Roblox has announced Roblox Listening Party — the latest innovation in music in the metaverse. With Roblox Listening Parties, artists premiere a new album in select top experiences giving them access to millions of fans who can listen to their music while they play and hang out with their friends. Roblox and leading independent record label Sumerian Records announced earlier that Poppy is the first artist to host a Listening Party on the platform with the debut of her new album, Flux, which released on 24 September
Flux is the artist’s latest album, which comes on the heels of a GRAMMY performance in March of this year. Poppy is the first solo female artist ever nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Metal Performance category.
Earlier Poppy explained, “Flux is coming out Friday the 24September and I’m so excited to reveal it to the world!I feel very fortunate to make music in a time like this. Roblox is a platform with endless possibilities and seemed like a perfect place to launch my new album!”
For this first-ever Listening Party, music will be integrated throughout popular experiences allowing fans to rock out to Flux as they decorate their dream home in Overlook Bay, dance to her songs in RoBeats, attend class in Robloxian High School, explore new worlds in Creatures of Sonaria, and raise dragons in Dragon Adventures. The music will also be played in City Life, The Floor is Lava, Color Block Tower, and Fairytale Life Roleplay. Collectively, the featured experiences boast over three billion lifetime visits.
Roblox vice president and global head of music Jon Vlassopulos says, “It has been such a pleasure working with Poppy and Sumerian Records to launch our first ever Listening Party.Music is such a natural part of the way we express ourselves, entertain ourselves, and find connections with other people, and we want to keep finding new ways to make music more of an integral part of the Roblox experience. Allowing Poppy’s fans to enjoy her new album Flux where they are already spending time with their friends seemed like a no brainer, and our developers have jumped at the opportunity to participate!”
Over the weekend, Poppy joined fans in each immersive experience, competied and created alongside them while answered questions about the album. Her play schedule can be found on her Roblox profile as well as on her Roblox group. There will also be two exclusive free virtual merchandise (also known as “verch”) items available in the Roblox catalog for fans to enjoy.
“We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to help our artists break through the noise and reach fans where they already are. Poppy already has an existing fanbase on Roblox so it was a natural place for us to host her Listening Party. I can’t wait for fans to get to hear the new record while they play their favorite experiences!,” said Sumerian Records chief strategy officer Jill Pedone.
With Listening Parties, Roblox gives music fans an immersive way to discover and share music together with their friends. For artists and labels, Roblox provides a unique and creative way to engage and attract millions of fans and unlock new commercial opportunities in the metaverse. The range of Roblox music experiences, from Launch Parties to virtual concerts and now Listening Parties, are becoming table stakes for artists as they seek to promote new releases and attract new fans.
Wonderworks founder Zach Letter, “We were thrilled to have Overlook Bay be a part of the Flux Listening Party on Roblox. There’s so much potential for Roblox to become the place to discover great new music and it didn’t hurt that Poppy happens to be one of our favorite artists. Hope to see many more of these in the future!”
MDDN management President Joey Simmrin said, “Poppy is the most exciting multimedia artist of our generation. Poppy and our team at MDDN have been fans of Roblox for a while, so when this concept was pitched to us, we were more than game to give it a try. The Roblox team made this such an easy process; it was a no brainer.”