Vocaloid and the Future of Songwriting
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Vocaloid and the future of Songwriting Vocaloid is a concept that requires two explanations – it is a software developed at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, with the backing of Yamaha Corporation and commercially marketed as a virtual instrument, similar to any other music creation and editing software, except that instead of instrumental sounds, Vocaloid gives digital music producers a powerful tool to enhance their music – the human voice. Vocalists are contracted by software companies with a licensing agreement with Yamaha, such as Crypton Future Media, to produce and sell software utilizing the Vocaloid technology, record vast libraries of phonemes that allow for the construction of lyric tracks, complete with pitch modulation and a multitude of other available effects. This allows digital music producers to record music and lyrics directly from their computers without needing recording equipment or, most importantly, a live vocalist. In this sense, Vocaloid has opened the doors of democracy to the music production industry – anyone with the time and passion for songwriting can record professional-quality music in their own home regardless of their own vocal talent or ability to hire talent. The second facet of Vocaloid began as a marketing ploy – the first generation of Japanese Vocaloid software featured two voices, one male and one female, named “Meiko” and “Kaito”. Their box art featured illustrations of the “performer”, depicting Meiko as a slender brunette in red pleather and Kaito with blue hair in a white jacket and scarf matching his hair. Japan’s cultural history of Shinto Animism cultivated an environment with a preference for anthropomorphism, leading fans to closely associate with the virtual pair, boosting the software’s popularity. Later versions of the software featured more futuristic styles and appearances in introducing several other characters, the most popular of which being Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin and Len, Megurine Luka, and Megpoid Gumi. These personas are collectively known as Vocaloids and are a popular subject for fan art. The images of these Vocaloids are licensed by Crypton Future Media (hereafter CFM) under Creative Commons, a system that allows fans and producers to create alternate designs and new costumes for the Vocaloids without fear of legal repercussions. Along with the free software “MikuMiku Dance”, which offers users 3D models of Vocaloids for the purposes of making music videos, the Creative Commons licensing of the Vocaloids has fostered a wide fan base of both professional and amateur producers freely empowered to express their visual and musical creativity. However, this technology is not without controversy. Detractors of Vocaloid believe its validity as music and art are diminished by the lack of a performer’s talent, since each composition and lyric are “perfect” and completely lacking the human element of improvisation. Proponents of the technology contend that Vocaloid allows for anyone with songwriting and compositional passion to professionally and easily produce their music, bringing new voices into the music industry. Additionally, current copyright law is somewhat ill-equipped to handle this rapid democratization of music production in conjunction with the ability to instantly share the product via the internet, without licensing or distribution firms ever being involved. One common complaint about Vocaloid is that the nature of the technology diminishes the value of vocalists as artists. Human vocalists require training and practice to achieve the level of technical skill heard on the radio or on a professionally produced and distributed album. Vocaloid, by contrast, allows the composer to fill in the lyrics of the song with the appropriate phonemes and adjust the pitch to the necessary level, eliminating the need for vocal training. The primary consequence of this “disagreement” between vocal artists and CFM is that very few “established” vocalists have licensed voice banks with CFM, unwilling to allow “copies” of their voices to be bought and sold to individuals to produce music or other content completely separate from the vocalist’s personal identity. Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin/Len, and Megurine Luka are all sampled from professional Voice Actors (people hired to record voices for animations), while Kaito, Meiko, and Gumi are sampled from professional singers. Public opinion of Vocaloid-produced music is somewhat divided between those who believe that the time spent required for human vocal artists to perfect a song is a crucial part of the creative process that allows for a more organic finished project and those who propose that the end product of songwriting is more important than the time spent recording the song once it has been written and composed, human elements retained by Vocaloid music. The traditional pathway to becoming a professional music producer involved creating a sample of work and signing with a record company that was willing to take a chance on the artist’s prospects of becoming a