We like to call that a “chain of creation.”ĭo people see themselves in Miku? What is the user’s relationship to her? In a way, she is the voice of many music creators, who are represented by her on stage. Every song or illustration can give inspiration to another creator to make their own, or offer their help to improve it. Thanks to that, thousands and thousands of fans have been making and sharing their artworks on the internet, which gives them a chance to interact not only with Miku by making her sing or dance, but with other users and fans. That includes her voice, but also her appearance and design. Why do you think users enjoy Miku so much? How are they able to interact with her in a way that is completely new and unique? Hatsune Miku, through an open licensing scheme we have adopted, can be used freely by anyone in their own creations, as long as it is not for commercial profit. The blue pigtails were a design choice of KEI, that made her look very unique, and proved to be a very successful idea. Her signature teal color for example comes from an iconic keyboard synthesizer. We gave him some basic instructions, like age, color scheme, and integrating some design elements of electronic instruments. What were you thinking about when you designed her image? Why 16-years-old? Why a girl? Why blue pigtails, etc.? The image was designed by a young illustrator from Hokkaido - the region in Japan where our company Crypton Future Media has its headquarters - called KEI. So we put our efforts in packaging the software, in order to give it a modern look, and root the voice in a character that would be recognisable and convey an image of the future, while having some traits of Japanese pop culture.
#MIKU VOICE GENERATOR PROFESSIONAL#
At the same time, we wanted to expand the range of users beyond the professional musicians, who were still the core of our customers. What was your original mission with Miku? What did you want users to experience? The first goal was to give users a great tool to create their own music, with a realistically generated voice. What does her name mean? In Japanese “Hatsune” means “first sound” and “Miku” can mean “future.” So put together, it means “first sound from the future.”
#MIKU VOICE GENERATOR SOFTWARE#
When were you inspired to create Hatsune Miku and why? We released a software voice synthesizer called “Hatsune Miku” in 2007, with the idea of providing a tool for anyone to make their own songs on their computers, and have them sung by computerised voice, a “virtual singer.” The image of Hatsune Miku was created at the same time, to put as illustration on the software box. Below, Miku’s creator, Crypton Future Media CEO Hiroyuki Itoh, tells the story of her creation. This spring, she embarked on a ten-city tour with a live band to showcase the most shared singles - almost all the shows were sold out. Since Miku’s creation, over 170,000 sounds have been created for her, garnering a grand total of over 100 million hits on YouTube. Imagine GarageBand mixed with Sims performing your songs. Originally, she was sold as the face of computer software that allowed users to generate their own music, with her as a vessel. Hatsune Miku is a virtual character created by Crypton Future Media. Here’s the catch: Hatsune Miku isn’t real. Since starting her career in 2007, she’s opened for Lady Gaga during the 2014 ArtPop tour, she’s done a “Happy” remix with Pharrell Williams, and has recently served as a muse for designers like Marc Jacobs and Riccardo Tisci. She has neon blue hair, which she wears in pigtails, and bright blue eyes. Hatsune Miku is a 16-year-old pop star from Sapporo, Japan.