Virtual Reality technologies have gained traction the last few years, even big mainstream brands are applying it’s use to various purposes such as Sony with their VR-headset for Playstation. Other practical uses are for real estate agents showing around their houses, and TU Delft begun tests with the use of VR to combat social anxieties. Dutch footballclubs, Ajax, AZ and PSV, as well as the national squad, are now also using VR for a very special purpose; teaching the game of football!

VR allows football players to re-watch their own or other matches as real as possible, and can make them think about what they could have done better when re-evaluating the situation. The purpose of these practices are to improve their decisionmaking in playing football, gain knowledge of the game and game-situations, and hopefully turning the users into better players. Especially useful for younger players, as older players have experienced more decision-making situations themselves without the help of VR. During the ages of 15 and 16, most of a player’s tactical skills are developed, in this age-group VR can contribute a lot. But also when a new player arrives to his new club, the period to adapt to the team can be reduced with the use of  VR technology.

However, only using VR to become the next Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic or Messi shouldn’t be enough. Real life exercise, training and playing matches will always benefit your cognitive capabilities the most, e.g. how fast to perform certain movements. The same goes for the physical development of gaining strength and endurance. VR only helps to improve the players “game intelligence” and should merely be used for this purpose. Finally, applying these techniques only works when a vast database of game footage is available, this will only be feasible for the biggest clubs in a small league like the Dutch one, increasing the gap between the top and the bottom of the table and decreasing competitiveness. But stakes are high in football as a lot of money is involved, so I think the use of VR in football, as well as other sports, will become more and more important.

It’s an interesting development in sports and the next Messi might be improving his football skills with a VR headset on right now.

Reference:

http://nos.nl/artikel/2138978-virtualrealitybril-moet-jonge-voetballer-beter-laten-voetballen.html

On the 20^th of August this year, Frank Ocean released his much anticipated sophomore album, Blonde, exclusively through Apple Music. Although the album got critical acclaim in the music press, others criticized Frank Ocean and Apple. This had less to do with the music itself, but more with the way of releasing the album, upsetting players in the music industry such as other streaming platforms and major music labels, as well as fans not using the designated Apple platform.

Universal Music Group, world’s biggest music label, reportedly banned all of its subsidiaries and artists from engaging in such exclusive deals. Criticism was that reducing an artist’s reach like that has negative effects on the artist for gaining popularity.  Head of creator services of Spotify, Troy Carter, who has been Lady GaGa’s manager in the past, has deemed  “exclusives are bad for artists, bad for consumers and bad for the whole industry” as limiting access to music increases incentives of music listeners to download it illegally by pirating or YouTube where it generates less revenues. Spotify, however, has been the industry’s favorite punching bag for years due to it’s low royalty payments for artists and the company could be disappointed because of it’s biggest rival in the streaming realm to land such an exclusive release, excluding them from the benefits of release hype. Furthermore, Spotify itself has exclusive content in the form of live versions of albums and songs on their own platform.

It all boils down on differentiation, as multiple platforms in the industry offer similar services, often for the same price of €10-a-month-subscription fee, they might want to set themselves apart. Could Apple be blamed for being detrimental for the music industry or it is just the next logical step to take in this competitive market? Luckily for all, the album has eventually reached all relevant streaming platforms, including Spotify.