“It gives us validation and opens doors,” How Creative Enterprise Investment Readiness is helping Copper Candle conquer the digital events market
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The UK’s live music sector is booming. Having recovered from its post-pandemic slump, the industry has added billions to the UK economy, with a further 7.2% increase from its 2019 pre-pandemic peak predicted before 2027 arrives. It’s undeniably positive news – but what happens when your favourite band or artist visits your city and you’re unable to attend their show? Copper Candle director James Simpson may have the answer.
“I have social anxiety so I’ll never go to a Metallica concert but I’ll get to see them in Fortnite and that’s exciting,” he says, explaining how live events in digital spaces are quickly becoming the new future for this lucrative industry. He’s not wrong either. Just days after our conversation, the world’s biggest metal band did indeed bring their live experience to one of the world’s most popular video games. “There will be millions of us watching and we’ll all be people who don’t get to see live concerts often,” adds Simpson. “The accessibility it creates is fantastic.”
It’s this burgeoning space that Copper Candle aims to make its own; a brave new world populated by a growing number of fans who find themselves underserved by the traditional live event model. According to Simpson, it’s a scene that’s on the rise.
“There are huge audiences at the moment,” he tells us, explaining how Copper Candle research learned more about this growing sector. “We wanted to know what audiences thought about live experiences hosted in the Metaverse. We also wanted to see what the value was of being ‘live’. We discovered that audiences want entertainment in any form possible regardless of format – but what they really want is something that feels exclusive. It doesn’t matter if the performers are live or if the experience itself is happening at that very moment,” continues Simpson. “Audiences just want to feel like they’re part of something they couldn’t ordinarily access.”
Simpson’s background puts him in the perfect place to operate at the tip of this particular innovation from both the consumer and business side of things. He started his career in theatre lighting, spending a decade working for the Royal Opera House spending time with the Royal Shakespeare Company and other leading West End Productions. This quickly transitioned into a visualisation role, using gaming engines and state-of-the-art technology to bring shows to life. These new tools ultimately led him to found Copper Candle in 2004 as a place to push immersive metaverse experiences into exciting new places.
“There are people who make games and people who make theatre but there aren’t many people sat across both,” says Simpson of the industry layout. “There were language and skills gaps. Everyone was trying to make VR experiences for theatre and no one knew how – so that’s where we came in. We can make metaverse experiences but we also understand the language and pressure points of theatre. As a result, we’ve ended up innovating quite a few products and tools that allow theatre people to work in games without friction.”
The sector has already taken notice. In addition to Metallica’s recent Fortnite visit, other live events have started to see the potential in hosting digital experiences for digital fans. “Coachella has already been featured in Fortnite and we’re already talking to a major festival producer who wants to be part of this world,” reveals Simpson. “Festivals are always looking for ways to grow their brand so new people can access them. Ultimately, everyone wants to make money and more money usually comes from new people.”
With his goal set, Simpson applied for our Creative Enterprise Investment Readiness programme to help give Copper Candle the push it needed to break into the mainstream. “Creative UK is much more than just a funder, they’re a community. There’s a network and they’re all people in our sector, passing around opportunities,” says Simpson of his decision to join the cohort. “As a theatre person, I was struggling to get access to the games industry and understand how that world works but Creative UK straddles that. It’s a great place for us to transition over to the side of the sector that’s more games-focused.”
Having a recognized name in your corner is also a plus, especially when working in an emerging marketplace. “It gives us validation and assures others that we are legit. I use it as a badge of honour,” says Simpson. “The other thing it does is open doors. Having social anxiety means networking is the worst part of my job but Creative UK recognized that this was one of my disabilities, introduced me to people and made it very easy for me to get involved,” adds Simpson, highlighting the unlikely way in which the Investment Readiness scheme mirrors Copper Candle’s expertise. “They’re still opening doors in ways that are much calmer for me so I can face investors with my best face and not be on a back foot.”
By the time their Investment Readiness journey is over, Simpson hopes they’ll not only be on their way to securing the funding they need to keep moving forward but also closer to establishing their place in the digital events history books. “I want Copper Candle to have a hand in this new entertainment revolution that’s coming,” he smiles. “I want to get to the end of my career, look back and think ‘Copper Candle helped midwife this entire industry into being.’ That’d be the dream.”
Words and interview by Simon Bland