Music has always been a big feature in Second Life, but when it comes to branded activity, it's been restricted to artists and labels rather than music manufacturers. Not any more though: Gibson Guitar is opening its Gibson Island tomorrow with a live gig. The company's island is (naturally) in the shape of a Les Paul guitar, and offers several venues for in-world gigs. Playing the launch is Bob Welch, apparently a multi-platinum solo artist back in the 70s, not to mention a former singer/guitarist for Fleetwood Mac.
However, Gibson is planning to hold many more gigs over the coming months, as a way to drive traffic to its island. It’s also streaming classic blues gigs in its mini-venues from artists like Howlin’ Wolf and Matt Murphy.
As for the commercial reasoning behind the project, Gibson Island will offer more than 24 ‘high prim’ virtual guitars for visitors to play, providing promotion for the real-world versions. Will this be a big hit? I’d have thought guitarists would want to hold the real guitar in their hands when mulling purchases, but I guess the virtual versions at least give an early look at products.
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