The History of Hatsune Miku<\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn 2004, Yamaha Corporation launched a new voice synthesizer called Vocaloid<\/strong>, which allowed users to synthesize human singing by simply typing in the lyrics and melody of a song. The software included several voicebanks<\/strong> modeled after professional singers \u30fc each voicebank being basically a character <\/strong>who users can select to voice their arrangements. In the first version, for example, users could choose between LEON, LOLA, or MIRIAM for their English songs, and between MEIKO and KAITO for songs in Japanese. Each of these characters is assigned an avatar<\/strong>, a face, to make them more recognizable and reliable in the eyes of the user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The turning point for Vocaloid came in 2007 when Yamaha launched Vocaloid2<\/strong>, a new and revised version of the software, equipped among other things with a wider choice of characters. On August 31 of the same year, the music software company Crypton Future Media released the new voicebank Hatsune Miku<\/strong> (\u521d\u97f3\u30df\u30af). The girl whom the developers themselves in an early 2008 interview defined as an “android singer from the future” takes the appearance of a 16-year-old girl sporting a pair of iconic turquoise twintails. Hatsune Miku’s voice was obtained by sampling that of Japanese voice actress and singer Saki Fujita<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/19211009\/miku_img_01.jpg\")
This is Hatsune Miku. Age: 16. Height: 158 cm. Favorite music: J-Pop and Dance Pop. Image: Crypton Future Media<\/a> official website; design by KEI.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPublic reaction was immediate: within the first few weeks of release, the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid proved to be the undisputed tycoon of music software in Japan, selling over 40,000 units by July 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although these voice synthesizers were initially aimed only at professional producers, the diffusion of video sharing services in the late 2000s undoubtedly contributed to the rapid growth of the phenomenon: producers would post their songs on Nico Nico Douga (the Japanese equivalent of YouTube), capturing the public’s attention and starting what would become a full-fledged subculture<\/strong> made of fan art, song remixes, and fan-made music videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To encourage the foundation of a creative community around the virtual heroine, Crypton licensed Miku under Creative Commons,<\/strong> allowing fans to freely use her image for noncommercial use while simultaneously retaining copyright on all songs produced by users with Vocaloid software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the following years, Hatsune Miku’s character was commercialized on a large scale with the creation of all kinds of gadgets and goods<\/strong> (from action figures to cars), and in 2008 Vocaloids were even used to sponsor some cars participating in the Super GT championship with the support of Good Smile Racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public reaction was immediate: within the first few weeks of release, the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid proved to be the undisputed tycoon of music software in Japan, selling over 40,000 units by July 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although these voice synthesizers were initially aimed only at professional producers, the diffusion of video sharing services in the late 2000s undoubtedly contributed to the rapid growth of the phenomenon: producers would post their songs on Nico Nico Douga (the Japanese equivalent of YouTube), capturing the public’s attention and starting what would become a full-fledged subculture<\/strong> made of fan art, song remixes, and fan-made music videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To encourage the foundation of a creative community around the virtual heroine, Crypton licensed Miku under Creative Commons,<\/strong> allowing fans to freely use her image for noncommercial use while simultaneously retaining copyright on all songs produced by users with Vocaloid software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the following years, Hatsune Miku’s character was commercialized on a large scale with the creation of all kinds of gadgets and goods<\/strong> (from action figures to cars), and in 2008 Vocaloids were even used to sponsor some cars participating in the Super GT championship with the support of Good Smile Racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n