On The Radar: Digital stars in Asia
10 August 2022
Virtual entertainers – VTubers or virtual idols as they’re sometimes known – have been a booming industry across Asia, especially during Covid.
Most often, these virtual stars are entertainers or content creators who use animated avatars (usually with their own distinct identity) for anything from singing performances to gaming livestreams or online interactions with fans.
They’re not exactly new – attempts to create virtual pop stars go back to the 1990s in Japan and South Korea but they only really took off as technology advanced enough to avoid the ‘Uncanny Valley’ phenomenon.
Hatsune Miku, developed by Japanese company Crypton Future Media in 2007, is often credited as a key influence on today’s virtual stars. Styled as a 16-year-old girl with long blue hair, she earned money for her parent company through brand endorsements, holographic concerts, TV shows and licensed games.
However, Hatsue Miku was a fully computer-programmed entertainer, which proved expensive to maintain and develop. Instead, modern VTubers and other stars are more often animated avatars powered by a real performer – similar to how motion capture and facial tracking can be used on actors.
For a music industry business, virtual stars come without the risks of real entertainers – they won’t become embroiled in scandals, they won’t get sick, and of course, they don’t need the same sort of pay or resources that real-life stars need.
However, the people powering the virtual stars – known in China as zhongzhi ren or ‘person in the shell - are becoming the focus of different kinds of scandals, one caused by the companies behind the virtual idols.
In China, Sixth Tone reports on accusations of bullying and exploitation of the real people behind the stars, who are often seen as expendable by companies.
This also marks a divide between the companies and the fans – the business side focuses on the virtual stars, while increasingly, fans become more aware of the zhonghi ren. In one instance, virtual idol group A-SOUL, faced backlash after a real-life performer left the group due to a toxic environment and poor pay, despite the money A-SOUL's virtual avatars made.
- Asia Media Centre
