London’s Unit1 Studio secures €23.3 million to scale avatar concerts beyond the one-venue ABBA Voyage model

Unit1 Studio, the London-based end-to-end avatar concert producer, has raised €23.3 million (£20 million) in new financing. The round combines an over The equity round was led by Balderton Capital. Existing investors Mercuri, Gilston Music, and Paul McGuinness, long-time manager of U2, also participated in the round. “Until now, avatar concerts have been locked behind the economics of ABBA Voyage – a one-off, one-location proposition. Unit1’s innovative new technology will fundamentally change that, opening up the genre to a whole generation of legacy artists,” said Daniel Waterhouse, General Partner at Balderton. The funding comes as Unit1 announced it has successfully moved its KT Tunstall avatar demo-concert from Brompton Technology’s testing facility in Gunnersbury, west London, to a new permanent studio at Tileyard London. The company says it completed the relocation in just four days, a process that has traditionally been costly and time-consuming for avatar production. Unit1 Studio produces immersive avatar concerts that recreate live performances by artists, aiming to connect fans with musicians regardless of time or geography. The company is led by CEO Barney Wragg, formerly of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group (now LW Entertainment) and a veteran of AEG, EMI and Universal Music Group. He is joined by Creative Director Jonathan Butterell, known for the West End musical and BAFTA-nominated film Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, and Technical Director Pavle Mihajlovic, co-founder of video game studios Electric Saint and Flavourworks. The company has also strengthened its creative bench by bringing in hyper-real avatar creators Greg Meeres Young (known for work on Planet of the Apes and Lord of the Rings) and Sefki Ibrahim, who worked on ABBA Voyage. John Kennedy, former Chairman/CEO of Universal Music UK and the IFPI, has joined the board as a non-executive director. “Barney is hugely respected in the industry and has managed to solve a structural problem that everyone knew existed but nobody had cracked. As a founder, Barney brings a unique blend of creative vision and commercial nous to every project that he sets his mind to, and having followed his journey for many years I couldn’t be more delighted to formally partner for the next chapter of Unit1,” added Waterhouse. Unit1 Studio says ABBA Voyage has demonstrated audience appetite for avatar concerts of artists no longer touring. However, the cost of developing and replicating similar productions has kept the format out of reach for most artists. With its technology, Unit1 Studio argues that it will now be possible to replicate similar productions across multiple venues simultaneously. The company aims to match how the touring theatre productions are adapted for different cities and open the door to shows that recoup development costs within twelve months. “Unit1 is, and will always be, about expanding the connection between fan and artist regardless of time or geography. ABBA Voyage proved audiences love avatar concerts but the development and relocation costs have meant the opportunity of avatar concerts is not being realised,” said Barney Wragg, founder and CEO of Unit1 Studio. He added, “Our ability to develop these shows at a fraction of the cost and replicate them to any location finally makes these shows a commercial reality. The combination of our technology, new financing and our growing team, means we can develop shows for artists and fans worldwide.” The financing will fund Unit1’s expanding roster of concerts in development, though the company has not yet disclosed which artists it is working with, saying announcements will follow once tickets go on sale. The post London’s Unit1 Studio secures €23.3 million to scale avatar concerts beyond the one-venue ABBA Voyage model appeared first on EU-Startups.