Virtual YouTubers, known colloquially as Vtubers, are taking 2020 by storm. What was once a very expensive hobby that gatekept many people from starting their own channels is now more accessible than ever. While being an online personality is hit-or-miss for many people in terms of whether they'll make money off it, some niche genres of YouTube are thriving in 2020.
While using virtual avatars is certainly not a new thing in the world of online content creators and influencers, the Vtuber phenomenon is specifically associated with creators, mostly women, who use avatars that look like characters out of an anime. These aren't just visual representations of the real person behind the screen, but are often complex characters with their own backstories separate from the creator's real life. And even some well-known personalities like Pokimane are dipping their toes into Vtube.
Kizuna A.I. is a Vtuber with nearly 3 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, and many other creators aspire to create characters and videos as successful as hers. The 3D models used by Vtubers is reminiscent of the Japanese Vocaloid singers, and many of these creators are Japanese and speak that language. One English Vtuber known as Mori Calliope, however, has seen an influx of high donations during live streams.
Many Vtubers don't operate independently and are run by agencies like Hololive, which owns an English branch that Mori Calliope performs with, along with others like Watson Amelia and Gawr Gura. All these Vtubers have a similar cutesy anime girl style avatar, but they vary in terms of personality and fictional backstory. Gawr Gura, for example, is known for making simple mistakes like remembering her own age or knowing the difference between common foods, and Mori Calliope is wary of romance and raps frequently onstream.
Vtubers make a lot of money off of tips, although because YouTube takes a portion of that profit, they also rely on sponsorships and merch, similar to streamers that fall into more mainstream categories. Some of Hololive's Vtubers have made over a million dollars just off of tips, which just goes to show how devoted the fans of this niche industry can be.
2020 has seen a rise in American and Western Vtubers, especially as dedicated fans work to translate Japanese Vtubers' videos into English and make a broader variety of creators accessible to a larger audience. Vtube searches rose notably earlier this year in February, and then again in September when a group known as Hololive Myth launched. The more popular channels can get a few hundred thousand subscribers, and those subscribers are often willing to pay a lot of money. It'll be interesting to see where the industry goes from here, and whether it will continue to expand.
Source: Polygon