Whereas the primary and second generations of digital musicians required human singers to supply the vocals and studio bands to interpret the music, Vocaloid software program, developed by Japanese synthesiser producer Yamaha within the late Nineties, enabled the creation of purely computer-generated voices for the primary time. This resulted within the creation of the music avatar Hatsune Miku by the Sapporo-based gaming firm Crypton. Initially meant as a advertising software, Hatsune Miku developed a lifetime of her personal on social media, resulting in the creation of a music avatar of the identical identify. To at the present time, the avatar provides concert events in entrance of tens of 1000’s of followers worldwide, producing thousands and thousands in merchandising and branding income for Crypton.

Half 2 of the weblog collection will discover the background to Hatsune Miku’s creation, in addition to her subsequent profession as a concert-performing singing avatar.

Digital Music Worlds – Half 2: Hatsune Miku

The pre-history of Hatsune Miku

To carry Kyoto Date and Adam to life, human singers needed to lend them their voices. At the moment, there have been no AI-generated voice clones able to singing independently. However, the event of artificial voice era dates again to the late Nineties. In 1998, Japanese instrument producer Yamaha unveiled the FS1R voice synthesiser, which might already distinguish between voiced and voiceless sounds. This enabled it to mimic the human voice to a sure extent.[1] Nonetheless, the FS1R’s voice era was nonetheless very rudimentary and artistically unsatisfactory. Yamaha subsequently started to enhance the synthesiser and teamed up with the Music Expertise Group at Pompeu Fabra College in Barcelona. Collectively, they developed the Vocaloid software program synthesiser, which was offered to the general public in March 2003 on the music truthful in Frankfurt am Essential below the identify “Daisy”, however was renamed Vocaloid shortly afterwards attributable to copyright issues.[2] Though the software program was comparatively easy to make use of, it was time-consuming. Customers needed to enter the notes of a music and its lyrics, after which they may reproduce the music utilizing an artificial voice. Nonetheless, at the very least a MIDI interface allowed WAV information to be transferred, enabling the music to be edited additional.

In January 2004, British sound library producer Zero-G, in cooperation with Yamaha, offered the primary two programmes for digital female and male voices, Leon and Lola, on the Nationwide Affiliation of Music Retailers music truthful (NAMM Present) in Anaheim, California. As well as, a software program package deal known as Miriam was provided, based mostly on the voice of British pop star Miriam Stockley.[3] The primary software program packages for artificial voices attracted media consideration, however bought very poorly.[4] However, the Sapporo-based software program firm Crypton Future Media developed the primary artificial voices in Japanese. On 5 October 2004, Meiko, based mostly on the voice of singer Meiko Haigō, was launched,[5] adopted on 17 February 2006 by Kaito, based mostly on the voice of singer Naoto Fūga.[6] Whereas Meiko bought comparatively properly with 3,000 items shipped, Kaito remained a gradual vendor. Crypton executives concluded that feminine voice synthesiser programmes bought higher as a result of the audience was principally younger male anime followers, as Crypton CEO Hiroyuki Ito revealed in an interview in 2008.[7]

The Creation of Hatsune Miku

In 2007, to cater to Japanese desktop music customers and anime followers, Crypton launched a brand new Vocaloid undertaking known as Hatsune Miku, which interprets as “The Voice from the Future”. This growth coincided with Yamaha’s launch of Vocaloid 2. This new synthesiser software program was not solely extra user-friendly but in addition produced higher-quality sound synthesis.[8] This suited the creators of Hatsune Miku, who travelled to Tokyo to seek out the fitting voice for the brand new software program package deal and have the graphic design for Hatsune Miku developed. Wataru Sasaki, the producer answerable for Vocaloid, went to Arts Imaginative and prescient, an organization that had a database of voice actors. Sasaki listened to 300 sound samples for hours and at last selected the voice of Saki Fujita as a result of it was “simple to grasp and cute,” as Sasaki defined in an interview.[9] The mandatory voice recordings have been made with Saki Fujita, which have been then fed into the Vocaloid programme. The intention was to create a virtual-sounding voice that was neither too artificial nor too pure. It needed to match the fictional character that was subsequently developed by manga artist Kei Garō. They’d turn into conscious of him through the Web and commissioned him to design a 16-year-old lady in anime model. Kei Garō despatched numerous designs by e-mail till these accountable at Crypton have been happy. The top consequence was a lady with turquoise hair that reached virtually to the ground within the type of extra-long braids, held collectively by magenta sq. hair rings. Headphones linked to a microphone might be seen peeking out from below her magnificent hair. She wore an equally turquoise, extra-long tie over a sleeveless black college uniform that led to a miniskirt. Black arm socks lined her forearms and black stockings wrapped her legs. The quantity “01” was tattooed in purple on her left higher arm, clearly indicating that Hatsune Miku was the primary Vocaloid character created by Crypton.[10]

