"Second Life" Gives Music a New Life

The online virtual world simulation "Second Life" has been rapidly growing in members since it's creation in 2003, averaging about 88,000 members, but Richard Love has found a different use for the social world of Second Life.

"When I log into Second Life, I try to emulate with musical and computer equipment, what I would do during a live show and stream it to the internet," said Love. "It's a really interesting concept."



For about two and a half years, Love has been performing live on Second Life in between his real life performances. Using an avatar, or a three dimensional graphic representation, Love plays his music for a world wide audience. Though different in many ways to performing in front of an actual audience, Love believes that the basic concepts are still the same.

"You're still playing your instruments and entertaining like you would at a local club, but instead of just one audience, you have a bunch of audiences in different places listening at once," said love. "In some ways it's actually better because the interaction between performer and audience is more in depth. When I write a song it's like instant feedback."

Along with better communication from fans, the financial benefits are also sometimes larger in the online music community. While at a recent open mic night, Love streamed his live performance on Second Life and made three times more money in tips than from his real life audience. The idea of streaming during a live performance came about because it gives Love's music a wider audience.

"For every one person you get in your audience, there's four other people that would have liked to have been there, but for some reason they just can't," said Love. "Well with Second Life, people can stay home and take care of their sick kid, and still listen to your show."

Although traditional live music events may not be going anywhere for awhile, Love feels that online creative outlets like Second Life could possibly be the future of music.

"You never know. In ten or twenty years, the technology will be a lot better. Along with Second life, Face Book is coming out with a new live music application soon so it seems to really be catching on, and the blend of live and streaming music is really exciting."