Debuted Last January 'Virtual Girl Group'
Content Limitations Compared to Human Idols
Discovering New Possibilities with Generative AI
Ryu Jeong-hye, Head of Business at Kakao Entertainment, predicted on the 1st that "Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has shaken the tech industry, can fully serve as a game changer in content creation."
On the same day, Ryu participated as a speaker at 'NextRise 2023, Seoul' held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, where she shared the formation history and future plans of the virtual girl group 'Maeve'.
Maeve is a four-member virtual girl group created by Metaverse Entertainment, a joint venture between Kakao Entertainment and Netmarble, which debuted in January.
Ryu said, "Creating a 'super IP' that can sweep the world is the dream of every IP company," adding, "I thought it would be great to have a super IP that never causes problems or incidents and can last forever."
She explained that they decided to create a K-pop idol by combining Netmarble's digital human technology with Kakao Entertainment's sensibility, marketing, and know-how.
Ryu noted that it is rare to see girl groups currently receiving such widespread love and exerting high influence, and that Maeve was launched at the right time.
She stated, "We focused on how to achieve high technical quality and how to create an identity, worldview, and character traits that general idol fans would like."
She continued, "Although it didn't take as long as the usual seven years for girl group trainees, it took quite a bit more time than expected," recalling, "This process was like a space journey to find a new planet."
Ryu introduced Maeve as "four girls from the future," explaining, "The concept is that in the future, emotions have all disappeared, and the girls have arrived on Earth to regain the lost emotions."
Considering the global market, the four members were set to be from Jeju Island in Korea, Jakarta in Indonesia, Paris in France, and California in the United States, respectively.
The music video released in January recorded 25 million views, and they had their debut stage on a terrestrial music broadcast for the first time in Korea.
Fans from various countries posted Maeve dance cover videos, receiving great love beyond borders based on the musicality and performance unique to K-pop. Kakao Webtoon expanded the IP in various ways by releasing a webtoon about Maeve's formation story.
On the 1st, the startup expo 'NextRise 2023 Seoul' is being held at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
However, there were limitations. Ryu said, "Human idols produce content by handling 6 to 7 schedules a day in their early debut days, but digital idols couldn't do that."
Compared to human idols, offline activity was less, producing only about one-tenth the amount of content. Preparing for Maeve's second album activities, producing diverse content was both a concern and a challenge.
But recently, with the emergence of generative AI represented by ChatGPT, the situation changed. Ryu stated, "With the AI that has shaken the tech industry, I believe it can fully serve as a game changer."
She said, "The time has come when content creation can be solved by AI," adding, "The limitations of offline contact with fans can be replaced by live content, and production speed can be increased."
They are also planning ways to hyper-personalize beyond just conversations between stars and fans. Ryu cited the movie Her, saying, "It will create a more immersive experience by making the relationship between stars and fans more individualized."
She expressed hope, saying, "There is hope that new experiences can be brought by utilizing AI's content creation capabilities," and added, "AI will not only improve productivity but also show new possibilities when combined with entertainment."
Meanwhile, the Korea Creative Content Agency emphasized the importance of the content industry at the event by featuring Ryu, director Kim Han-min of the film Roaring Currents, and Song Eun-i, CEO of Content Lab Vivo, as main stage speakers.
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