Crypton created two further Vocaloid voices alongside Hatsune Miku: Kagamine Rin and Len. These are a pair of 14-year-old siblings, voiced by Japanese actress Asami Shimoda. In distinction to Hatsune Miku, the voices of Rin and Len are considerably stronger and richer and have been meant to enchantment to a unique audience.[11]

Hatsune Miku Turns into a Bestseller

On 31 August 2007, gross sales of the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid software program started. At the moment, Hatsune Miku existed solely as an artificial voice and as an anime drawing that adorned the software program field. However, the discharge was an unexpectedly large success. Greater than a thousand items have been bought within the first week alone. Crypton needed to impose a vacation ban in order that the immense demand might be met in day and night time shifts. Inside six months, greater than 30,000 copies of the software program package deal had been bought.[12]

Nonetheless, Hatsune Miku would have remained a short-lived advertising phenomenon if a loyal fan base had not been emerged who used the software program extensively to create their very own content material. Instantly after its preliminary launch, user-generated music tracks that includes Hatsune Miku’s voice appeared on the Japanese video-sharing platform “Niko Niko Dōga”, and have been subsequently animated in 2D and even 3D by different customers.[13] There was a veritable artistic explosion on the Japanese YouTube clone, which was cleverly exploited by the producer Crypton to additional improve the recognition of the fictional character. As an alternative of putting Hatsune Miku in a copyright cage, its use was launched in 2012 below the Inventive Commons licence CC-BY-NC.[14] Nonetheless, to be able to retain management over using Hatsune Miku, Crypton launched the Piapro platform in December 2007, the place Vocaloid customers might add the content material that they had created and alternate concepts with different customers. Piapro stands for peer manufacturing and goals to unleash the creativity of Hatsune Miku followers by permitting them to share illustrations, animations and different digital content material.[15] By the top of February 2008, the platform already had round 50,000 registered customers, who had uploaded 17,000 illustrations, 2,500 items of music and 1,700 lyrics.[16] Hatsune Miku thus turned a social media phenomenon earlier than she even existed as an avatar, and shortly spilled over into the actual world. Hatsune Miku fan golf equipment have been based all through Japan, organising events and different occasions the place followers appeared dressed within the anime character’s outfit.[17]

Followers and Japanese artists alike used the Hatsune Miku vocal synthesiser to provide their very own music. In Japan, that is known as Dōjin Ongaku, i.e. music produced by followers, which even made it into the Japanese charts. The primary Dōjin album with music based mostly on the Hatsune Miku software program was launched in September 2007, and plenty of extra have been to observe within the years that adopted.[18]

The album ‘Supercell’ by the J-pop group of the identical identify was notably profitable. Composer and lyricist Ryo had the songs interpreted utilizing the Hatsune Miku vocal synthesiser. The album reached quantity 4 within the Japanese Oricon charts and remained there for 37 weeks.[19] Since 2007, greater than 100,000 songs have been created utilizing the Hatsune Miku software program, in response to the digital artist’s homepage.[20]

