In China, the increasingly popular (and lucrative) virtual stars

Digital characters, without any existence other than virtual, are popular in China, where the functioning of social networks is particularly favorable to their creators. Swiss daily Time analyzes the acceleration of the phenomenon.

Luo Tianyi is a 15 year old young lady with silver hair and big green eyes. In China, she is a real superstar. She has performed on stage with classical pianist Lang Lang and regularly gives concerts in stadiums in front of thousands of spectators. On Sina Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, she has more than 5 million followers. Only, Luo Tianyi is not a being in the flesh. It is made up of pixels. It only exists on the Web or as a hologram in the real world.

“The first virtual stars were born in Japan in the 1990s, but the phenomenon did not really take off until 2007, with the launch by Yamaha of a vocal synthesizer with a virtual star. called Hatsune Miku ”, notes Rafal Zaborowski, digital culture expert at King’s College London.

Streaming video and mega-concerts

Wishing to capitalize on the huge Chinese market, the Japanese group created Luo Tianyi in 2012, before reselling the rights in 2015 to the Chinese firm Shanghai Henian Information Technology. Around the same time, Hatsune Miku’s concerts started showing on Chinese streaming platforms like Youku. “The virtual stars, originally acclaimed especially by fans of Japanese manga, then burst into mainstream culture”, says Roger Yang, founder of Zixi Tech, a company specializing in immersive content. There are now a hundred, according to him.

The platform [de vidéo en streaming] Bilibili has organized a dozen mega-concerts with virtual stars in recent years, with tickets at 1,280 yuan [160 euros]. If Luo Tianyi remains the most famous virtual star, there is also Aimée, who sells Miu Miu dresses and bags.

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Julie zaugg