Rock and Roll Never Dies - Will Holograms Dominate Live Performances in Rock Music in the Future?

Abstract

Nowadays, technology is an inevitable part of our world. It keeps developing rapidly, resulting in new ways of entertainment and simplification of our everyday lives. Naturally, technology has an influence on live music performances as well. In 2016, the "hologram" of deceased rock legend Ronnie James Dio had its debut at the Wacken festival in Germany, later followed by a world tour. This hologram performance was not the first of its kind, and it will probably not be the last. However, the potential success of hologram technology in the music industry appears to be genre-specific: what is accepted in pop music is not necessarily accepted in rock music. Like every other genre, rock is defined by its own underlying values, traditions and politics of authenticity. This thesis is based upon the results of a survey which was designed to examine how hologram technology is perceived by rock audiences. The aim of this research was finding an answer to the question if hologram performances can dominate or even replace live performances in rock music in the future. The survey results show that hologram performances in rock music are predominantly perceived in a negative way. This thesis examines the survey outcomes in the light of rock authenticity and aims at explaining the negative perception of hologram performances in rock music. For this, the survey results are put into context of several literature sources from the music and art sector. I will argue that for several reasons it is not possible for holograms to dominate rock live performances in the future. Furthermore I will argue that the only way a hologram can achieve success in rock music is as an additional show effect during live performances or on its own, but only when the performing artist has passed away. “...Deaths lead the record companies, estates of deceased artists and the entertainment business...to get creative on how they exploit the persona of the deceased artists. This often occurs in ways that society might never have thought possible.”

- Michael Spiro Drecolias