Do you wish you could go to a concert by your favorite deceased artist?
Well, thanks to live music’s premier hologram production company, Eyellusion, fans of the late Ronnie James Dio can do just that by purchasing tickets to see him perform with his band on the upcoming Dio Returns: The World Tour.
Eyellusion surprised fans in August 2016 when it debuted the Ronnie James Dio hologram at the Wacken Open Air music festival in Germany, and positive reactions led the company to take the concept further with a world tour that may include as many as 100 dates. The shows will feature Dio’s actual live vocals, backed by a live band consisting of former DIO members and other musicians.
The upcoming tour serves as an excellent example of the massively important role that technology plays in the music industry, with innovative concepts that can change the core nature of live concerts, allowing people to “see” the original lineups of their favorite bands, even when one or more of them is deceased. Eyellusion’s holograms and live productions are supported by a large team of concert and technology experts, including Wendy Dio, who manages industry relations, legendary rock manager Todd Singerman, who supports artist relations, and Kenny Aranoff, world-famous live and studio drummer, who manages business development and technical live production efforts. Veteran digital effects executive Scott Ross advises Eyellusion on the overall content creation for all of its productions.
“Working with Eyellusion over the past year and a half to turn our dream of this tour into a reality has been absolutely incredible,” said Wendy Dio, who managed the late singer throughout his career, and is overseeing all aspects of the upcoming hologram tour. “No one has ever been able to put together a show and tour like this and we like to think of Ronnie smiling down as we continue to find new ways to share his music with all generations of fans. We cannot wait to be able to finally bring this incredible experience to Ronnie’s fans around the world.”
If this tour proves to be successful, it could create a new template for deceased artists to return to the stage via hologram. However, there are many other complexities to be overcome, such as the daunting legal hurdles. When an artist dies, the name, image and likeness rights held while they were alive may or may not still apply, and those rights must be secured. Additionally, if the hologram is created with third-party images, those rights must also be acquired. On top of these issues, there are also the added legalities of performance rights, music composition rights and trademark rights in the artist’s name.
But perhaps the biggest hurdles that must be overcome are technological, as Eyellusion uses footage and photos to build several physical models that can subsequently be scanned and animated. “The actual display of the hologram involves use of an invisible film that is stretched at an angle with an LED projector, projecting an image onto it to create the 3D effect and illusion,” explained Eyellusion CEO Jeff Pezzuti. “This is an incredibly complicated process.”
As album sales continue to dwindle, it’s likely that a growing number of estates of deceased artists will consider organizing hologram tours, as a way to revive revenue over time. However, the upcoming Dio tour is by far the largest undertaking of its type, and it is yet to be seen whether fans will truly want to pay high ticket prices to see this kind of show.
Anyone wants to buy tickets to the next Nirvana concert?
