Kiss announces digital avatars to perform in their place after retirement | Hacker News Reader

Kiss announces digital avatars to perform in their place after retirement

apnews.com

38 pointsaa_is_op30 comments

I still love that people were attending “live” Hatsune Miku concerts at least as early as 2009 https://youtu.be/jhl5afLEKdo?si=EliZ_rCRooqNP0Jp

As was foretold by the anime Macross Plus in 1995.

> Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That’s what you could do with this.

in case anyone made the mistake of thinking this was strictly about physicality.

Yes, but 'obviously' because they aren't physically limited, ticket prices will approach the level of an iTunes download, because they'll be able to appear everywhere.

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or serious.

Is obviously in inverted commas not enough of a hint?

The headline on the website says first US band to do so, but Tupac was “resurrected” as a hologram a long time ago. Is this about the IL&M tech?

Obviously there is a market for this band, since they performed at Madison Square Garden, but I wonder how “eternal” such acts will be if/once the technology becomes mainstream.

Kiss was known for putting on a show. Much like Taylor Swift is nowadays. You might not love her music, but by all accounts Ms Swift is one of the best entertainers that has ever lived. People who hate her songs love her shows.

Rush toured with Kiss. Probably the most technically talented band in history said “yeah, we knew how to make music, but those guys taught us how to put on a show”.

I wish music concerts weren't about putting on a show in any way except musicians playing their stuff... maybe some atmospheric lighting and that's it. No smoke machines, no light shows, no multi-stage crap, no cranes, not background scenery, no shit...

You might as well play the cd at home then.

The difference between a recording and a live gig (that relates to music) is a fixed artifact vs live in-the-monent playing (improvising, imperfections, reacting to the audience's and night's flow and energy, vulnerability, and so on).

Apparently some people think it's the light show, background settings, smoke machines, makeup, and general clowning about.

It's rather them that might as well go to watch some Michal Bay flick on IMAX then - as they aren't interested in the musical performance.

My friend let me tell you the good news of an Autechre show.

Well, most folk and jazz and blues and indie shows as well, including indie electronic acts.

Autechre goes complete lights out. Maybe not completely - depending on venue rules, but they try to go as dark as possible. Metro in Minneapolis 2005 was the literal darkest show I've ever been to, barely could see in front of me. Just sound and the presence of others... Amazing show.

As someone who doesn't like concerts and is a big Autechre fan. That sounds amazing.

Nice. Used to listen to them a lot around early 00s, but never been to a live show.

They're a crapshoot live, moments of profundity with a tonne of drivel.

I'd imagine it means the first band to do it before death. Both 2pac and Michael Jackson have virtual performances and have for some time - but it was granted by their estates, not the artist themselves.

“U.S.” then is a doing a lot of heavy lifting. Gorillaz has been a virtual band since inception and already has “Avatars” that play live. Although, the humans are also there.

You're conflating two things. What we're talking about is holographic avatars REPLACING the artists at a concert. The Gorillaz band members are absolutely at their live concerts. The Avatars are for music videos, and sometimes make an appearance on video screens as an augment to their live performances.

2pac: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCRaElPN5pY

MJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5OnW06m0Jk

Gorillaz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIZW4SGVbhA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9RTJIrM57o

I get the difference. I just don’t see this KISS thing as a particularly large leap. I guess I haven’t seen the KISS thing so it’s hard to judge.

There is no KISS thing yet. The whole story is that KISS has proactively given their label permission to do a hologram of them when they’re done touring.

No other artist has done that while still alive (according to the article).

I saw the Coachella Tupac "hologram" - it was just a video that got played on a slanted piece of glass for one verse of a song. It was cool the first time as a surprise but no real longevity.

My reading/understanding is this is virtual avatars that use performance capture and extend that with AI to put on a performance more than just a recorded video - I'd expect variations across performances and potentially some kind of interactivity with the crowd. It'll be interesting to see what comes out of this and how it compares as bands I follow/like start to adopt it (and who gets the money).

Lip-syncing taken to the extreme.

As long as they don't call it a "live" performance.

Concerts are expensive undertakings - maybe there is a place for events like this in dedicated arenas like the Sphere where you can minimise costs like transport, setup/pulldown and staffing and you have the light and sound capability to make each acts performance unique?

I see this the same way as the relationship between cinema and theatre and I would expect prices to be similar. Maybe at thr beginning they'll try to keep concert prices the same, but eventually they will as this type of entertainment becomes more mainstream

I wonder how long this will last. Once their copyright expires in a few decades, anyone can be KISS, either digitally or in real life. (E.g. No one had to ask Napoleon’s estate for permission to portray him in the recent movie.)

Ah, but trademarks can live forever. KISS has already gone down that road years ago [0].

[0] - https://www.gerbenlaw.com/trademarks/musicians/kiss/

I would not hold it against the technology companies selling this if they took the money and never put on a virtual KISS show after their deaths

Kiss was a well known target of the satanic panic back in the day. Folks tried to ban them saying their music was demonic and KISS stood for "Knights In Satan's Service".

Now, their act is immortalized and will still be running long after they're dead.

Perhaps they did sell their soul to the devil afterall! /s

Is the band a reference to Keep It Simple Stupid?

Dont know any of their other songs, but "I want to rock and roll all night" seems like a minimally viable rock hit. Something an incredibly lazy (and smart) artist would write.

Reminds me of andrew wk

I believe Kiss was only 'popular' due to their proximity to NYC, their merchandising and stage gimmicks.

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