Nonetheless, Hatsune Miku appeared not solely in music but in addition in different media. She was the protagonist of the manga collection “Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Combine”, created by Kei Garō and printed in “Comedian Rush” journal from November 2007 to December 2010.[21] Hatsune Miku additionally appeared as a personality within the golf simulation recreation PangYa in Could 2008,[22] and the digital star was even the primary character within the rhythm recreation “Hatsune Miku: Venture Diva” from Sega, which was accessible for PlayStation from July 2009.[23]

Hatsune Miku shortly turned an enormous advertising phenomenon, which Crypton Future Media efficiently exploited in licensing agreements for merchandising and branding actions. Hatsune Miku even made it onto two BMW GT300 class racing vehicles belonging to the Studio AG racing workforce, which competed on racetracks world wide in 2008 and 2009.[24] In March 2012, the Japanese enterprise portal SankeiBiz cited a examine by the Nomura Analysis Institute, in response to which gross sales of services branded with Hatsune Miku had totalled YEN 10 billion (round EUR 125 million) since 2007.[25]

Hatsune Miku Involves Life

Nonetheless, Hatsune Miku solely really got here to life as an avatar who additionally carried out reside in concert events. She made her debut on 22 August 2009 on the anime music pageant “Animelo Summer time Dwell 2009 Re:bridge” within the Saitama Tremendous Area in entrance of 25,000 anime followers. Anime Information Community offered a live performance overview the next day, describing the memorable efficiency: “The live performance used a display put in behind the stage to undertaking Hatsune a number of tales tall earlier than a standing-room-only crowd of 25,000. After a greeting, the computer-generated Hatsune proceeded to sing (and dance) on two songs — ‘Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru (Shiteyan yo)’ and ‘Black Rock Shooter.’”[26] Just a few months later, in November 2009, Hatsune Miku made her first look exterior Japan on the “Anime Pageant Asia” in Singapore.

Inspired by the overwhelming public response, Crypton organised the digital star’s first solo live performance in 2010. For this objective, a 3D animation of Hatsune Miku was developed and projected onto clear, human-sized screens. Following intensive preparation and rehearsals, the live performance befell on 9 March 2010 on the Zepp live performance corridor on the man-made island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay. The live performance started in a mystical ambiance with the solo voice of Hatsune Miku coming from offstage in entrance of a sea of tens of 1000’s of glow sticks, which the followers, shrouded in darkness, waved euphorically to the beautiful melody. The scene was illuminated by an outsized disco ball that shone just like the moon within the sky, earlier than techno rhythms introduced the reside band into view and Hatsune Miku rose like a life-size ghost from the stage ground to introduce the brand new music. In complete, the digital famous person carried out 39 songs, altering outfits and performing with the opposite Vocaloid characters Rin, Len and Luka.[27] The live performance was titled “Miku no Hello Kanshasai 39’s Giving Day”, with the quantity 39 standing for “Thanks” in Japanese, expressing gratitude to the followers for his or her help, which made the phenomenon of Hatsune Miku doable within the first place.[28]

To advertise the music exterior Japan, the live performance was carried out once more on 2 July 2011 on the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles as a part of “Anime Expo 2011”, within the “39’s Giving Day” format.[29] In 2012, Crypton teamed up with French luxurious model Louis Vuitton and produced the Vocaloid opera “The Finish” with Japanese star director Toshiki Okada, through which Hatsune Miku and different Vocaloid characters carried out on the Chatelet Opera Home in Paris from 13 to fifteen November 2012.[30] Nonetheless, Hatsune Miku‘s worldwide breakthrough got here when she was the opening act for Woman Gaga‘s “ArtRave: The Artpop Ball” world tour, as Woman Gaga had declared herself to be a fan of Hatsune Miku. From 6 Could to three June 2014, the Japanese music avatar opened the concert events of the US famous person.[31] And on 8 October 2014, Hatsune Miku even appeared on David Letterman’s Late Present on CBS, performing the music “Sharing the World”.[32]

Crypton Future Media has efficiently established the digital pop star as a global, lasting phenomenon. Since 2013, Hatsune Miku’s “birthday” has been celebrated yearly with tens of 1000’s of followers on the finish of August in Japan below the title “Magical Mirai”.[33] Since 2014, the ‘Miku Expo’ concert events have been held recurrently world wide, bringing Hatsune Miku and her Vocaloid colleagues to different Asian international locations, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand,[34] thereby increasing their fan base.

