the "karaoke" artist. Miller #+5$+' discusses the perception of musical practice in relation
to gaming/ "=uitar Fero and !ock :and gameplay both invoke and apparently threaten
some deep?rooted beliefs about authentic musicality, creativity, authorship, and
performance. ,t might take a culture?wide reassessment of human musicality to vouchsafe
wide agreement that what players do with music in these games should even count as
ImusicalJ" #+5$+/ &3'. (he same reassessment may be occurring in Second Life, as virtual
performance mirrors the repositioning of music that has happened post?Auitar 2ero%
($': Virtual #erformance as Art-or/
Lunenfeld #+5$$' describes the computer as "a dream device, the first media machine that
serves as a mode of production, means of distribution, and site of reception. ,t is the
twenty?first century"s culture machine" #+5$$/ )iv'. 8or many musicians the new means of
distribution enabled by virtual performance is paramount, for others it is creation and
reception that drive their practice. ;uring our discussions , put it to my informant Sarah
that her aim, from the beginning, has been an integration of music, video and design, and
that performance in Second Life is an e)pansion of this idea. ,t was in fact an attempt by
the band to make a =estamtkunstwerkA a total work of art, or a symphony for many
senses. 2erformance in Second Life gave the opportunity to e)pand upon the ideas of
multimedia and the total art concept, and could move them into the areas of the 4
rd

&+
dimension, and the social. She agreed and described a ;1;?launch event which
incorporated a specifically designed environment, a multi?screen video installation and
bespoke particle effects, all made solely to create an environment for the music. ,n terms
of the avatars, all designed and animated by Sarah, Murray #$%%7' has a view on the
potential of these customisations/ "Even when avatars are crudely drawn or offer a very
limited choice of personaliCation, they can still provide alternative identities that can be
energetically employed... 1irtual reality technology can offer a new kind of costuming and
pageantry" #$%%7/ $$4'. (he avatars become another component in the total artwork, both
in terms of the band and the representations utilised by the audience when attending
events.
Similarly, as important as the music is to !obert and his SL project, the visual elements
take eual precedence. Fe is a prolific builder and his style mirrors the genre of his music,
with many of his stages being vast edifices that wouldn"t be out of place on alien worlds.
*lso notable is his use of Second Life imagery in his production of his albums. (hough he
has always created his own album artwork, the last few album covers have been based
upon SL screen shots of his band of avatars, stage set builds, or virtual landscapes. (he
possibilities for the creation of the fantasy universe that previously lived through his music
alone, have allowed !obert to build the sites that feature in the narratives behind the
pieces and, since his music is almost entirely instrumental, makes his overall vision more
accessible to others. (he entire event, from the adornment of the avatars and the creation
of the environment, to the composition of the music and the accompanying live
performance, becomes an animated audioMvisual representation of !obert"s artistic vision.
'.
($(: Virtual #erformance as Collaboration
(he uniue nature of liveness, described previously, in virtual live music performance also
speaks to the notion of audience as collaborator in such endeavours. (hough this is an
established concept in art #see -%2%&: Music as ,olla#oration', the collaboration between
artist and audience is implicit in live performance and is, in my opinion, true in the field of
virtual live music performance also. (o uote =Prtrudi) and =Prtrudi) #+5$+', "any user is
a potential "prosumer" and actual consumer, so in the sphere of music heMshe becomes a
performer... and spectator at the same time" #+5$+/ $&5'.
* virtual performance event consists of a set of data streams that are aggregated and
perceived by a Second Life resident while they are in attendance at a virtual performance
venue. *n audience member, represented by their avatar #representation' and agent
#view', can then e)perience these combined streams as a coherent simulation of a live
music event. >o other person will e)perience e)actly the same simulation at the the same
time. ;ifferences in graphics settings and hardware, and network speeds, mean that it is
actually very unlikely that two audience members will see e6actly the same thing at all.
=iven this, the attendees view of a virtual performance, via their agent in SL, will always
be uniue, and will always be the final step in the act of creation.
