It’s a common gripe at live music events that everyone spends the whole time with their phones in the air, recording things and taking photos. It gets in other people’s way and feels like a counter-productive distraction. But what if that was the only way you could see the musicians?

To promote a new range of headphones designed especially for smartphones, Sony and Naked Communications have built an app that utilises Sony’s SmartAR technology and, after scanning a poster for the Headphone Music Festival in Japan, viewers will be treated to a virtual, augmented reality performance from some of the artists playing at the festival. The intention being to draw attention to the superior sound quality of the new Sony headphones.