Vtubers, shorthand for virtual Youtubers, are digital content creators and streamers. Discover where they come from, how much money they make and much more!
Vtubers content revolves around a computer-generated fictional character, normally inspired by anime. The avatar is always controlled by the creator who may wish (but not always) to remain anonymous.
The content they post comprises talks, music creation, game streaming, or commenting on Youtube videos on live streaming.
Where do they come from?
This whole Vtuber concept wasn’t developed overnight. The first known person who posted a video using a virtual avatar was the Japanese Ami Yamato in 2011. However, the debut of the most famous Vtuber on Youtube, Kizuna AI, happened by the end of 2016
Kizuna AI is an animated avatar, a Japanese young woman. She wears a huge pink ribbon and has an electric personality. Kizuna AI is not a real person but a fictional character brought to life by AI and animation software.
For the Vtuber community, Kizuna is a pop culture star. In her Youtube accounts, she counts almost 5 million subscribers, willing to pay the “super chat” option so their messages appear in the top section for everyone to see while she is live streaming.
New business model?
But Vtubers are not just about fictional characters playing games, it’s a new business model embracing merchandising, media appearances, tv shows or films.
Every week we see more and more tech companies investing in developing digital talent, virtual avatars, digital identity or the metaverse.
In Japan, Vtubers participate in commercials and corporations’ publicity and the amount of money they work with is rising up during the covid pandemic. That brings us to the next question:
How much money do they make?
We need to think about Vtubers as we do about Youtubers. There are Vtubers whose Youtube channels have millions of followers and others with just a handful of them. The more followers the more repercussion, and the more repercussion more money.
Let’s take Rushia Ch. for instance as an example. According to Playboard, during the last 7 days (December 2021) Rushia got revenue of 25.050 euros. The cherry on top is her total revenue of 2,717,552. All this profit comes exclusively from the Super Chat.
Imagine that, earning over 3 million USD just causes some people to want to see their messages on your channel.
And this is just starting. The Vtuber movement has yet to break into the global audience and when it does it will create new digital marketing strategies, new media coverage, commercials, etc.
But something is for sure: the world is changing and so does the economy. Vtubers will keep on generating millions and millions during the coming years, and we don’t really get to fathom the repercussions this new movement will bring.
What company represents them?
Hololive is the talent agency that represents the most Vtubers. Hololive was originally an app, designed by Cover Corporation but in 20218 changed its course to sponsor YouTubers and streamers.
Hololive only worked with female influencers from Japan but now it works with content creators from all over the world.
However, Cover Corporation comprises another company called Holostars that employs male Vtubers.
Realistic 3D Avatars
But anime avatars won’t be the only virtual identity you will be able to adapt. There are plenty of virtual influencers who use their 3D realistic avatar on social media platforms.
A good example of it is Miquela Sousa, a fictional character created by Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou. She is a robot created by a team of human 3D artists. Sousa count on a complex storyline to make her more “human”.
With over 3.1 million followers, she is a marketing tool used to promote luxury brands such as Calvin Klein or Prada. In 2018, she appeared in TIME Magazine’s “25 Most Influential People on the Internet“.
Do you want to become a Vtuber? We can help you create it!
If you want to live broadcast on games, Instagram, Tik Tok or youtube we can help you out!
Create your realistic 3D avatar with us and follow some simple instructions.
Once you create your avatar, you’ll receive it in FBX format. Then, you’ll convert it to a VRM format following the simple steps explained in our short post: “How to convert FBX to VRM model”
With your avatar in VRM format, you can use the app VMagicMirror to upload it to the virtual world and start creating your vtuber content!
You can get your Vtuber avatar up and running in less than 10 minutes!
So what are you waiting for to create your avatar?