It’s astonishing what number of followers worldwide cheer for the digital pop star at concert events, purchase her merchandise and music, and thus improve her promoting worth even additional. An unmanageable quantity of merchandise and branded merchandise profit from the persevering with reputation of Hatsune Miku. The concert events are only one aspect of a whole advertising universe that Crypton Future Media has created across the digital famous person. The concert events are additionally a blueprint for AI-generated music avatars, which have lately begun to take the world’s live performance phases by storm.

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Endnotes

[1] Sound on Sound, “Yamaha FS1R – FM Synthesis/Formant-shaping Tone Generator”, December 1998, accessed: 2025-08-20.

[2] Die Welt am Sonntag, “Software program trifft den richtigen Ton”, December 7, 2003, accessed: 2025-08-20.

[3] Zero-G press launch, “HOT NEWS!! Zero-G broadcasts the world’s first VOCALOID digital vocalist merchandise, LEON and LOLA”, January 15, 2004, accessed: 2025-08-20.

[4] IT Media, “The Making of Hatsune Miku”, February 22, 2008, translated from Japanese with DeepL, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Sound on Sound, “PowerFX Vocaloid 2 Candy Ann”, January 2008, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[9] IT Media, “The Making of Hatsune Miku”, February 22, 2008, translated from Japanese with DeepL, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] IT Media, “Hatsune Miku Opens the ‘Door to Creativity’”, February 25, 2008, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Crypton Future Media, “Who’s Hatsune Miku?”, n.d., accessed: 2025-08-21.

[15] IT Media, “Hatsune Miku Opens the ‘Door to Creativity’”, February 25, 2008, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Ibid.

[18] The German Wikipedia web page on Hatsune Miku offers a great overview: Wikipedia, “Hatsune Miku”, model of July 28, 2025, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[19] Wikipedia, “Supercell (album)”, model of August 21, 2025, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[20] Crypton Future Media, “Who’s Hatsune Miku?”, n.d., accessed: 2025-08-21.

[21] Anime Information Community, “Darkish Horse Provides New Lone Wolf and Cub, Hatsune Miku: Unofficial Hatsune Combine Manga”, March 29, 2013, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[22] Wikipedia, “PangYa”, model of January 27, 2025, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[23] Wikipedia, “Hatsune Miku: Venture DIVA (online game)”, model of Could 22, 2025, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[24] Tremendous GT Scorching Information, “The Rumored No. 808 Hatsune Miku Studie Glad BMW Z4”, August 18, 2008, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[25] SankeiBiz, “Hatsune Miku, an actual enterprise alternative: reside performances, karaoke, commercials… associated consumption exceeds 10 billion yen”, March 27, 2012, accessed: 2025-08-21.

[26] Anime Information Community, “Hatsune Miku Digital Idol Performs ‘Dwell’ Earlier than 25,000”, 23. August 2009, Zugriff am 22.08.2025.

[27] YouTube, “Miku no Hello Kanshasai 39’s Giving Day”, February 16, 2019, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[28] Anime Information Community, “Hatsune Miku Digital Idol to Maintain 1st Solo Live performance”, December 10, 2009, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[29] Anime Expo, “Japan’s Digital Pop Star Hatsune Miku To Make U.S. Live performance Debut At Anime Expo 2011”, Could 12, 2011, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[30] Japanverse, “Louis Vuitton And Marc Jacobs To Crew Up With Hatsune Miku”, November 22, 2012, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[31] Anime Information Community, “Hatsune Miku to Open For Woman Gaga”, April 16, 2014, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[32] YouTube, “Hatsune Miku Performs “Sharing The World” | Letterman”, Could 12, 2023, accessed: 2025-08-22.

[33] Crypton Future Media, “Hatsune Miku Magical Mirai”, n.d., accessed: 2025-08-22.

[34] Crypton Future Media, “Miku Expo Historical past”, n.d. accessed: 2025-08-22.