The { Digital } Art Renaissance with Vtubers, NFTs and Live Streaming
Imagine if you could speak with your favourite avatar or anime character and interact with them! That’s the core of a concept call “Vtubing”. Vtubing has taken Japan by storm, but what’s more interesting is the future potential they hold, especially when combined with NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens).
The advances in AI have blurred the boundary between fiction and reality. The Japanese content creation industry has always been at the forefront of innovation, and Vtubing is yet another trend. Vtuber stands for Virtual Youtuber. They are mainly content creators that stream online using digital renditions or avatars. Vtubers are gaining more and more popularity by the day. The crucial part of being a Vtuber is building a persona, adapting to the style and livestreaming the content. These creators look similar to the characters drawn in Animes (but not restricted to them). Some of the popular Vtubers include IronMouse, Zentreya, Project Melody, Silvervale, Nyanners etc.
How it all started, and where is it leading?
Japan has seen an exponential rise in Vtubers in the last few years. The industry, which once only had about 200 creators in 2018 (prior to pandemic), now surpasses over 9000 creators. In 2011, a content creator Ami Yamato used an avatar in her vlog. Although her video wasn’t a tremendous success, it gave birth to a new industry on livestreaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. In 2016, Kizuna AI, a Japanese video blogger, continued this trend by launching her channel. This channel was an immense success that bagged millions of subscribers and views. Kizuna AI is one of the most popular Vtuber channels even today. The content of the Vtuber can include content from QnA sessions, Live video streaming, streaming games, etc.
What are NFTs? What is the intersection of this digital art with NFTs?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens. This is another trend that emerged out of the blue during the pandemic. Anyone and everyone seems to be only talking about NFTs today. Sidetrack: I recently jumped into the wormhole trend of Topshot NFTs, and it is definitely addictive.
NFT in simple terms is an asset that is unique. It is like currency or bitcoins with the major exception that each NFT has its own distinct value. NFT. This unique concept allows the Vtuber artists to sell digital fan-arts and visual assets by using NFTs. Last month, the world's first NFTs of Vtuber visual assets went on sale. Cryptogames started selling a limited number of 10 NFTs of artists affiliated with RIOT Music (a Vtuber artists product agency).
Digital art has long been underrated due to its easy availability. This opportunity adds value to this digital art by helping artists create, promote and sell NFTs as digital posters, merchandise, music, tickets, posters, etc. and help the artist earn the share they rightly deserve.
What makes this trend so interesting?
With millions of followers and millions of new ventures, Vtubers like Kizuna AI, Gawr Gura, Kiryu Coco etc are paving the way to make synthetic media more interactive and compelling. This innovation ecosystem amalgamates real-time 3D graphics, motion capture, AI, blockchain and of course my favourite topic — Live Streaming!! The result of the content that spans across so many technologies is seamless, with lifelike movements, gestures and expressions. Now with NFTs, you can now trade this content.
What is the impact of Live Streaming?
Everyone craves to own an authentic piece. Live streaming can also allow these artists or Vtubers to plan real-time concerts, festivals, music news, docu-reality series, and interviews which will draw the attention of a global audience. A new wave of Vtubers and other digital artists is converging in a closely knit NFT community. The Vtubing industry is here to stick around for a long time. In the future, we might see it in a more advanced fashion and mainstream. Everyone might have an avatar in the future that they use to interact with each other. You can also imagine buying “Vtuber Gesture NFT” — moves or gestures that are unique to a Vtuber. These are your unique moves the Vtuber performs each time your COD character executes a finishing move.
More industries are in search of a competitive edge to win over their customer and earn customers’ trust. Live streaming has proven to be successful for verticals such as Retail with E-Commerce Live Streaming. I predict that NFTs and Vtubers could also make some headway in eCommerce live streaming, selling fashion items and Vtubers that are uniquely associated with specific brands.
This is indeed an exciting time. The convergence of Live Streaming, Vtubers and NFT will lead to the next Digital Art Renaissance.