popular artist. However, due to a variety of reasons ranging from restrictive costs, to mainstream record labels being unwilling to take a risk on what many perceive to be “amateur” music production, to the increase in popularity of online music distribution, the majority of Vocaloid-produced albums are self-published online. Media sharing sites such as YouTube and NicoNicoDouga (a Japanese site similar to YT) allow producers to share their music for free, while online music stores such as Bandcamp and Soundcloud give producers a platform to sell digital downloads of their music. For better or for worse, it has become incredibly easy to become a published musician. Additionally, given the nature of the internet and digital media, published pieces are available worldwide to anyone with an internet connection, meaning that a single viral phenomenon can bring anyone from obscurity to popularity in a very brief time. An amateur with only a few tracks known primarily to friends can gain exposure through YouTube or NicoNicoDouga and sell downloads self-published on Bandcamp. Alternatively, the internet’s collective conscious could fail to take notice of a prolific and passionate producer. This dichotomy is a consequence of variable exposure through social networking as opposed to mass media production, such as a song being featured on broadcast radio. Overall, the democratization of music production has proved a boon to independent artists, since the risk associated with publishing music has been reduced to only the investment required to begin producing music. Left in a confused position in this whirlwind of technological and social advancement is Copyright Law. The voice banks are treated as an instrument, legally, allowing them to be used for commercial or noncommercial purposes as long as the content produced does not violate the Vocaloid software EULA (End User Licensing Agreement). However, the images of the Vocaloids are licensed by CFM under Creative Commons (other software studios that produce Vocaloid software use similar licensing), which allows any derivative work for “noncommercial” purposes. There are a few common methods of working within existing copyright law for producers of Vocaloid music: one way is to produce songs using the name or image of the Vocaloid character, solely for noncommercial purposes. For commercial purposes, the image of the Vocaloid belongs to the studio that produced the software, so special licensing must be obtained to commercially produce Vocaloid music. Briefly explained, the producer licenses the song, which is their Intellectual Property (IP), back to the studio who may use it commercially. A popular example of this kind of work are the “Project DIVA” video games, produced by SEGA Corporation under licensing by CFM, who attributes each musical track to its original producer. Another method for producing Vocaloid music for commercial purposes requires the producer to create a Vocaloid character which is their own IP, and not attribute the Vocaloid product with its appropriate character. While this avoids the process of licensing the music with the software studio, the music loses the social prestige or perception of inherent quality of being associated with an established Vocaloid character, leaving the producer to their own means of acquiring exposure without piggybacking off the popularity of the “brand name”. At this time, it is difficult to determine the long-term effects and implications that Vocaloid technology and even Vocaloids themselves will have on the industry and culture of songwriting and music production. As a child of the 21st century, it has experienced rapid growth and exposure to a wide network of individuals connected only through the internet, and as a consequence has come to an apparent maturity very early in its lifespan. Both positive and negative aspects are still clearly visible when viewing the various facets of Vocaloid, and only time can tell whether Vocaloid will have a lasting imprint on the structure of society or whether it will become another flash in the pan that modern culture is known for. Regardless of its eventual fate, Vocaloid as it is now forms a bridge between what people consider to be “real” and “imagined”, and this duality of bringing the imagined into reality while bringing our reality deeper into the imagined world of the Vocaloids is a primary concern in the ongoing controversy that will determine the future of music. [1] Whiteley, Sheila, and Shara Rambarran. “Bunraku and Vocaloids: Puppets and Relations of Illusion and Virtuality.” The Oxford Handbook of Music and Vituality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. 102-105, Web. Whiteley, Sheila, and Shara Rambarran. “Vocaloids as Hybrid Art Forms: Popular Music, Anime, and Technology.” The Oxford Handbook of Music and Vituality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. 105-110, Web. [2] "The GazettE's Aoi Stirs up Debate about Vocaloid Artists through Controversial Tweets." TokyoHive. 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. Web [3] Verini, James. "How Virtual Pop Star Hatsune Miku Blew Up in Japan." Wired. 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Mar.