Reinventing the live music experience – through collaboration

Jesper Larsson, initiator and Portfolio Manager with a background as leader of large performing arts organizations. Photo: Kennet Ruona

Opening concert halls through future technologies

Kalaudioscope aims to open up concert halls to far more people than those who can be physically present. With the help of future technologies, publicly funded culture can reach a wider audience, become more accessible, and even evolve through co-creation with listeners giving rise to entirely new artistic formats.

For several years, work has been under way to develop a solution that allows audiences to shape their own live-streamed music experience. What began as a handful of experimental projects has now evolved into a broader innovation portfolio bringing together technology, culture, and law to transform how we encounter music.

The benefits of an innovation portfolio

Behind the initiative is an unusual combination of players. Academia, the cultural sector, and industry collaborate across multiple projects and constellations all aimed at shaping the future of live music experiences.

“Each project is driven by its own logic, but the benefit of the portfolio is that we get discussions between the projects. This makes the whole stronger than the sum of its parts,” says Jesper Larsson, initiator and Portfolio Manager.

Although the formal ties between projects are still loose, experience shows that the portfolio approach itself strengthens creativity, dialogue, and long-term development.

Why the whole chain has to work

The idea is simple but demanding. It is not enough to design an elegant way of capturing performances. The entire chain must function: from sound and image delivery, to the digital environments where audiences make choices, to legal frameworks that protect both performers’ and users’ rights.

Each element is crucial and none can be solved in isolation.

“This is where collaboration becomes decisive,” Jesper Larsson explains. “Universities bring research capacity and academic legitimacy, ensuring transparency and principles beyond narrow commercial interests.”

The cultural sector contributes content and audience insight, while businesses provide technical expertise and the ability to turn prototypes into working products. Organised as a portfolio, the initiative enables shared learning and creative cross-pollination.

A strong catalyst for dialogue and experimentation

Future by Lund has emerged as a central hub within the innovation portfolio, partly because it is jointly owned by multiple stakeholders.

“Future by Lund becomes an important hub not only because of the university, but because companies and the municipality are also involved. It’s a very good catalyst for discussion and dialogue,” says Jesper Larsson.

Rather than running projects side by side, the portfolio encourages a broader perspective focusing on how projects spark ideas in each other, not just on individual outputs.

Working across sectors to shape future experiences

The promise of this approach is significant. Artists gain new revenue streams and reach audiences beyond the physical concert hall. Audiences enjoy more personalized, interactive experiences choosing camera angles, joining digital watch parties, or accessing higher-quality streams.

For companies, the portfolio functions as a living lab to test technologies such as 5G streaming and AI-driven personalization.

At the same time, the collaboration raises fundamental questions:
How should copyright and data protection adapt as live and digital performance merge?
How can technology serve culture without reducing it to just another product?

While answers remain open, working across sectors and treating innovation as a collective endeavor is laying the groundwork for more accessible and democratic cultural experiences.

AI, digital twins, and the next phase

The next step is ambitious. Partners across Europe have submitted an application to Horizon Pathfinder Open, aiming to develop a digital twin of a physical cinema.

“The idea is that AI will be able to predict audience wishes and adapt the experience. Most people don’t want to control technology themselves they want something that feels tailored to them,” says Jesper Larsson.

The coming months will include technical tests, new broadcasts with Malmö Opera, and the development of interactive features such as online social viewing groups. Discussions on long-term funding are also ongoing.

“For me, it’s about how culture can reach citizens in new ways. It’s challenging, but we’re facing completely new opportunities for artists and audiences to meet,” Larsson concludes.

About Kalaudioscope

Kalaudioscope is an innovation portfolio designed to enhance, expand, and make live experiences accessible through new technologies and an ethical approach that respects artistic expression.

Its mission is to enable everyone to participate in music and performing arts regardless of context, background, or ability by providing digital access to immersive live content.

Kalaudioscope emerged from a collaboration at Lund University, led by the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, and is coordinated by Future by Lund. Several technology companies and concert organisers are involved.

https://ekipengine.eu/digital-concerts-raise-new-legal-questions/