Virtual idols are virtual characters created using computer graphics, and they sing, dance, and communicate with fans like real idols. It mainly has an animation-like appearance and is active through various digital platforms.
The virtual boy group Flave surpassed 560,000 copies of the mini-album released in March in the first week of sales, and became the first virtual idol to take first place, beating out prominent popular artists on domestic music broadcasts. The solo concert held last April attracted more than 70,000 fans to access the concert simultaneously during the opening of pre-sale tickets. Recently, the company plans to enter the Japanese market through collaboration with Hive Japan.
▲ Virtual idol group PLAVE ⓒVLAST Co., Ltd.
As virtual idols become more popular, music platform companies, virtual human production companies, and IT companies are rushing into related businesses.
This market, which was first formed in Japan, has grown steadily through the pandemic era, and has expanded domestically mainly through entertainment companies. Recently, Genie Music is also focusing on its business by making an equity investment in Parable Entertainment, a virtual idol production company.
Competition among companies has ignited, with large entertainment companies such as SM Entertainment and Hive jumping into the market by introducing virtual idol groups one after another.
▲ Virtual girl group SYNDI8 released last June ⓒSupertone Inc
Until now, the virtual idol market has been led by IT companies, not entertainment companies, but large entertainment companies have also become active in seeing growth prospects.
According to market research firm Global Information, the global virtual artist market is expected to reach 24 trillion won by 2028. The market, which was only worth about 2 trillion won in 2021, is growing rapidly. I believe this popularity will continue to rise, and I think we should pay attention to the value of companies that own virtual artists. I look forward to the new culture they will create in the future.
