Do users need to have access to a headset to be completely immersed?
Alexander: If you want to be fully immersed, where you see nothing but the world that we’ve created, yes, you will use a headset. If you want to have a fully explorable environment, your phone still works to accomplish that. So, if you’re on the subway on the way to work, you can still jump into these experiences. It works across devices.
Can you talk about your business model?
Alexander: We work with some very big brands, who pay for different types of experiences. There’re obviously revenue shares associated with a different world, advertisements and sponsorships, too.
Each of the worlds that we work with, such as the NBPA, there’ll be e-commerce or social elements, gated content, and gamification elements. In those, there’s pay-to-play opportunities—premium ways to interact with these worlds. The same thing can be said for Charlemagne. If you want to go to a private session of his interview and have exclusive access, we charge people an entrance fee.
As more people join, you’ll see a big switch to social experiences effectively fueled by advertising.
Charlamagne, has this benefited your business or increased viewership?
It will when we start rolling out a lot of these different initiatives. We have eight million monthly listeners on The Breakfast Club. We go live now on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. This is just a different way for them to interact with the show.
Our Nipsey Hussle (Los Angeles rapper and entrepreneur) interview on our YouTube page has millions of views. Imagine you’re a die-hard Nipsey Hussle fan, and Nipsey is no longer with us, but you can be sitting there in the studio feeling like you’re sitting there with him. I just think that’s a unique experience.
When the metaverse was all the rage, many people saw it as a far-fetched technology. What if people are not yet open to virtual reality?
Charlamagne: Sure, but that’s not why you invest in things. I’m already seeing people invested in the VR world, walking around with the headsets. And virtual reality video games are extremely big right now.
Alexander: Eventually we’re going to be opening up our tools so anyone can go build whatever experiences they want. The tools are no-code solutions and anyone who is extremely good at coding can use it.
Charlamagne: Remember when cell phones were huge, and then they scaled down to compact smartphones? I think we’ll see similar growth in the metaverse when headsets become more advanced. One thing that drew me to VR was the Creed boxing game. I love the Creed movie and boxing, and to be in that world just made so much sense. When you allow people to not only create their own world but be in worlds that they’re already familiar with, it’s going to make people want to be more involved.
