Admits Not Interested In Metaverse, Snapchat Instead Holds Bitmoji Virtual Concert With Jennifer Lopez

Snap will host a virtual concert featuring Jennifer Lopez (photo: Snapchat Doc)

JAKARTA - Snapchat's parent company Snap isn't as keen on the metaverse as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is, but the company's latest experiment definitely sounds a lot like its version.

In partnership with Universal Pictures, Snap will host a virtual concert featuring Jennifer Lopez and Colombian pop singer Maluma. Attendees will come as their Bitmoji avatars.

The concert will not take place on the Snapchat app, but viewers can access the show by logging into the concert-only website with their Snapchat account login.

Additionally, several interactive effects will be available during the show, including the ability to trigger virtual laser effects. Lopez and Maluma will also appear as 3D avatars.

The show, which is scheduled for February 3, is meant to promote the upcoming Valentine's Day romantic comedy, Marry Me, which also stars Lopez and Maluma. The concert is expected to last about 10 minutes, as quoted from Engadget, Wednesday, February 2.

Virtual concerts have been one of the earliest examples of a metaverse-like experience. Previously, one of these was a concert in the game Fortnite that was frequently referenced in discussions about what the metaverse might end up like.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney says he wants the Fortnite publisher to be a leader in the space. Zuckerberg has also referenced concerts in the metaverse, saying last year that in the future people might be able to instantly teleport as holograms to attend shows.

But Snap executives talk about the metaverse very differently. Snap AR executive Sophia Dominguez stated in December last year that the company's vision for the future is not to escape to another world.

But creating an experience that can bridge the physical space with the virtual space. Meanwhile, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel put it a little differently, commenting last fall about the dystopia origins of the word metaverse.

“I think the basic idea is that you know that the physical world is collapsing in this dystopian future so people will flee into it, the virtual world. That's not the focus for us at all," Spiegel said.