Posted by As YouTube celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, the platform is credited for introducing a whole new online industry and creative professional – the Creator. Now twenty years later, YouTube creators, particularly virtual creators, are having a breakthrough moment.
YouTube creators have not been inhibited by gatekeepers in the traditional sense, being able to share their content without conforming to restrictions or brand guidelines. This has resulted in a sense of authenticity other media hasn’t been able to offer. Audiences are consuming it – sparking today’s explosion of content by virtual creators popularized in animated digital avatars.
Last year, a sampling of only 300 virtual creators on YouTube raked in more than 15 billion views across video, live stream, and Shorts. One billion views came from the US alone. Gaming live streams are also contributing heavily to the genre’s growth. Last year viewers drove Grand Theft Auto to the number one spot for most watched live streams during the month of June.
A 2024 fandom trend study reports that 57 percent of viewers in the 14 to 44 year-old demographic have watched a virtual creator during the past year. That’s more than half the population in this age group. Vtuber related videos averaged a whopping 50 billion views during the past three years – another indication that virtual influencers or “Vtubers” are commanding attention, and will heavily influence the future of online content.
“Virtual creator” covers a diverse landscape that can include Vtubers, gaming virtual creators, virtual artists, and virtual humans. Some categories defy definition, like Japan’s phenom, “Hatsune Miku,” who is both a character and a singing voice that’s given rise to the popularity of “Vocaloids,” which are synthesized singing voices. The anime craze in Japan has enshrined the popularity of virtual creators and content.
Many creators find that inventing a virtual character via avatar gives them a freer landscape for expression and content creation. The task becomes easier all the time with the advent of new software, which will only continue to fuel the industry’s expansion. Roblox and VRChat are two increasingly popular platforms for game-based virtual creators.
The effort to create virtual humans that are almost indistinguishable from real people is well underway. AI companies like dob Studio, Inc. tout they will allow creators to “build a whole new digital life,” complete with unique faces, for platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. While this is only available via B2B currently, it’s just a matter of time before it will be available to the general public.
It’s a brave new world for virtual creators, with technology on the fast track to previously unimagined places. How might marketers capitalize on this soaring consumer demographic?