EVR first-half loss doubles after spending on music VR platform

EVR Holdings' first-half loss more than doubled to £3.9m after the virtual reality music content producer spent on content creation and on launching its MelodyVR platform.

The AIM-listed company's operating loss before non-recurring and non-cash items for the six months to the end of June widened to £3.9m from £1.87m a year before. Administrative expenses rose to £4.2m from £2.6m and revenue was £6.8m with no figure for the year available.

The company is seeking to be a frontrunner in combining pop music and virtual reality, which some analysts expect to be one of the big technology trends in the next few years. EVR claims to have the world’s largest library of VR music content and wants to live-stream concerts so that people can experience them via headsets instead of going to the venue.

EVR released MelodyVR in the UK and US in May to tie-in with the launch of Facebook’s Oculus Go VR headset. It said early take-up of its platform by people buying headsets was encouraging. The company announced a deal on 15 August with Alexandra Palace in London to show events held at the venue.

Anthony Matchett, EVR’s chief executive, said: "Our primary focus during the next twelve months is to drive awareness of the MelodyVR platform, in turn developing our user base in order to further monetise our recorded, live and interactive original VR content."