Live events in the entertainment industry have been scarce for the last few months due to restrictions for in-person gatherings. However, artists and companies have been coming up with innovative ways to keep the industry afloat.
This week, rapper Offset and event and entertainment facility Axis Replay announced the launch of a brand new production company called AXSD Media, which specializes in hosting both live and virtual events for artists to perform their music and still interact with fans, REVOLT TV reports.
“With COVID-19 shutting down performances, it’s tough on artists mentally and financially; especially emerging artists,” Offset said in a statement. “AXSD Media offers a solution that lets artists do what they love in-person as safely as possible while still reaching fans virtually at the same time.”
From an artist’s standpoint, Offset’s new venture will create a happy medium between artists and fans to allow for meaningful interactions and fulfilling performances.
“We need to interact with our fans in-person and virtually,” he said in a statement. “AXSD Media found a way to make that happen.”
Offset’s partnership with Axis Replay officially kicks off today with the AXR+EXP Concert Series — a monthly concert series that will feature new and emerging artists performing live for fans — HipHopDX reports.
According to REVOLT TV, the ticketed event will allow artists to compete for a cash prize as well as have the opportunity to open up for a big-name artist for an upcoming show on Sept. 26.
This new venture is a means to help support artists who have been affected by COVID-19, including Offset — who lost his great uncle to COVID-19 — and previously opened up about the virus’ impact in the Black community.
“You know we got all this paper and we’re successful and still like family members in our family do not have or qualify for health insurance or they can’t get it,” Offset said on the “Shelter in Place with Shane Smith” interview series.
Additionally, CEO Allie Young of Axis Replay shared her sentiments about the importance of keeping live events going to continue pushing the entertainment industry forward.
“The AXR+EXP Concert Series will be the new standard for live and virtual performances,” Young said in a statement. “Our company’s mission is to create experience-focused activations and that has translated well into streamed productions. Being a part of the music, entertainment, gaming and sports ecosystem, it made a lot of sense for us to leverage our experience and expertise to reconnect the industries that have been devastated by this pandemic.”
For more information on AXSD Media, click here.
