500 billion Quadratic Market accelerates the realization of "Virtual Idol" fans under the support of economic support.

the market size of "Quadratic" reached 100 billion yuan in 2016, and it is expected to reach 500 billion yuan in the future, while the number of core users of "Quadratic" has risen from 49.84 million in 2014 to 80 million in 2017. The majority of "Quadratic" users after 90-00 years are more willing to pay for game, social and literary content.

as 2017 draws to a close, "virtual idol" has gradually become a hot word. A month ago, the Japanese two-dimensional virtual character "early Voice Future" held its third Chinese official concert "there are you in the Future" in Shanghai. A concert that relies entirely on optoelectronic technology costs as much as 1480 yuan and is still crazily supported by fans.

pay attention to the cooperation and endorsement of mobile phones, fast food, electronic products, cars, games and even luxury brands. With the help of AR, VR and other technologies, the increasingly huge "virtual idol" industry has gradually entered the mainstream vision. Some people in the industry said that to create a virtual singer as a whole, it often costs tens of millions of yuan. However, the rewards are also rich. Tan Yanfeng, vice president of Shanda Games, once said: "from the perspective of endorsement fees, the value of 'virtual idols' is comparable to that of real stars."

"this year is the 10th anniversary of the birth of the first tone, so fans all over the world will support and support in their own way, and watching the concert together is the most intuitive expression." although the concert is over, a two-dimensional fan, Xiao N, is still familiar with the songs of the day.

the first tone Future, a long-haired, ponytail and bouncing cartoon character, was attended by more than 90% of the audience in Shanghai, and millions of viewers paid to watch it live. "Chu Yin" was originally an animation promotion character born in 2007 to cooperate with the speech synthesis software VOCALOID, but she made her debut for 10 years and became popular for 10 years. From "second dimension" to "third dimension", she led a consumer market of more than 10 billion yen (about 590 million yuan). The commercial value of concerts, endorsements and derivatives even exceeded many first-tier artists, although she is not the first virtual idol in the world. But it's the most successful virtual idol.

in addition to Japan, domestic virtual idols have also begun to receive frequent attention, and gradually "go out" of the two-dimensional world into the "three-dimensional" world. Luo Tianyi, a "virtual idol" who has made his debut for five years, is the first virtual image with a Chinese voice library, not only as a performer at a provincial TV party and concert, but also as a game endorsement.

according to iResearch, the size of the "secondary" market reached 100 billion yuan in 2016 and is expected to reach 500 billion yuan in the future, while the number of core users of "secondary" has risen from 49.84 million in 2014 to 80 million in 2017. The "secondary" user group, which is dominated by 90-00 years later, is more willing to pay for game, social and literary content. "with the development of technology, the commercial value of the virtual industry will continue to increase, and with the support of the huge fan economy, the speed of realization will be faster." According to an industry insider.

< strong > fans' economy helps accelerate the realization of "virtual idol" < / strong >

"the appearance of 'virtual idol' first needs to be dominated by young people born in the 1990s and post-00s, as well as the aesthetics of otaku, mainly Japanese cartoon design, cute face, slender body, sexy body …... The detail design is based on role costumes and different ethnic costumes, in order to attract fans in all directions of interest. " Wang Kui, a senior lecturer in film and television animation special effects in Wuhan Branch of Beijing Huizhong Yizhi Technology Co., Ltd., said in an interview with the Changjiang Business Daily that the popularity of "virtual idol" was no accident. Behind each image has been meticulous research, design and industrial chain coordination.

on a talent variety show this summer, a "virtual contestant" Hertz competed with real contestants, and singing and dancing became the focus of the topic. According to the person in charge, Holtz's presentation uses three technologies: AR, real-time motion capture and 3D real-time rendering, with a production and operation team of more than 140 people, and each game takes twice as much time and energy as the average player. Some people in the industry said that to create a virtual singer as a whole, it often costs tens of millions of yuan.

it has been revealed that the completion of a virtual character depends on cartoon image art design, character model making, animation binding adjustment, motion capture technology, holographic hardware technology, computer side of AR,VR and mobile segment program development in further development and presentation. A "virtual idol" will directly connect two-dimensional cartoons, 3D, games, animation periphery and holographic dynamic concerts and other industries.

Wang Kui revealed that a single development and design of an animation image requires at least one million yuan to start, and mature creation is far more than this price. He calculated to the reporter that a mature virtual idol will go through five main stages from planning to entering the market-market research, design feedback, model making, music copyright and marketing. "from the perspective of investment, pre-market research accounts for 5% of the total investment; after cartoon image planning and design, multiple design versions will be introduced to the market, and the finished product will be completed after collecting feedback on the preferences of the fan community, which accounts for 15%; the stage of model production and animation production accounts for 20% of the total investment. In addition, the royalties for cover music account for 20% of the total investment in the development of original music, while marketing and media publicity will account for 40% of the total investment. " And he also revealed that after these investments, the fees for IP copyright and the release and production of surrounding products will be the main channels for realization.

< strong > Derivatives and endorsements will be the main trend of "virtual idol" business development < / strong >

Zero gossip, no negative, good singing and dancing, and people set up as they please. In the eyes of many investors, the "virtual idol" blessed by new technologies such as VR, AR and AI is undoubtedly the best quality idol. An industry insider said: "now the concept of 'virtual idol' is very popular, and it is easier to raise money than to be a real person. As long as you have a good image, person setting and story, you don't have to worry about the follow-up management."

Ren Quan, co-founder of Star VC, said during this year's global artificial intelligence innovation summit, "the era of idols based on faces is over. The intelligent idols of the future will not only have seven emotions and six desires, but will probably have ten emotions and nine desires. The era of intelligent virtual idols is coming. "

take the future of Chuyin as an example. Although she made her debut with "Yinji", her "foodie" setting and vivid "throwing onion dance" made her deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. These "personalities" that have been developed according to fans make her more vivid, so as to win market attention and a sense of identity among fans. The first holographic concert of the "virtual idol", coupled with a variety of endorsements to promote the subsequent commercial realization.

Tan Yanfeng, vice president of Shanda Games, said that from the perspective of endorsement fees, the value of "virtual idols" is comparable to that of real stars. Compared with the prices of domestic first-tier stars, endorsement fees may reach several million yuan.

in the past two years, more than 10 domestic companies have launched "virtual idol" projects, including television stations, sound software, content platforms and animation companies. Tencent, iqiyi, Youku and other content platforms are strengthening the procurement and distribution of "two-dimensional" content, and have been online animation channels, the above "Holtz" is the work of Tencent Video.

Chen Shaofeng, deputy dean of the Cultural Industry Research Institute of Peking University, analyzed in an interview with the Yangtze River Business Daily: "Virtual idol is the product of the animation industry attached to the promotion of high technology. How to extend these IP images and stories will be one of the important factors in the sustainable development of 'virtual idol'. As far as technology is concerned, 'virtual idol' can also be combined with AR and VR technology to develop online and offline concerts, but concert ticketing is only a small part of the realization, accurate positioning of audience groups, the formation of effective communication, in order to expand the audience market is very important. At present, the industry still needs to be developed, derivatives, authorization, endorsement and so on will be the major trend of commercial development. "

Edit: yvonne