Hatsune Miku the Android Rock Star Tours Japan

I've written about Hatsune Miku before here on this very blog; on Lew Rockwell here; and in Japanese here. Hatsune Miku is a sensation in Japan and some of her videos have well over 12 million views on the Internet. Now, she goes on tour!

From Influx:

We've all been noticing the increasing plasticity of pop stars, whether you're thinking of Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, it's hard to deny that a certain infusion of the manufactured is part of the equation for success these days. Well, now Japan's Crypton Future Media has created a literal holographic pop star, Hatsune Miku. Hatsune began as a fictional character in Vocaloid, a voice-synth software that allows users to create songs for fictional characters to sing, but this latest innovation has brought Hatsune to "life" and sent this J-pop avatar on tour to play for live audiences.





Thanks to News on Japan

Japanese Singing Robots and Androids

I wrote about Hatsune Miku on Lew Rockwell a while back and how these sorts of androids or robots were changing the music world and our society. Some people scoffed until I informed them that, for example, a few music videos "by" Hatsune Miku have over 10,000,000 views on Japan's Nico Nico Douga.

Japan’s latest robot monster, a pop-singing robot-diva dubbed the HRP-4C

Now Bloomberg gets in on the action reporting from Pop Fi:

Robots are our future. If the Japanese have taught us anything, it's that one day we'll all be living alongside, working alongside, and possibly sleeping with sentient machines with the power to rend us in twain with the whir of a servomotor and the gush of pneumatic fluid. I'm slowly growing to accept this new reality thanks to Japan's latest robot monster, a pop-singing robot-diva dubbed the HRP-4C, which debuted at CEATAC Japan. 

I think this is pretty creepy (I mean, that people actually like this). You decide. Watch the video:



Forgive me for being crass, but these things remind me of Dutch Wives and I cannot stop thinking that the people who make these things aren't thinking the same thing.

Marketing Japan: More Proof that Hatsune Miku is Becoming a World Wide Star!

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

I had one of the best articles that I had written in a very long time published on Lew Rockwell two days ago about Hatsune Miku. Thanks Lew!

From that article:

Move over Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, roll over Beethoven; the next superstar of music has been born and she is going to revolutionize the way we think about music and ourselves… And, no, I am not talking about Lady Gaga. "Artists" like Lady Gaga will pale in comparison to the cultural impact that this lady will bring.

The artist that I wish to introduce today will not only reshape our culture, she is also going to reshape the music business and music publishing for decades to come, perhaps even for centuries.

In one-hundred years from now, when artists like Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears, even the Beatles are long since forgotten, I suspect today’s artist, or her prodigy, will still be going strong. Big claims? Read on.

Even though this artist is unknown in the west, many of her videos on YouTube have well over a million views. Some over two million! That’s not bad for someone who has no recording contract and is only three years old.

Very well done for someone who is not even human.

Meet Hatsune Miku. She is the next generation of superstar musician. Hatsune Miku is Japanese; but she is not a woman. She is not even a human; Hatsune Miku is an android. You read correctly. The next superstar of music is not of flesh and bones.

Read the entire article here.

Well, it's a case of reverse imports!... I wrote about Hatsune Miku in the United States and now, someone in Japan, on Dempa 2-Channel "Flash UP VIP News", has picked up that article and re-imported it into Japan.

Click here to see blog (in Japanese and in English)

Wow! I'm impressed!

See that blog here: http://bit.ly/9eG4je 


Thanks to my friend Graham Carpenter for the heads up!

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Keywords:

Hatsune Miku, android, Lew Rockwell, Dempa 2-Channel, Mike Rogers, Marketing Japan, Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Marketing Japan: The Next King of Music is Born - and She's Japanese

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Move over Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson... And, you too, better roll over Beethoven. The next king of  music has been born and he's not a he, he's a she... And she's not even human.

Meet Hatsune Miku. Hatsune means "first sound" and Miku means "music." She was "born" August 31, 2007. "Hatsune Miku is the next superstar of music. She does everything and is the embodiment of everything that pop music aspires to be...

Hatsune Miku

She can sing, compose music, play all instruments and doesn't need an agent or a manager. She is the ultimate rock star. She is the ultimate Pop Idol. And she doesn't even really exist.

Since she doesn't really exist, her music and songs are all free. There is no copyright for her music.

Today, I went to a meeting at Japan's #1 music TV station, Music On! TV (no, MTV is dead last in this country!) There I met with a man with a vision. His name is Youichi Endo. Endo san introduced me to Hatsune Miku. Now, I'm introducing her to you.

Do you remember in the movie, "Blade-runner"? The girl Rachel? Well, I say, "girl" but was she really a girl or was she an android? Do you remember at the end of the movie thinking, "Wait a minute! Is Rachel human?" I did.

Well, you will think the same thing about Hatsune Miku.

Hatsune Miku sings, and can play, but she doesn't really exist. She is an android. Miku is what is being termed as a Vocaloid. She has a voice synthesizer... In fact, many of the numbers she does feature voices as instrumentation as a sort of Sci-Fi acapella.

Here is what Wikipedia says about "Vocaloid":

Vocaloid is a singing synthesizer application developed by the Yamaha Corporation that enables users to synthesize singing by typing in lyrics and melody. It utilizes Yamaha's Vocaloid synthesizing technology with specially recorded vocals of voice actors or singers.


Hatsune Miku is causing a sensation now in Japan and in Europe, especially France, where her songs have been picked up and are covered by real-life musicians. Some of the most bizarre stuff is on Karaoke in Japan too!

Hatsune Miku "performing" Sebastian Bach "Fugue in G"

The cultural impact of Hatsune Miku cannot be over-stated, folks. This is a real revolution in music. If real humans playing music is considered "Music 1.0". Then remix DJ's sampling music could be considered "Music 2.0." Then, taking the logical progression one step further, then Vocaloid music or Hatsune Miku could be considered "Music 5.0." It is music without rights... Anyone is free to use any track as they see fit. There is no ownership. This music is community owned, so no one person can own it.


This will revolutionize the music industry. Once again, from Wikipedia:


As the recognition and popularity of the software grew, Nico Nico Douga became a place for collaborative content creation. Popular original songs written by a user would generate illustrations, animation in 2D and 3D, and remixes by other users. Other creators would show their unfinished work and ask for ideas. 


(Nico Nico Douga is like a YouTube members only community in Japan).


The impact of Hatsune Miku and soon to be coming "artists" like her will surely change the world as we know it. There will surely be ”musicians" who pooh-pooh what I have written here as nonsense, but mark my words; "Hatsune Miku is a music revolution that is coming very soon."


Hatsune Miku has several videos on YouTube that have over two million views! Not bad for a girl who doesn't even get up in the mornings.


My musician friends... Think about that!


See Wikipedia: Vocaloid


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Keywords:


Yamaha, Mike Rogers, Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku, Japan, YouTube, Nico Nico Douga, Michael Jackson, Beethoven, Marketing Japan, Elvis Presley, Sebastian Bach,