NEWS

LEGO and Universal Music Group unveil first product line-up for LEGO VIDIYO

Published on: 16th February 2021

The LEGO Group has today unveiled the first range of products to arrive from its new LEGO Vidiyo platform, a collaboration with Universal Music Group that will enable kids to create their own music videos using LEGO Minifgures, new LEGO kits, and augmented reality technology.

Teased last month, LEGO Vidiyo brings digital and physical play together through the use of a series of BeatBoxes, Bandmatesm and BeatBits that, through the use of AR tech, come to life in a new app, available to download now www.LEGO.com/VIDIYO-DeviceCheck.

Inspired by an array of musical genres and musicians, the LEGO Vidiyo world offers a new product experience for families and LEGO fans, allowing them to play, create and produce their own music videos.

The first LEGO Vidiyo product drop consists of BeatBoxes, Bandmates, and BeatBits. Fans will discover six unique portable BeatBoxes that each hold a minifigure representing a specific music genre, a scanning stage, two special BeatBits, and 14 random BeatBits.

These BeatBoxes can transport up to 16 BeatBits and have a building plate that can be customised with a selection of LEGO tiles to suit the style of its owner.

The first wave of products also features 12 Bandmates, each of which comes with one special BEatBit and two random BeatBits. BEatBits are a creative system of audio-visual effects that can be combined in the app and in real life, printed like album covers on 2×2 tiles. Each represents a music effect, character dance move, or scene prob that come to life in the Vidiyo app.

BeatBits, like instruments, are played live during the performance. There will be 130 BeatBits launching in the first year.

The six BeatBoxes and 12 Bandmate characters introduced today are:

  • 43102 ‘Candy Pop’ in the Candy Mermaid BeatBox (Pop)
  • 43103 ‘Pirate Punk’ in the Punk Pirate Beatbox (Punk)
  • 43104 ‘Alien DJ’ in the Extra Terrestrial Dance Music BeatBox (ETDM)
  • 43105 ‘Party Llama’ in the Party Llama BeatBox (Tropicon)
  • 43106 ‘Unicorn DJ’ in the Unicorn DJ BeatBox (K-pawp)
  • 43107 ‘Robot Break-dancer’ in the HipHop Robot BeatBox (HipHop)
  • 43101 Bandmates: Red Panda Dancer; Cotton Candy Cheerleader; Shark Singer; Bunny Dancer; Discowboy Singer; Genie Dancer; Samurapper; DJ Cheetah; Ice Cream Saxophonist; Alien Keytarist; Banshee Singer; Werewolf Drummer

LEGO VIDIYO products will be available from March 1st and are the first of many to come, states LEGO. BeatBoxes are priced at £17.99 with the Collectible Bandmates priced at £3.99.

There will be around 30 songs from UMG’s unrivalled global artists, including chart toppers and ultimate classics, all available on the app from launch, with new tracks added frequently. Each song has been programmed to work intuitively with all the BeatBits to ensure they link in harmony, including special music effects that match the beat of the track giving children an incredible level of creative audio customisation.

As part of the Vidiyo app experience children can create their own bands for performances – select clothing, band names, and album covers. By taking part in regularly updated in-app challenges and scanning in products, points are earned which can be used to unlock additional customisation options such as costumes, accessories, choreography and stage layouts.

In addition to the initial launch, Universal Music Group label, Astralwerks has also signed a new artist – a live action human version of the DJ LLama minifigure from the Tropicon BeatBox who goes by the titles L.L.A.M.A.

Refusing to be attached to any one genre, L.L.A.M.A. aims to harness free-spiritedness to inspire curiosity.

VP marketing, Luke Armitage, Astralwerks, said: “It’s an honour to sign the first ever llama and LEGO minifigure to a global record deal. When L.L.A.M.A first played us the early demo of ‘Shake’, we all knew we wanted to work with him. The LEGO Group’s partnership with UMG completely aligns with our mission to surround the electronic music space with innovation.”

Fans can stay tuned to L.L.A.M.A and his plans via his social media channels @musicbyllama.

William Thorogood, VP and executive producer of LEGO Vidiyo, the LEGO Group, said: “Play and music are both universally appealing and have a fundamental impact on the development of children.

“With LEGO VIDIYO we can now provide a kid-safe space for children to express their playful creativity through music video making to develop these new skills.”

“The partnership with UMG brings with it innovation on so many levels, from an exciting new music centred product and app experience to ground-breaking ways of engaging fans with the signing of L.L.A.M.A. LEGO VIDIYO has been tested with over 1,500 families across North America, Europe and Asia and the response we have seen has been incredible, with children and parents all excited to be able to bring LEGO minifigures to life in their very own unique, creative Music Videos. Now that LEGO VIDIYO is out in the wild, I’m so excited to see what the young creators of today have in store.”

Joshua Burke, VP, strategic marketing and global partnerships, Universal Music Group, added: “It’s an exciting day for LEGO VIDIYO, finally revealing the full experience and topping it with the first ever record deal for a LEGO minifigure.

“Music goes hand in hand with creativity and plays a role in a child’s development, all these new products, BeatBits and characters will inspire young people as they discover music, artists and new sounds from around the globe. While expanding their creative and technical skills and having fun – children will be learning, experimenting and expressing themselves in their very own music videos.”

LEGO Vidiyo is aimed at children aged seven to ten and provides a safe universe where they can traverse the worlds of physical and digital play. As LEGO Vidiyo requires verified parental consent – along with anonymity – and with external moderation of all content uploaded to the App feed, parents can be reassured their child is unleashing their creativity while staying safe online.

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