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The closer you are to another user, the louder the music is for them. Inside worlds, you can equip an item called the “boombox” - a sparkly, golden speaker system - and broadcast the music to players around you. Music has become such a big part of the Roblox community for one major reason: Starting in late 2013, users became able to upload their own MP3s to the platform, which other players can access.
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The scene has made ripples in the underground music circuit, and earned a nod from Phoebe Bridgers on Twitter. Tunes like “Threat,” by lieu, a 13-year-old musician, emulate being inside a digital dimension where every bass thud and synth shake is an enemy you’re blowing past, every vocal stutter and short-circuited squeak a new obstacle to avoid. Mostly made by young teenagers, it’s a strain of chaotic, profanity-laden rap that’s overloaded with frantic sound effects. Last year the platform spawned its own music genre - robloxcore. They are “roleplays,” meaning the player performs a certain persona you can be a sheriff, a parent adopting a child, a pizza chef. Unlike Minecraft, a game that drops users into a fantastical “otherworld,” Roblox’s most popular mini-games (or, as Roblox calls them, “ experiences”) are rooted in real life. Roblox is a game-creation engine, first released in 2006, that allows players to customize their own sandbox worlds, create mini-games on multiplayer servers and enjoy a second life online as square-shaped beings called Robloxians. But there’s another, unlikely platform that’s picking up steam: Roblox. Artists, label heads and industry schemers know that success in pop music today requires racking up plays on TikTok and streaming services.
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