How Gorillaz could dominate a post-COVID world

"Calling the world from isolation / 'Cause right now, that's the ball where we be chained" - Humility, Gorillaz

Jun 05, 2020

I generally don’t write about politics and current events on Reframing, but this past week has been a lot to take in. I’m writing this week to distract my mind and hopefully allow you to do the same. If you’d rather skip this issue, take care, and I’ll see you next week.

Regardless, thank you for subscribing. I just hit my first milestone of 10 subscribers, and I’m excited to write future issues. I hope you’re eager to read them as well.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the music industry by delaying music festivals like Coachella and albums like Lady Gaga’s “Chromatica.” While most of the industry struggles to survive, we’re starting to see artists thrive by creating stripped-back records like Charli XCX’s “How I’m Feeling Now.”

Of all established bands, I feel that Gorillaz stands a better chance at thriving in a post-COVID world than their peers. For starters, Gorillaz is a virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett. It consists of four animated characters – 2-D (vocals), Murdoc (bass), Noodle (guitar), and Russel (drums). Each character has a complicated backstory that feeds into a rich multiverse of songs, videos, pictures, and even books. As the pandemic has progressed, Gorillaz has been able to seamlessly increase the prominence of the multiverse in their music videos. This transition has allowed them to premiere songs for their upcoming album “Song Machine” at a consistent pace.

The pandemic doesn’t seem to have impacted Gorillaz’s recording and producing schedules either. Gorillaz’s ability to incorporate genres as varied as jazz and brit-pop into their music means there’s no shortage of inspiration. Featured artists like Vince Staples and Pusha T have often recorded their segments remotely. Gorillaz has also been able to produce an album entirely on an iPad, 2010’s “The Fall.”

Just a few years ago, artists would face financial ruin if they weren’t able to go on tour as artists make 70% or more of their earnings from touring. Even if they were eventually ready, they’d probably see diminished ticket sales due to fickle audience tastes.

Well, that was the case before rapper Travis Scott performed a concert in the online game Fortnite complete with psychedelic visuals. Over 27.7 million fans tuned in to watch Travis perform hits like “Sicko Mode” and premiere his new single “The Scotts.” That’s almost 60 times the number of tickets sold to his wildly successful Astroworld tour in 2019. Although the concert was free to attend, a limited-edition avatar or “skin” was offered in-game for 1500 V-Bucks or $15 each. Even if 1% of attendees bought the skin, that’s a cool $4 million in three days for Travis and Epic Games, Fortnite’s publisher.

Gorillaz has all the essential ingredients to replicate this success. Their new music is critically well-received and being hailed as a return to form. They’ve spent years investing both sonically and visually in their multiverse. Most importantly, they have compelling animated characters who could take on a new life in a new visual medium.

I don’t know what a Gorillaz virtual concert might look like, but I know I’d pay good money to see it. It’ll be incredible to see a virtual band introduce themselves to a new generation of fans and get rewarded handsomely for it.

A passing Gorillaz reference in this Colin and Samir video inspired this essay: