Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
- The Open Access Proceedings Series for Conferences
Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Vol. 4, 17 May 2023
Open
Access | Article
Immaterial Labour and Precarity in Cultural Industry: The Case of VTuber Live Streams
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Since the first virtual Youtuber appeared on YouTube in late 2016, the VTuber industry has become increasingly popular in recent years. While most research focuses on the reasons for VTubers’ popularity and the characteristics of virtual YouTubers, this article reveals the possible labour exploitation and the precarious working conditions faced by VTubers. Through the analysis of the immaterial labour produced by the Nakanohitos behind VTubers, this article argues that Vtubers are more likely to suffer from precarious working conditions. With an in-depth case study, it then illustrates the current social context for cultural workers like VTubers, and how precarity is manifested among them.
Keywords
Immaterial labour, Precarity, Virtual Youtuber
References
1. VTuber. (2022, August 12). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VTuber
2. Shirai, A. (2019). REALITY: Broadcast your virtual beings from everywhere. ACM SIGGRAPH 2019 Appy Hour, 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1145/3305365.3329727
3. Tetsuya Nakajo. (2020). What is Live2D? - How to Make & Use a Live2D Model—Live2D Cubism. What Is Live2D? - How to Make & Use a Live2D Model - Live2D Cubism. https://www.live2d.com/en/about/
4. User Local, Inc. (2022). VTuber Ranking: Ranking of Popular Virtual YouTubers. https://virtual-youtuber.userlocal.jp/document/ranking
5. Kizuna AI Inc. (2016). BIOGRAPHY of Kizuna AI. Kizuna AI Official Website. https://kizunaai.com/biography/
6. ANYCOLOR, Inc. (2022). Nijisanji. https://www.nijisanji.jp/
7. VirtuaReal. (2019). https://space.bilibili.com/413748120
8. A-SOUL. (2020). https://space.bilibili.com/703007996
9. Lu, Z., Shen, C., Li, J., Shen, H., & Wigdor, D. (2021). More Kawaii than a Real-Person Live Streamer: Understanding How the Otaku Community Engages with and Perceives Virtual YouTubers. Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445660
10. Kong, R., Qi, Z., & Zhao, S. (2021). Difference Between Virtual Idols and Traditional Entertainment from Technical Perspectives. 344–349. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211209.058
11. Guga, J. (2015). Virtual Idol Hatsune Miku. Arts and Technology, 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18836-2_5
12. Fu, X. (2021). Coding of Iconic Symbols: A Study of Artificial Intelligence Virtual Idol Consumption Culture. Study and Practice, 02, 132–140. https://doi.org/10.19624/j.cnki.cn42-1005/c.2021.02.015
13. Zhou, X. (2020). Virtual Youtuber Kizuna AI: Co-creating human-non-human interaction and celebrity-audience relationship. 91.
14. [14] Xu, Z. (2022). The Progressive Development Model of Virtual YouTubers in the Perspective of Dramaturgical Theory - An Analysis from the Perspective of Audience. 2740–2745. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220504.498
15. Maurizio Lazzarato. (1996). Immaterial Labor. Radical Thought in Italy: A Potential Politics, 133–147.
16. Mario Tronti. (1966). Operai e capitale (Workers and capital).
17. Hardt Michael & Antonio Negri. (2000). Empire. Harvard University Press.
18. Woodcock, J., & Johnson, M. R. (2019). The Affective Labor and Performance of Live Streaming on Twitch.tv. Television & New Media, 20(8), 813–823. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419851077
19. Morini, C. (2007). The Feminization of Labour in Cognitive Capitalism. Feminist Review, 87(1), 40–59. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400367
20. Rosario, T. C.-D. (2019). Living in an Age of Precarity in 21st Century Asia. 12.
21. Standing, G. (2014). The Precariat. Contexts, 13(4), 10–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504214558209
22. Zheng, R. (2018). Precarity is a Feminist Issue: Gender and Contingent Labor in the Academy. Hypatia, 33(2), 235–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/hypa.12401
23. Zheng, R. (2018). Precarity is a Feminist Issue: Gender and Contingent Labor in the Academy. Hypatia, 33(2), 235–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/hypa.12401
24. Tolliday, S., & Zeitlin, J. (1987). The Automobile industry and its workers: Between Fordism and flexibility. St. Martin’s Press.
25. Selen Tatsuki (Director). (2022, May 13). OVERWATCH 2 COLLABNIJISANJI world with special guests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2sbNQfQvLA
26. Hyakumantenbara Salome (Director). (2022, May 24). First transmission of Hyakumantenbara Salome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AniQdstq4KM
27. Selen Tatsuki (Director). (2021, July 26). MARSHMALLOWS Q&A First Week DONE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5v2Z1t2Bfg
28. Brave group Inc. (2022). Brave Group Inc. https://bravegroup.co.jp/en/
29. Brave group Inc. (2019, April 8). Report on the Game Club Project. https://unlimited-ent.co.jp/56/
30. A-SOUL. (2022). Interim Q&A with the A-SOUL Production Committee. http://www.bilibili.com/read/cv16550966
31. A-SOUL. (2022). A-SOUL Production Committee’s explanation of recent events. http://www.bilibili.com/read/cv16610028
32. Higuchi Kaede (Director). (2020, March 25). How much do VTubers earn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwK3Dq8PYAU
Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open Access Instruction).
- Volume Title
- Proceedings of the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (ICIHCS 2022), Part 3
- ISBN (Print)
- 978-1-915371-33-1
- ISBN (Online)
- 978-1-915371-34-8
- Published Date
- 17 May 2023
- Series
- Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
- ISSN (Print)
- 2753-7048
- ISSN (Online)
- 2753-7056
- DOI
- 10.54254/2753-7048/4/20220478
- Copyright
- 17 May 2023
- Open Access
- This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited