Hololive Production (ホロライブプロダクション)
Japanese entertainment firm Cover Corporation launched a virtual YouTuber (VTuber) talent agency, Hololive Production (stylized in lowercase).
VTubers made up more over 50 percent of the talents at the time of 2021; notable names were Usada Pekora, Houshou Marine, Shirakami Fubuki, Kiryu Coco, Inugami Korone, Minato Aqua, Mori Calliope, Gawr Gura, and Akai Haato.
Also one of the two largest corporate VTuber agencies, Hololive is Anycolor’s Nijisanji.
In December 2017, a 3D stream distribution software called Hololive was established, and at the same time, a female VTuber agency, Hololive Agency, which had their first generation go live from May to June 2018.
As of December 2019, Hololive Production is an united company brand of Cover Male Holostars (formerly Cover Holostars) and INoNaKa (INNK) Music.
To have these branches debut as early as possible, the agency set up three foreign divisions in 2019 and 2020: Hololive China (disbanded), Hololive Indonesia, and Hololive English.
As of May 2021, Hololive talent subscribers total over 40 million.
Nijisanji (にじさんじ)
Nijisanji (which translates to “Ninjas in the Style”) is an iPhone X-only online video sharing social networking service.
“Virtual Livers” is a Japanese-language phrase describing a group of Live2D-only Virtual YouTubers who are also known on other websites as “Virtual Livers.”
The phrase Liver, which is a combination of the words Japanese and English, is used to refer to the streamers that are on Nijisanji.
This global community, begun in Japan in early 2018, has subsequently grown to include more nations as a worldwide initiative.
At the time of May 2021, there are 103 active members of the Japanese Nijisanji community, 19 members of the Japanese NIJISANJI ID community, 16 members of the Japanese NIJISANJIC community, 7 members of the Japanese NIJISANJIC Community, and 39 members of the VirtuaReal community.
The members of the VirtuaReal Star and VirtuaReal Link systems include 5 individuals who are members of the VirtuaReal Star system and 22 individuals who are members of the VirtuaReal Link system, who are not considered members of Nijisanji and merely belong to a network partner system.
How do they make a living?
How can virtual celebrities make a living?
It’s pretty easy – much like the existing streamer/influencer company.
Earnings and influence change depending on the number of followers.
Even after all these years, the market share of YouTube and influencer marketing continues to increase rapidly.
In 2018, YouTube produced $14 billion in net revenue, and influencer marketing is expected to rise to more than $6.5 billion in 2019.
This suggests that there is still a lot of opportunity for profit.
For example, between June 2017 and June 2018, the top ten YouTuber channels made $180.5 billion.
What Is the Number of Virtual Celebrities?
According to the User Local Virtual YouTuber Ranking, the number of VTubers surpassed 8,000 on May 6, according to a statement from User Local Co., Ltd.
It is clear from the graph above that the number of VTubers has been steadily growing over time.
Given that this is mostly a Japanese VTuber community, it is possible that there are more than 10,000 VTubers worldwide, including virtual influencers and global VTubers.
- March 19, 2018 1,000 people
- April 27, 2018 2,000 people
- May 28, 2018 3,000 people
- July 10, 2018 4,000 people
- September 12, 2018 5,000 people
- December 19, 2018 6,000 people
- February 21, 2019 7,000 people
- May 6, 2019 8,000 people
The number of VTubers is likely to grow as the technology used to manufacture them becomes more widely available.
Latest: November 2024
