Bay Backner is an artist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Vueltta, a trailblazing digital design studio that merges art, activism, and technology within the metaverse. Driven by her passion for integrating creative expression with cutting-edge tech, Bay has emerged as a leading figure in immersive, socially impactful digital experiences. Through her work, she’s championed the metaverse as a transformative platform where global music communities converge, voices are amplified, and boundaries of traditional live performance are pushed further than ever.
With her latest production, the Decentraland Music Festival, Bay is reimagining the possibilities for electronic music, offering a borderless stage for artists worldwide and a space where fans and creators alike can connect, express, and shape the future of live events. For Bay, virtual platforms like Decentraland act as a “third space” for the electronic music experience—bridging the community found at live festivals with the accessibility and immediacy of at-home streaming. Her work through Vueltta spans from art installations and interactive storytelling to groundbreaking digital music festivals, redefining how we experience music in virtual spaces.
In this interview with Peachz, Bay discusses her vision for the future of electronic music in immersive spaces, the growing role of immersive technology, and the innovative models driving inclusivity and engagement in digital music. As she prepares for this year’s Decentraland Music Festival, Bay opens up about the unique challenges and rewards of creating accessible global events, her commitment to expanding electronic music’s reach, and the lasting impact of shared virtual experiences on fans worldwide. With every project, Bay Backner is transforming how we experience music—one virtual beat at a time.
Frequencies: In Conversation with Bay Backner
R. What influence do you feel organisations like Decentraland have in opening worldwide discourse for electronic music promotion and the tools that surround it?
B. Virtual platforms and spaces have been an integral part of electronic music for decades. From early chat rooms and message boards to contemporary video games, EDM and electronic music are often the soul of much of the digital world. Organizations like Decentraland play a significant role in promoting electronic music worldwide by creating a platform where fans from anywhere in the world can connect through shared experiences.
We see Decentraland as a “third space” for music experience. It bridges the community fans find at live EDM festivals, like Tomorrowland and Ultra, with the accessibility and immediacy of streaming music at home. It is as easy to enter from your computer, but you’re simultaneously sharing an important, creative, transient experience with others from around the world. This fosters more inclusive conversations around EDM promotion and innovation.
R. What things should we look at in terms of comparing offline to digital experience?
B. For me, offline and virtual bring different, equally important experiences to the table. I would never suggest that virtual can replace the physical, almost primal energy of real-life EDM events, and nor should we try. Instead, virtual events provide new ways of connecting people with shared, meaningful experiences. We can feel genuine emotion while listening to an mp4 or from watching a streamed film, and virtual experiences like Decentraland Music Festival push this even further to move us collectively and profoundly. They respond to the same, deeply human need for connection as IRL festivals, but do so in very different ways. We’ve only just started exploring the possibilities. It’s early days!
Access is also a big focus for us. For EDM fans who can’t easily attend major in-person events like Tomorrowland or Ultra, we provide an alternative — an immersive, virtual way to experience the connection and community of festivals. We’ve seen genuine, lasting connections being made at our previous festivals.
R. What role will other technologies such as immersive experience play for earning dynamics for artists?
B. Immersive technologies are reshaping the earning dynamics for artists by offering new ways to connect with fans, build strong communities and foster engagement. Platforms like Decentraland provide artists with tools to create multidimensional experiences, allowing them to go beyond traditional social media and engage fans in deeper, more interactive ways. New earning dynamics include virtual fan experiences beyond traditional concerts, for example escape room style experiences or mini-games ; avatars and virtual fashion as digital merchandise or even acting as tickets to online experiences; immersive art which transforms a 2D album cover into an explorable experience; VIP meet and greet sessions in these or other fan-focused spaces. It’s about rethinking what’s possible free from the limitations of physical space, venue limitations, and travel costs.
R. What models do you think will have potential to make an impactful change?
B. Models that focus on accessibility, such as Decentraland’s free, open-to-all virtual music festivals, have the potential to make a significant impact. By creating inclusive digital spaces, these platforms can democratize the live music experience, offering fans from all over the world the chance to connect and participate in events they may otherwise be unable to attend. This not only expands an artist’s reach but also fosters a more inclusive community where music serves as a bridge across economic and geographic divides.
R. What difficulties do you face in producing an event such as Decentraland Music Festival and what can we expect from this year’s event?
B. Producing an event like Decentraland Music Festival comes with challenges, especially when aiming for a seamless, immersive experience for a global audience. We constantly push the limits of current technology, breaking new ground with each event. This applies not only to our 3D installations and in-game “quests” but also to basic festival decisions. For instance, even scheduling headliners becomes complex in a virtual, global setting. Which time zones should we prioritize? Should we schedule headliners at the traditional "end of the day" slot, and if so, which country’s day are we ending? Or do we aim for the times in which we know there are the most global users online? (For this festival, we chose the latter.)
The reward for all of these decisions is a space where fans from nearly every country in the world can unite around a shared love of. At Decentraland Music Festival 2024 you should expect a free, global celebration of EDM — from blended future bass sounds out of LA, to Durban’s gqom, to progressive psytrance with Azerbaijani roots. International headliners like NGHTMRE, San Holo, Whipped Cream, Mat Zo, and DJ Lag will share the stage with rising underground artists from Argentina, Greece, France, Germany, Japan, and Spain. Our theme this year — “space traveler” — speaks to this sense of shared discovery and exploration.
You can also expect live talks with some of the leading voices in the industry, from labels like Hospital Records and Coop Records, to established platforms like Audius and Beatport, and ethics-focused AI innovators like Infinite Album and LANDR. By hosting discussions on topics like AI’s role in shaping the future of EDM, fans and creators from anywhere in the world can engage in and contribute to these important conversations.
