Space opera: New original songs add to the fun for space-loving music fans

Devotees of electronic music are snapping up space-enabled creative content as they collect unique digital keepsakes and access the latest releases.

As music concerts across the world are canceled or postponed, artists and record labels are exploring new ways to deliver personalized content experiences to fans in their homes

Companies that had previously specialized in adding a digital layer to real-life experiences have switched to using their platforms to deliver personalized mementos.

Warner Music's Big Beat Records label has created an intergalactic-themed compilation album of tech house and house music that it is releasing in daily stages between now and 3 April via one such experience.

It contains new original music from artists including KC Lights, Wh0, Chapter & Verse, GUZ and Nightlapse.

Fans can access the experience from their mobile devices. The platform combines real-time space data—such as the distance to the International Space Station and data from weather satellites—with the location of the device to generate a unique individualized badge for each of the space-themed tracks that the fan can save or share on social media.

The device then plays the video and music track, giving fans an exclusive first listen before the album appears on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.

The platform was developed by Landmrk, an ESA-backed start-up founded in 2016 in London by marketing tech entrepreneur Seth Jackson and chief marketing officer Tom Nield, that normally provides digital content to tens of thousands of fans gathered at music festivals.

"ESA helped us to develop our contextual experiences platform, which is like a Pokémon Go for music. It enables music artists and record labels to deliver any type of digital content to fans, anywhere in the world. Here we have flipped what the platform does, in a proof-of-concept that is light-hearted and fun," says Seth Jackson.

Norbert Huebner, Head of Feasibility Studies at ESA, says: "We are supporting companies to use space data or space technologies either to enhance existing services or develop new ones for any terrestrial market. The entertainment market is a new market but an interesting one for us. We are open to anyone who has an idea for a new product or service."