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Japan's VTuber Subculture Gains Ground with Sold-Out Hollywood Debut

Cover Corp's hololive expands into North America, leveraging advanced digital technology and English-speaking talent to compete globally.

Around 4,000 fans attended the recent concert by Mori Calliope in Los Angeles, hololive's first solo artist gig outside Japan
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Tokyo-based QY Research predicts that the once-niche VTuber market will make almost $4 billion annually worldwide by 2030, up from $1.4 billion in 2024
While VTubers live in a digital world, the human element behind the characters is an important part of their appeal

Overview

  • Mori Calliope, a popular VTuber under Cover Corp's hololive brand, performed in a sold-out concert at Hollywood Palladium, marking the agency's first solo event outside Japan.
  • Cover Corp has established a US office and increased its focus on English-speaking talent to accelerate its expansion into the North American market.
  • The VTuber industry, driven by advanced motion capture and hologram-like effects, is projected to grow to nearly $4 billion annually by 2030, according to QY Research.
  • South Korea's highly trained digital performers pose a competitive challenge to Japan's dominance, particularly in the US market, according to Cover Corp's CEO Motoaki Tanigo.
  • The industry emphasizes the importance of human talent behind VTuber personas, with Cover Corp rejecting the use of generative AI to create new virtual characters.