*ddressing collaboration on a different level, and considering the virtual performance
event as an artwork, my informant ;avid"s responses during our discussions relating to
virtual space illustrate the architectural aspects of this. 2hysical and acoustic restrictions
do not apply in SLA they are superseded by issues of creativity and aesthetic design. Fe
talks of creating "presence" for the musician, and therefore labels himself as a collaborator
in the creation of the performance environment, and thus, the work itself.
'-
($): Virtual #erformance as #ractice
(he musical practice that most closely resembles the majority of SL virtual live music
performances is that of busking, whose essential characteristics include/
$' 2erformances in public locations
+' <ptional contributions
4' Singular musicians or duos. #Very occasionally larger bands'
-' 9naccompanied, or with a pre?recorded backing?track
6' * repertoire that consists, largely, of cover songs
<ne of the artefacts of busking that has been co?opted most obviously by almost all
performers in SL is the tip jar, as well as some of the operational habits that go with this.
@hereas the typical guitar?playing busker may use the instrument case #seeded with a
handful of loose change', the SL performer will use a scripted object, designed to facilitate
Linden dollar payments, often also containing some "loose change" #in the form of a
display of tips?to?date, and often the value of the last contribution' to stimulate the
audience to pay up.
My informant !obert was originally a busker, and he noted the parallels himself. (he
transition from the street to the virtual seems particularly suited to his practiceA all of his
music, and much of it is e)tremely rich and comple), is composed and performed by him.
Fe utilises synthesiCers and guitars #his main instruments', and constructs his pieces
painstakingly using computer?based toolsA when !obert actually performs live, it is as a
solo act. ,n SL however the "band" consists of four avatars, two of which take !obert"s
musical roles of guitarist and keyboard player. (he others mimic the "virtual" musicians of
drummer and bass player. (hough his configuration is unusual in SL, it was much more so
when he played on pavements instead of space craft. =iven this, his use of SL as a
'2
performance platform seems more appropriate than the street or tube station. Fis long
e)perience with various technologies, ranging from hot?wiring synthesiCers to building
computers, meant he was well euipped to e)ploit Second Life when he found it and, as a
result, his performance practice is enmeshed in the ethnomethodologies of the musician,
the computer engineer, and the SL creator.
,n the case of Steve"s band, it can be said that technology has enabled the phenomena of
the =eographically !emote Musical =roup #=!M.', since networked musical
performance of this type was all but impossible before the advent of the internet. Steve, a
technically competent individual, found the transition into SL to be relatively easy and has
mastered many aspects of digital audio and computer technology #though he claims that
the guitarist is "the brains" behind it all'. Fe is another indicative e)ample of the musician
needing to master additional practices to enable performance.
Sarah"s band utilise a very comple) technical configuration. (hey often have three or four
avatars on?stage, which reuire multiple computers, plus they utilise two other machinesA
one to encode the audio stream, and another to control the show via M,;, #Musical
,nstrument ;igital ,nterface'. (he ;1;?launch event, described in section -.4, reuired
over +55 separate M,;, commands which had to be inserted by hand into the control
software, and featured an automated video installationA the whole show took over $55
hours to design and test. (he virtual performance techniues that Sarah and her fellow
band?members practice involve the creation of technology. (his is far removed from the
practices of most of SL performers, and is more in line with the comple) stage and lighting
systems utilised by major bands playing in large venues.
'3
Conclusion
Miller and Slater #+555' write that "a central aspect of understanding the dynamics of
mediation is to IdisaggregateJ the ,nternet/ not to look at a monolithic medium... but rather
at a range of practices, software and hardware technologies, modes of representation and
interaction that may or may not be interrelated by participants" #+555/ $-'. (his is the
stance assumed by this researchA it is not a comprehensive survey of Second Life or of SL
music, or a critiue of this. ,t is, instead, an attempt to document practices, and e)amine
the virtual live music performance as an artefact and an act of collaboration.
(he virtual performer is an artist with a new modalityA some embrace the concept of the
total artwork, all create in a virtual?where and a fluid?when. :eyond the norms of static SL
art?installations, of which there have been many, the live nature of virtual performance
grants it this uality/ any single moment, though indeterminate, is always uniue.
