VP, GLOBAL HEAD OF MUSIC, ROBLOX
JON VLASSOPULOS APPEARING ON: MUSIC’S NEW IN-GAME EXPERIENCE
After its blockbuster events for Ava Max and Lil Nas X, just about everyone wants a piece of Roblox right now. Jon Vlassopulos, VP, global head of music at the gaming and social platform, reveals how his team is offering bigger opportunities than anyone else...
WORDS: ANDRE PAINE
What are the growing opportunities you see from music and gaming?
“Kids are spending a huge amount of time on platforms like Roblox, so that presents a massive opportunity, because artists and labels want to go where the eyeballs are. Streaming is great and obviously provides great revenue for artists, labels and publishers. But there’s not a lot for the artists to do to really express themselves. Roblox is this 3D virtual environment where you can really let your imagination run wild. We know the music industry is, in my opinion, the most creative industry in the world. So we’re just trying to be that platform for artists and labels to express themselves, and for fans to get closer to the music and artists that they love.”
How is Roblox growing as a platform? “We have 36 million or so daily active users. Half are over 13, and then there’s a fast-growing subset of the user base that are over 17 – it’s our fastest-growing group. So this is fast becoming a youth platform. This generation loves the notion of participating in their experience. I think Covid, with more kids and teens being at home, hypercharged it. A lot of parents learned about Roblox with their kids and the Lil Nas X event. I think a lot of families watched together – it was cross-generational. It’s bringing the kids together, it’s a community and they’re all having fun on their platform.”
Tell us how you’ve worked with artists and labels so far...
“Last year, we did the Together At Home event, we did a Monstercat deal getting more music into our catalogue, which we’re going to do more of this year. We did an Ava Max event and we did Lil Nas X, so last year was kind of year zero for us – and we’ll be doing quite a lot more than last year. As easy as it is for artists to maybe go on a TikTok or an Instagram, we want it to be as easy to come to Roblox. My vision, in the next two to three years, is that artists can have their home on the platform, start experimenting and putting on performances, reaching their audience and monetising it.”
In what ways did it help Lil Nas X and what are the financial opportunities for artists? “Sales of his [virtual] merchandise are still continuing to perform really well. We’re introducing artists to the platform so they can come in and
54 | Music Week
have a profile, maybe get some merch in our virtual catalogue. So you can express your fandom through getting merch and items from your favourite artists and bands.”
Has Roblox become important as a global platform for artists?
“An artist has to go around the world for 18 months to reach two million people; we can deliver two million people on a Friday afternoon. So it’s exciting. We got Lil Nas X as a user on to the platform, and we’ll be looking to do more of that with artists to get them over that initial, ‘What is Roblox?’ He took to it like a duck to water and was running around the platform, he understood how to talk to the community. [Artists] realise they have got tens of millions, potentially, of fans hanging out waiting to be engaged with. So what we’re trying to put together this year is to get more of those first-touch experiences with labels, venues, festivals and even DSPs to reach this new user base.”
If labels and artists want to work with Roblox, what do they need to know? “We encourage them to check out the platform, poke around and play. If you’re thinking about artists, probably don’t present an artist that’s very explicit because that wouldn’t work. So just be cognisant of what Roblox is – and give us six weeks to plan. If it’s a fully-formed [proposal] then that really helps us, because we’re a small but growing team on the music side. That helps us to prioritise the opportunities of who we can work with.”
Finally, you worked in the music industry before, are you looking forward to connecting virtually at the Tech Summit?
“I was a bad DJ a long time ago. I’ve read Music Week for as long as I can remember. So for me, it’s just a fanboy moment to be invited. It’s something that we’re doing that can help the music business. And I’m a Brit, so it’s great on all fronts. I’m excited to participate.”
musicweek.com
“We can deliver an artist to two million people on any Friday
afternoon” JON VLASSOPULOS ROBLOX
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