"Second Life" Bluesman Gets Record Deal in Real Life

A Nashville blues musician named Van Johin has been signed to a record label, thanks to his free performances on alternate computer universe Second Life. Von Johin is believed to be the first artist signed to a contract thanks to their performances in this other world. Aside from his steady schedule of touring small real-life venues, Von Johin also plays a weekly virtual concert on Second Life, which brought him to the attention of scouts from Reality Entertainment, who signed the bluesman after seeing his following online. The company's scouts spent months on Second Life searching for talent before discovering Van Johin's virtual venue Blue Note Club. "Never before has a virtual character been signed to a worldwide recording contract," said Reality Entertainment CEO Warren Croyle. "Von Johin is legendary in the virtual community Second Life for his heart-pounding live shows." Von Johin's style of Mississippi Delta blues, consisting of only guitar and vocals, works well on Second Life due to its simplicity, making it sound good on live streams. Von Johin will continue to play free virtual shows for virtual fans at a virtual venue. Whether this translates into real record sales remains to be seen.

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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