09/04/2025
>> The Evolution of Live Concerts into a New Reality
Offline performances have a long history, dating back to ancient Greek tragedies and comedies, and continuing through to today's large-scale concerts held at venues like Olympic Park, Sangam World Cup Stadium, and Gocheok Sky Dome.
Event organizers earn their primary revenue from ticket sales, and performance IP generates secondary revenue through merchandise (MD) and live concert films. Shin Eui-hyun, CEO of ALPHACIRCLE, a company capturing these concerts in virtual reality (VR), believes we’ve entered an era where offline performances can now be experienced online as a viable business model.
On March 27, during the “2025 Korea Future Content Conference” hosted by IT Chosun, CEO Shin said that with the advancement of technology, we are moving from merely “watching” offline concerts through VOD, live streaming, or cinema live-viewing to now experiencing them.
The conference, organized by IT Chosun—a Chosun Media Group outlet specializing in digital transformation—focused on business strategies for high-quality content. ALPHACIRCLE is an entertainment tech startup that developed the high-definition VR video solution “ALPHAVIEW.”
“Until now, secondary content for offline concerts has mostly consisted of edited footage on rectangular screens,” said CEO Shin. “But we’re now seeing media technology that allows people to feel as if they’re truly present at the concert venue.”
ALPHACIRCLE specializes in producing 360-degree high-definition VR footage of offline concerts. A key feature of their VR videos is that they don’t require expensive VR headsets costing over 400,000 KRW (around $300). Instead, users can enjoy the experience by combining a smartphone with a simple VR viewer that costs around 5,000 KRW (about $4).
This is made possible by ALPHAVIEW, the company’s VR playback solution. ALPHAVIEW enhances the viewing experience by gathering scattered pixels and concentrating them where the human eye focuses, improving image quality and syncing the video with eye movements. The reason ALPHACIRCLE produces VR concerts is precisely because ALPHAVIEW can be effectively showcased through them.
“Although high-definition VR engines can be applied to various industries like sports, tourism, and shopping, we found concerts to be the most effective use case within entertainment,” Shin explained. “Rather than filming in a studio, we shoot 360-degree footage directly at live concert venues.”
The first VR concert produced using ALPHAVIEW was for the crossover group Forestella. In November and December of last year, ALPHACIRCLE released the “2023 Forestella Festival VR Package,” which included VR VOD access, a smartphone-compatible headset, and photocards.
“I believed fan response was critical, and in the two weeks following launch, we received about 1,000 reviews—97% of which were positive,” Shin said. “Offline concerts have always existed, but it’s only now through VR that fans can truly feel like they’re right there at the live venue.”
He added, “As time goes on, more offline concerts will adopt ALPHACIRCLE’s technology—or similar ones—to create VR experiences. I believe the future will allow people to experience concerts at home, not just watch them. This is what I consider to be true next-generation content.”
** Source: IT Chosun (https://it.chosun.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2023092136660)
