Virtual influencers have real influence

The Future. Having already gained popularity in several Asian countries, virtual influencers are starting to make waves in the US, attracting retail brands, video game companies, and record labels. For the IRL artists that sign up to power these CG creations, the ability to play in an IP sandbox may be a fun way to stretch some creative muscles…and make some very real royalties.

Character culture
Per THR, virtual influencers — digital avatars that only exist online — are the real deal.

• Virtual influencers are already a hit in South Korea, Japan, and China, where they’ve been used in countless brand campaigns and, like virtual musician Hatsune Miku, can sell out concerts by playing as a hologram.
• Over the past couple of years, virtual influencers have started to grow in popularity in the US, driven by the runaway success of Lil Miquela, who just became a brand ambassador for PacSun and can command up to $10,000 for a sponsored post.
• Superplastic is building a universe of characters with the ambition of becoming the “Disney of NFTs,” with the ability to drop the characters into social media, movies, TV, and toy shelves.
• And the explosive demand for Bored Ape Yacht Club has turned many of its NFT characters into independent success stories (you can do whatever you want with a Bored Ape once you buy it).
• That includes the likes of Bored Apes DJ duo ESCAPEPLAN (controlled by Big Night Talent), which recently signed with WME, and Bored Apes band KINGSHIP signed to Universal Music Group.

With tech and music company Hume raising a $11.7 million Series A to build out a roster of virtual artists, expect a lot more meta musicians to pop up on your Spotify playlists.