The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) reportedly introduced a new category to the current list of competition categories, naming “Best Metaverse Performance” for a coveted award.

Specifically, The VMA award show was introduced in 1984 as an esteemed recognition for music video ability. High-profile music artists, including Madonna, Nirvana and Kanye West, are among previous VMA recipients.

The standard award categories include “Video of the Year,” “Artist of the Year” and “Song of the Year”, but 2022 brought along a Web3 surprise – one of the fastest growing aspect of crypto, where the VMAs considered performances in the Metaverse and created a brand new award category.

Apart from a brand new award category, on Aug. 12th, the award show reportedly also disclosed details regarding its first-ever Metaverse experience. Paramount Game Studios rolled out The VMA Experience in the Roblox metaverse, which is available until Sept. 3 of 2022.

Roblox reportedly has two performances eligible for nomination, and function as a virtual sphere with active association with pop culture events, including concerts and festivals. In 2021, it forged an alliance with Insomniac, a top-tier electronic dance music festival producer, to create virtual festivals in its metaverse.

The 2022 metaverse category surfaced following five consecutive years where VMA views taking a hit. With the metaverse showing no signs of slowing down on its expansion and reeling in younger audiences, MTV’s initiative to cover virtual performance may help keep it up to date. 

The music sphere witnessed a vast array of Web3 integrations, since it has been on a trajectory of digital consumption for years following the release of music streaming services. 

Artists are releasing singles as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which are now eligible for recognition on international charts, while others are utilizing blockchain to improve music licensing.