In-game virtual concerts now premiere global hit songs and drive chart success

Evidence

In 2020, rapper Travis Scott hosted a concert for millions on Fortnite, premiering a song that debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100; many more artists followed, including Marshmello, BTS, J Balvin, and Ariana Grande. — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 417

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s core project of tracing how financial/ownership structures shape cultural form — virtual concerts in Fortnite are a distribution-platform phenomenon that reshapes how music reaches audiences. — connects to: A globally-marketed app flattens local music markets into Western playlists — Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown (eds.), Microcelebrity Around the Globe:…, 473
• QUESTION: Does Travis Scott’s in-game premiere represent a causal shift in how the music industry launches singles, or just a promotional novelty?