Startup raises twenty million for avatar concerts

Unit1, founded by Barney Wragg, has secured twenty million dollars in funding to recreate classic concerts using digital avatars of musicians. Wragg previously ran Andrew Lloyd Webber's entertainment group for five years.

Balderton Capital leads the investment round

Balderton Capital, through partner Daniel Waterhouse, led the funding round. Waterhouse made early investments in Spotify. Other backers include venture capital firm Mercuri and Paul McGuinness, who managed U2 from the late nineteen seventies until two thousand thirteen.

How Unit1 creates digital avatars

Unit1 stages concerts with digital avatars of living artists no longer touring and recreates performances from dead musicians. For deceased artists, it develops avatars using archive footage and hiring actors and musicians who look or play like the departed star.

KT Tunstall pilots the technology

Unit1 tested the technology with Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, who worked with Wragg at EMI. Tunstall was filmed in a London studio by motion capture cameras recreating a two-decade-old performance on Later with Jools Holland, updating her features to how she looks now.

Lower cost alternative to Abba Voyage

Unit1 aims to offer a lower cost version of Abba Voyage, the two thousand twenty-two Swedish pop group virtual concert. Unit1's shows need no dedicated venue and could tour multiple countries simultaneously, providing artists, venues, rights holders and promoters a route to digital shows.

Live musicians perform alongside avatars

Unit1 stages shows with real musicians playing live instruments on stage alongside digital performers. The audience views a high-definition LED screen combined with lights, sound and props to create the illusion of watching a fully human performance.

“For the audience member in the room it is seamless between the digital and the physical room, immersing them.”

Concerns about resurrecting dead musicians

Some fans have expressed unease about dead musicians being digitally resurrected. Earlier this year, plans to create an AI-powered avatar of late Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne were criticised as disrespectful and in poor taste. Wragg said Unit1 works with family members to recreate well-documented concerts, being mindful not to be distasteful.