If ever a band was precision tooled for doing things in VR it is Muse, what with their histrionic songs of tech paranoia and digital utopias starting to curdle.

Their last tour had drones flying around the venues. So it follows that they are using their 2019 tour, which starts in February, as a way to meld the real world of concerts with alternative realities.

As if to remove any last molecules of doubt about what they are up to, their tour is called Simulation Theory (named after their recent album). And what is perhaps most interesting is that VR and “enhanced experiences” are being pushed as an upsell alongside the actual concert.

It is all in partnership with Microsoft and the Simulation Theory Enhanced Experience has a lot of moving parts to it. Fans paying the top price will get the following: access to the first 15 rows at the venue; entry to something called the Muse Mixed Reality Pre-Show Party (which is where Microsoft are mostly obviously involved) that offers the chance to play VR games based on tracks from the new album and interactive photo opportunities “featuring props and memorabilia from Muse’s newest music videos”; an Enhanced Experience show-specific poster; and a collectable “retro lunchbox”.

There are other perks such as early access to the venue through a special entrance as well as first access to the merchandise stand. It’s not cheap, however, with tickets costing $399 in the US and $529 in Canada (with European prices still to be confirmed).

It is an interesting meshing of the real world and the hyperreal and is at least something a bit more than seats with bottle service or an awkward 10-second photo opportunity with the act that seems to provide the basis of most premium ticket packages today.

This is a hint of what the next-generation upsell strategy for fans could become. Here the VIP experience is giving way to the VR-IP experience.