Such are the advantages of attending a completely virtual concert. You take in the tunes courtesy of your computer. The performer’s avatar plays from the cyber-stage; your own digital doppelgänger is in the crowd, digging the scene and the sound with fellow fans. Example thus:

Marketing and record label executives say Web sites that put users into video-game-like virtual worlds are a unique way to reach out to audiences, who are increasingly spending their time and money on the computer instead of at concerts and music stores. Although still experimental, such sites offer fans more ways to interact with one another and band members directly.

Read more in this front-page Washington Post article.