[Column] Possibilities of virtual bands: How intangible music has expanded the world
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What is a virtual band?
| Text: mmr | Theme: Deciphering from historical facts how virtual bands that combine digital technology and storytelling have changed the way music is made, heard, and believed. |
The invention of a “music unit” that has no substance
A virtual band is a music project that does not feature any real people, but rather uses fictional characters or avatars as the main actors. What is important here is not that there are no people. Actual composers, performers, and producers do exist. However, what the audience is faced with is not the characters themselves, but the characters and worldview of the setting.
This format is not just a visual presentation. It is characterized by the consistent functioning of a ““fictional subject’’ with a personality and story, including music production, live performances, media development, and the formation of fan communities. In other words, a virtual band is more like a structure for transporting music than a music genre.
Virtual bands have been established as entities that fundamentally reconsider the premise of ““who is singing?’’ in music.
Animation and concept bands as origins
The premise of empathizing with fictional beings
The origins of the virtual band can be found in the animation and concept album culture of the late 20th century. In animated movies and television series, non-existent characters have sung the songs, and audiences have naturally accepted them. Here, ““who is singing in the story” was given priority over the fact ““who is singing?”
Also, from the late 1960s to the 1970s, works using fictional band settings and alter egos appeared in rock and pop music. This was also a way for the artist to distance himself from his true image and increase his freedom of expression.
These cases already had two elements necessary for later virtual bands. First, the receptivity of the audience to empathize with a fictional being. Second is the recognition that story and setting extend the musical experience.
Virtual bands did not suddenly appear, but are an extension of a long history of intertwining stories and music.
Turning point made possible by digital technology
Establishment of an environment where characters can “activate”
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, computer graphics, the Internet, and the digital music production environment rapidly developed. As a result, the characters are not just illustrations, but characters that move and grow within the video, and become entities that can be continuously exposed.
In terms of music production, with the spread of DAWs and sampling technology, music production that is divorced from the physicality of performance has become commonplace. Singing voices can also be edited and processed to make it unclear who they belong to. This was an important change that led to later speech synthesis culture.
In terms of distribution, characters and songs can now be distributed online at the same time, without relying on television or CDs. For virtual bands, the Internet was not just a means of advertising, but the basis for their very existence.
Advances in technology have elevated virtual bands from a novel idea to a sustainable form of music.
Appearance of representative virtual bands
The moment the character is recognized as a band
In the 2000s, virtual bands with distinct characters and musicality achieved international success. Through animated music videos, a fictional lineup, and a continuous narrative setting, they became ““objects to cheer for’’ in the same way as real bands.
What is important is that these projects were not one-off, topical works, but involved album releases, tours, and media development over a long period of time. Audiences gradually begin to pay more attention to the relationships and changes between characters than to the creators behind them.
Here, the virtual band did not hide behind anonymity, but rather acquired a strong personality. A paradoxical state of being anonymous yet with a clear individuality was created.
The virtual band achieved reality not through a lack of reality, but through narrative coherence.
Speech synthesis and vocal disembodiment
The phenomenon that voices have personalities
Advances in speech synthesis technology have further expanded the possibilities of virtual bands. Vocals that do not depend on a specific singer’s body will be treated as an attribute of the character itself. Here, the voice is not something that is played, but something that is designed.
This change also affected the relationship between creators and consumers. Music will no longer be a product that is provided unilaterally, but will begin to function as a shared resource that can be expanded through derivative works and remixes. Characters are no longer fixed idols, but have become entities that can be updated within the community.
As a result, virtual bands become more like decentralized creative platforms than individual artists.
The disembodiment of the voice has transformed the virtual band into ““music that you can participate in.’’
Live expression and redefining space
The stage does not necessarily have to be in real space
Virtual band live performances do not necessarily require the performers and audience to gather in the same place. A variety of forms have been established, including through a screen, AR, VR, and distribution platforms. What is important here is simultaneity and shared experience rather than physical distance.
Rather than seeing the ““person inside’’ the character, the audience seeks an experience where they feel that the character itself is there. For this reason, the direction, visuals, and story setting are as important, if not more important, than the performance technique.
This format relativized geographical constraints and limits on the number of people, and expanded the very concept of a musical event.
The virtual band’s live performance is also an attempt to liberate the musical experience from space.
Reorganization of business structure and rights
Music IP that does not belong to individuals
Virtual bands are also unique in terms of their rights structure. Characters, songs, and worldviews are often managed on a project-by-project basis, rather than on an individual basis. Therefore, even if members change or the production system changes, continuity as a brand is maintained.
This relativized the concept of an artist’s lifespan and the limits of their activities in the music industry. On the other hand, new issues have arisen, such as the visibility of those involved in production and the way they are evaluated.
Virtual bands have become an example of music shifting from ““individual expression” to ““operated IP.”
Virtual bands have moved the unit of music business from people to structures.
Modern developments and metaverse ideas
The world view enters the sphere of life
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of virtual bands that are active on SNS and virtual spaces on a daily basis. In addition to releasing songs, the characters act as if they are ““living’’ through short message postings and distribution.
Here, music is part of the activity, and is just one way to prove the existence of the characters. Fans find value not only in the music, but also in the feeling of sharing time together.
This situation differs from the traditional model in which music was consumed in albums or songs.
Virtual bands are at the forefront of music-centered worldview consumption.
Chronology: Major milestones in the development of virtual bands
The intersection of technology, expression, and distribution
The history of virtual bands has continued to be updated at the intersection of technological innovation and the desire for expression.
Illustration: Structure that supports the virtual band
Relationship between people, technology, and stories
The virtual band is a cultural device that lives on through a circulating structure.
Future as a possibility
Who does the music belong to?
Virtual bands have shown that music can be created without depending on “whose voice it is” or “whose life it is.” On the other hand, humanity has not been completely eliminated. Rather, the intentions and emotions of multiple people are brought together through the medium of characters.
New technologies will continue to emerge. But the core of virtual bands lies not in the technology itself, but in the human ability to share fiction.
The potential of virtual bands is nothing but the question of how far music can be carried by the ability to believe in an incorporeal existence as real.