1ictor (urner once wrote that "GpHrophets and artists tend to be liminal and marginal
people, QedgemenQ... ,n their productions we may catch glimpses of that unused
evolutionary potential in mankind which has not yet been e)ternaliCed and fi)ed in
structure" #$%%6/ $+&'. 2erhaps the "when and where" of virtual performance happens in
this liminal ConeA the artefact comes into being, and the participants #the performers, the
builders, the audience members' collaborate to produce the e)perience. :efore the final
rendering, they stand on the threshold of normal time and perception and await the
indeterminate pointA the point when the collapse of the data?streams into a definite
moment occurs. (he process by which it is born, a multi?faceted activity, is the artistic
process. (his act of solidification, of definition, is the work.
'&
,eferences
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'+
Appendi1: SL +vents 2ata
I$i: 3fficial +vents Listings
(his data was taken from the official, Linden website events listings #Dune 7
th
+5$+ B Dune
45
th
+5$+'. http/MMsecondlife.comMcommunityMeventsM
Categor" Arts Char Com 2isc +du Gam Mus Misc 4L+ #ag Spo %otal
+vents 73 6$ +-4 $5 43- && 56) 477 345 $7 45 &(7
8 4.56 +.56 %.73 5.- $-.3$ 4.64 &($&7 $6.$4 +6.+% 5.3& $.+ 66
Categor" !e":
*rts/ *rts and .ulture Mus: Live Music
.har/ .harityMSupport =roups Misc/ Miscellaneous
.om/ .ommercial >LE/ >ightlifeMEntertainment
;isc/ ;iscussion 2ag/ 2ageants
Edu/ Education Spo/ Sports
=am/ =amesM.ontests
(.
I$ii: +vents Chosen from 3fficial SL +vents Listings
(hese $5 shows consisted of 75O solo artists and 45O duos. ,n terms of material, 35O of
these acts played covers e)clusively, and -5O played a mi)ture of covers and original
material.
9 Attendees %ic/et #rice L: made Material Configuration
$7 5 $&65 .overs Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
& $5 5 no info .overs and originals ;uo B vocalsMmandolin
' $6 5 no info .overs Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
( $7 5 ++65 .overs Solo B vocalsMbacking track
) 6 5 -55 .overs ;uo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
5 $6 5 no info .overs Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
; $3 5 no info .overs and originals Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
< 4-W 5 no tip?jar .overs Solo B sa)ophoneMbacking track
7 $- 5 $555 .overs and originals ;uo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
6 $3 5 no info .overs and originals Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
W (his show was part of the official Second Life %
th
:irthday celebrations #SL%:', an event which
attracts large crowds.
(-
I$iii: +vents Selected from Group 4otices
(hese events were selected by responding to group notices and announcements. (hey
featured a slightly different set of characteristicsA though still largely solo performers #65O'
and duos #45O', $ act featured 4 musicians, and $ act featured -. ,n terms of the music
played, 45O of the performances featured e)clusively original material and, in + cases,
this was improvised.
9 Attendees %ic/et #rice L: made Material Configuration
$6 5 no info .overs and original Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
& 4&WW 5 4455 <riginal 4 piece B vocalsMviolinMbassMguitar
' +%WW 5 -+65 .overs and original ;uo B vocalsMdrumsMguitar
( $5 5 +555 <riginal #improv' Solo B keysMguitarMelectronics
) +$ 5 +655 <riginal #improv' ;uo B keysMguitarMelectronics
5 $4 5 no info .overs Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
; $- 5 $355 <riginals - piece B guitarMbassMkeysMdrums
< 6 5 no info .overs ;uo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
7 $+ 5 no info .overs Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
6 $3 5 no info .overs and original Solo B vocalsMacoustic guitar
, have seen multi?member bands playing in SL but they seem to be in the minority, largely
due to the technical reuirements, , suspect. (he use of multiple band?members reuires
the provisioning of avatars for each member. (his calls for multiple instances of the
Second Life client application to be running which necessitates the use of multiple
computers #it is possible to run multiple?clients on a single machine, but to do so reuires
a high specification'.
WW (hese events were part of a three?day music festival, which attracted large crowds.
(2

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