As of 2020, there are more than 8,000 VTubers on the platform providing regular entertaining content for the general masses. Handled by Cover Corp, Hololive is an entertainment agency that handles VTubers on their platform. Hololive gained popularity with the lifestream of their famous VTubers – nugami Korone, Tokino Sora, Hoshimachi Suisei, Shirakami Fubuki, Nijisanji, Kiryu Coco, Hitomi Chris, Usada Pekora and more. Apart from being a mediator between the audience and VTubers, Hololive also holds special concerts, seminars, and merchandise throughout Japan. Now that you know what exactly Hololove is, let’s move on to the main part of the article. VTubers!
Rise of VTubers
Among the many VTubers, the pioneer of the genre is undoubtedly Kizuna AI (Japanese: キズナアイ, Hepburn: Kizuna Ai). On 29 November 2016, Kizuna AI posted her first video on the channel. Since then, she became the standard of VTubers that we see today. Following the same path, new VTubers from Japanese speaking population emerged and instantly become a hit in the VTuber community. So what exactly is a VTuber, and how the whole VTuber thing works?
There, there we are going straight into that but before, let’s talk about some of the most eminent Vtubers in the market that you can get hooked on. This is my personal list and some of you might not agree with me but who cares? Let’s dive straight into it.
Kizuna AI signed under Ai Kizuna Ai Inc.(formerly upd8)
Kaguya Luna signed under Vic inc.
Shirakami Fubuki (白上フブキ) signed under Hololive
Uruha Rushia singed under Hololive
Natsuiro Matsuri singed under Hololive
Sakuri Miko singed under Hololive
Now, Now aren’t these virtual You Tubers cute? Just one look at them and you instantly want to pet them? No lolicons here BTW. So moving forward, we will talk about what is a VTuber and how VTubers works.
What is Virtual YouTuber?
Virtual Youtuber’s are the big next thing in the Entertainment industry. You guys remember Hatsune Miko, yes the first virtual pop star who sold millions of records without a physical body. Yes, Virtual Youtuber’s are based on the same technology as Hatsune Miku. They use motion capture technology to imitate a person’s movement and the specialized software copies the movement and thus it creates a virtual character. A great example of motion capture can be seen in the making of Avengers: The End Game. You can watch the video here to understand the concepts of motion capture. So coming back to the next topic of our article, methodology of VTubers.
How a VTubers works
People who wish to become a Virtual Youtuber need to sign a contract with the companies that provide these services. Before signing the contract, there are some personality and humor tests that participants need to pass. Why you ask? Because nobody wants to see a boring VTubers who cant entertain the masses.
So, a basic Vtuber performs different tasks like playing games, dancing, telling stories, comedy, try new languages, etc. A lot of people, mostly males find anime characters intimidating and they often spend a huge amount of money to see their favorite characters acknowledge their donations and shout out their names. Moving on to the next part how to be an independent VTuber.
How to become an Independent VTuber
Anyone. Yes, anyone can become an Independent Vtuber. All it takes a good sense of humor. A big audience and the ability to be Kawaii(cute) at all times. If you have one of those qualities than you can easily become the next big thing. Just kidding, it takes a lot of efforts and consistency. Okay, I assume that you have all the above characteristics. Now the next thing is what equipment do you need to become a VTuber. Face the fact that we all cannot a luxury studio like the VTubers of Hololive have. So what is the solution? The solution is Wakaru.
What app do VTubers use?
I would recommend to work on your personality and then start with your VTuber journey. I am suggesting that because humans, in general, human beings are boring(Including me) and most of us cannot crack good jokes. So, moving on to what app and software do VTubers use.
Here is a list of the best apps and Software you can use to become a VTuber for cheap.
Hololive
Facerig
CustomCast
Custom Order Maid 3D 2
VRoid studio
Live2D
VKatsu
Emomo
VRChat
Puppemoji
The basic requirement for these software and apps are a good camera/webcam, OBS and a high configuration system.
How much money do VTubers make?
There is no fixed amount to how much money a VTuber make but after intense research, we gathered some statistics for you. So, here are some assumptions we gathered specially for you.
There are 4 different ways a Vtubers make money and some of these are share similar characteristics to any other Youtube or twitch streamer.
Monthly payments by companies – Those who are signed under big corporations receive a portion of the revenue. These revenue portions are parallel to the money generated by the VTuber from his/her Live stream.
Online donations – Some independent creators receive donations from their friends. Donations are a big thing in a streaming line of work because some people have willingly donated $30,000 to $50,000 to some VTubers in the past.
Advertisement – Most of the content generated by these VTubers can be monetized using Youtube and other video streaming platforms.
Sponsors – In the world of VTubers, Sponsorship work in the same way as they do in YouTube or any other streaming platform. Companies reach out to VTuber and they promote the product in their live stream for a hefty amount of money.
So, that basically sums up our article for what is Hololive and why it is so popular. For more interesting content follow otakusmart. Please share your views in the comment section and we will get back to you ASAP.
