China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Hit virtual bands like And2girls spawn potential $100 billion content market
The average age of the fivegirl all-Chinese music band And2girls is 16, but ‘their’ concerts are already sellouts, heralding a new entertainment market.
Their genre called ACG is a rage among 80 million young people, according to market research firm iResearch.
The overall market is seen netting $100 billion or more in annual sales revenue in the not too distant future, according to Sealand Securities.
But, wait a second — the five girls, in short skirts, glowing in their fair complexion, flashing endearing smiles and nimble in their dance moves, are not of the flesh-and-blood variety!
Instead, they are 3-D animated maidens with human voices. Yet, the virtual idols won applause and received flowers from over 1,000 fans — they were all Chinese users of anime, comics and games or ACG — at their live concert in Shanghai on July 7 last year.
Zhang Yu, 18, a high school student from East China’s Fujian province, was one of the fans. He said he has made friends with the five girls. Each one of them has a unique personality, he said.
“Liuge, the captain of the band, is very lively and energetic. In her company, I feel like I can face anything with a smile. Bai Xiaojia is like a little sister that I want to protect. Feng Jiyue is kind of reserved but also cute.”
Asked why he is so in love with the five virtual girls, Zhang said, “It’s hard to say. Real people often give me a sense of distance.”
For makers of ACG content, Zhang’s anthropomorphic sentimentality is not a case in isolation but common among young users, and presents a golden opportunity to develop a new, big segment in the entertainment industry.
Zhang confirmed the market potential. He said he bought merchandise like pillows and glow sticks embossed with images of And2girls. He even shot a video to give his blessing to them on their first anniversary. After finishing his college entrance examination, he plans to visit their birthplace Beijing.
Liu Yong, chief operating officer of Beijing Mizhi Tech Ltd, the producer of And2girls, said ACG will become a future trend due to great demand in China.
“For ACG lovers, the virtual world is more real than reality itself. The more developed the society, the richer is its people’s imagination. It’s a way for the younger generation to show their individuality, that they are totally different from the previous generations.”
The company invested 30 million yuan ($4.39 million) in 2017 to develop the virtual idols and received 60 million yuan from investors in a new round of financing in late July. Most of its over 10 million fans are middle school students aged 13 to 18, according to Liu.
He said about 45 to 50 percent of cost was used in research and development of technologies like optical motion capture. Women in specially designed black suits move behind sophisticated machines, so that their gestures and movements projected on to a screen could be copied and imparted to the animated figures. The voices of these women could also be used as dubbing or playback tracks for ACG content.
Content production itself accounts for no more than 30 to 40 percent of total costs, which include marketing, infrastructure, wages and equipment. For example, producing an original song costs over 100,000 yuan. The band now boasts a portfolio of 20 songs.
Investments are expected to generate healthy returns over the long term, going by the experience of Disneyland, which owns many lucrative intellectual property rights, some dating back to the 1930s but still popular worldwide.
“The most valuable image in the world is that of animation,” he said. “Its value can be accumulated through several years or even decades,” Liu said.
According to him, most of the income will come from licensing and theme parks. Others include membership fee for paid content, including animation series and comics, and sales of authorized merchandise such as stationery, toys, cosmetics and food.
Already, income foreseen next year is likely to cover the estimated expenses, he said.
Besides And2girls, 14 virtual idols made their debut in China last year. The country now boasts more than 20 such virtual groups, including the oldest one Vsinger, a 15-year-old ‘girl’ produced by Shanghaibased entertainment company Zenith Group in 2012. It is the only one that has reportedly turned profitable already.
Like human singers, Vsinger was hired to endorse brands such as KFC, major dairy company Brightdairy and makeup brand Pechoin. Tickets of its latest concert in Shanghai, ranging from 480 yuan to 1,280 yuan, were sold out the minute they were launched on online ticketing apps, said a report from media website Economic View.
Many producers are trying new techniques to cut costs. Some dub the images with voices and songs uploaded by netizens and processed by music synthesizer software Vocaloid. But such alternative methods may carry potential copyright violation risks, Liu said.
Chen Rui, chairman of Bilibili, a popular video streaming site, said that young people in China are now able to afford diverse material things, especially in terms of cultural consumption.
Zhou Xiaolong, 24, who works for an infotech company in Shanghai, said, “It (the love for digital idols) is a hobby, just like computer games and shopping. It doesn’t mean we lack the ability to communicate with real people.”
He said he spent “a lot” on his hobby. A visit to an animation exhibition could set you back by a minimum of 500 yuan and a maximum of up to 2,000 yuan, he said.