LIVE NATION & SAMSUNG: MASTERING VIRTUAL REALITY

In partnership with Samsung, Live Nation is bringing yet another act to the virtual stage.

They'll be live-streaming a performance from Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams Tour at Chicago's Soldier Field via virtual reality. The broadcast can be accessed with Samsung Gear VR (powered by Oculus through the Samsung VR service), starting 8/17 at 8:30pm CT.

This announcement comes on the heels of similar ventures with Imagine Dragons, Third Eye Blind, Lady Antebellum and Prince Royce.

It's worth noting that UMG has also been toying with the possibilities of VR—but through their own platform, VRTGO. You'll recall that the Lucian Grainge-led company recently celebrated the launch of Queen and Adam Lambert's first-ever live-concert VR experience, VR THE CHAMPIONS.

With viewership available in over 50 countries on Samsung's platform, this unique experience has been gaining traction. At no additional cost to the user, subscribers to the VR service can get the kind of access to a show they wouldn't have been able to experience even if they'd purchased tickets. And they can do so anywhere, which makes waiting for a tour to come through more remote places obsolete.

Naturally, industryites are already musing on the impact VR platforms are bound to have on the biz. It's hard to limit the doors VR could open in how we experience and consume music. With Beyonce's Lemonade, we found a revelation in the visual album. Why not a virtual reality album? It's only a matter of time.

Stay tuned as the rest of the virtual saga plays out.