Adding live bands to the Insomnia gaming festival was always going to be a gamble, but it’s unclear whether it’s one that’s paid off.
Back in summer 2016, Esports News UK caught wind of a rumour that Multiplay would be adding a concert area to Insomnia.
Sure enough, Multiplay signed a deal with Island Records (a divison of Universal) and i60 hosted some live music in April earlier this year, including the likes of Chase & Status and Wretch 32. It also hosted the Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses live concert.
However, in August, a live music area was completely missing from i61, and Esports News UK understands it’s not yet been decided whether it will be coming back in the future.
Insomnia was always about LAN gaming, getting together with the community and taking part in esports tournaments. So it’s not hugely surprising Multiplay treated this as a bit of an experiment. But the company is remaining optimistic.
Multiplay told Esports News UK in a statement: “The plan was never to bring music to each event – we are still exploring options for i62 with Universal. The music elements for i60 didn’t get announced until mid-February 2017.”
“The plan was never to bring music to each event – we are still exploring options for i62 with Universal.”
Multiplay
Of course, hiring well-known artists is not cheap, and Multiplay will have to weigh up whether the extra expense is worth it.
“It was our first move into music at i60 and it was about giving the customers something back,” the company added in a statement. “I am sure you can imagine five global artists were expensive, however overall this drove total footfall numbers and ultimately drove ticket sales delivering loyalty and reach.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that some of the artists were upset over who was headlining, but that’s not unusual for a live concert featuring a mix of different bands.
Additionally, Multiplay Events director Andy Smith is said to be leaving the business shortly.
Multiplay’s contract with Universal was a relationship that started with Andy, so it’s unknown what this means for Insomnia and live music in the future.
Events like Video Games Live and other game music concerts prove there is a demand from gamers for live music, but it seems Multiplay is still trying to figure out if this works well at a LAN/expo event. Time will tell.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.
