At first glance, MAVE appears just like any other beloved K-pop band; however, it is entirely virtual. Its four members – SIU, ZENA, TYRA, and MARTY – inhabit the metaverse, with their songs, dances, interviews, and hairstyles all generated by web designers and A.I.
Han Su-min says:
“When I first saw Mave, it was a little confusing to tell whether they were humans or virtual characters,” “Because I use metaverse platforms with my friends often, I feel like I could become their fan.”
An early indication of how the metaverse may develop can be seen through the almost human-like avatars created by this collective as South Korea’s entertainment and tech industries come together to explore the potential of this nascent technology.
Kakao Corp, a tech giant, is trying to become a major player in the entertainment industry. To demonstrate its dedication, it has supported MAVE: and recently initiated a 1.25 trillion won ($960 million) tender offer for South Korean K-pop pioneer S.M. Entertainment.
Kakao, the parent company of S.M. Entertainment, refused to comment on how it plans to handle the challenges of maintaining real and virtual K-pop groups like Girls’ Generation, H.O.T., E.X.O., Red Velvet, Super Junior, SHINee, N.C.T. Dream, and Aespa.
The company has chosen to go against the worldwide tendency by investing in a metaverse. However, during this economic crisis, corporations like Facebook’s Meta Platforms Inc and Tencent Holdings of China are cutting back their virtual world investments.
Kakao has previously announced that it has injected 12 billion won into Metaverse Entertainment, a subsidiary joint-founded with Netmarble Corp. to introduce MAVE. However, the company did not disclose any potential revenue predictions from the partnership.
Chu Ji-yeon, the leader of Metaverse Entertainment, said that MAVE is an ongoing project to investigate new business prospects and look for strategies to surmount technical issues.
Four languages
In 1998, South Korea first experienced the concept of a virtual singer in the form of Adam, although it did not gain much success. Two decades later, the K-pop girl group K/DA was inspired by characters from the League of Legends and made their debut; however, this also failed to take off.
The developments in South Korean technology have enabled a far more realistic virtual character, MAVE. This is due to the integration of modern tools and A.I., allowing facial expressions and small details like hair streaks to be crafted precisely. Viewers have highly praised these features.
An A.I. voice generator members can articulate in four languages – Korean, English, French, and Bahasa. However, they cannot hold conversations as they have to depend on scripts created by humans for their responses.
The debut single “Pandora” and the accompanying music video featured human performers whose voices and choreography were enhanced by motion capture and real-time 3D rendering technologies.
It is believed that the COVID-19 pandemic has been beneficial for virtual characters, as K-pop companies have shifted to providing online content to keep their fans entertained while they are stuck at home.
Lee Jong-im, a Seoul National University professor specializing in pop culture criticism.
Lee Jong-im says:
“Fans became more used to consuming non-face-to-face content and communication with their idol groups for nearly three years,”
“It seems they have become more accepting of the concept that virtual and actual idol groups can integrate.”
Questions linger as to whether virtual groups such as MAVE: can recreate the same connection between performers and their fans usually experienced with conventional popular bands. Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea, remarked, “virtual idols will move exactly as they are manufactured. Consequently, without any element of surprise, they may end up closer to video technology than actual K-pop.”
Roh Shi-yong, the chief producer of a weekly music show on M.B.C., has displayed an optimistic attitude towards MAVE:’s prospects. He even aired its performance twice on his T.V. station.
Roh Shi-yong says:
“With so many comments received from all over the world, I’ve realized that viewers do want something new and that they are rather open-minded,”
“The metaverse era is coming.”
The creation of MAVE also highlights the potential for A.I. technology to revolutionize the music industry by enabling artists to create music tailored to their audience’s preferences while maintaining their unique sound.
Overall, MAVE is a fascinating example of how technology can be used to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the entertainment industry. As A.I. technology advances, we can only imagine what other groundbreaking projects may emerge.
Source: News24
