From zero to an empire, Hololive Productions is the biggest VTuber talent agency in the world right now. With 90 VTubers totaling over 80 million subscribers as of July 2024, including several of the most subscribed YouTubers and most watched streamers in the entire world, it is safe to say that “Hololive” has become synonymous with the term “VTuber”.
This is not least of all due to the guidance from Mr. Motoaki Tanigo, known affectionately by fans as YAGOO, the co-founder and current CEO of COVER Corporation, the parent company of Hololive Production.
We had the rare chance to learn from Mr. Motoaki Tanigo when he hosted a private media conference at the Malaysia Digital Content Festival (MYDCF) earlier this month. Read on to see what advice he had to share with Malaysian fans and creators!
Disclaimer: The following article is heavily paraphrased as no official recordings were permitted during the session.
1. Focus on your strengths
Mr. Motoaki Tanigo may seem like a genius businessman to most, but he candidly shared that COVER Corporation is his second company after his first company failed. He admitted that the reason why his first business failed was because he wasn’t able to play on the strengths of the company to get a leash on the industry.
When he started COVER Corporation, that’s when he decided he would capitalise on their natural strengths and learn from the mistakes he made with his first company. Definitely a good piece of advice for budding business owners!
2. Streaming is only 25% of the business
When introducing the business structure for Hololive Productions, Mr. Motoaki Tanigo shared that only 25% of his business focuses on livestreaming. Approximately 40% of the business focuses on merchandising, while 18.9% of the business focuses on events and concerts.
This definitely shines a fresh perspective on the way Hololive Productions promotes its talents, not just as on-screen talents but as standalone IPs. If you’re a VTuber agency looking to take your talents to the next level, this might be a good direction!
3. Malaysian VTubers have a strong trend of creativity
When asked for his thoughts on Malaysian VTubers, Mr. Motoaki Tanigo shared that he noticed a strong trend of creativity in the country, especially with regards to VTuber models and designs. He believes that Malaysian VTubers should capitalise on this strength and use the attractiveness of our character designs to appeal to larger audiences.
4. For Malaysian VTubers to go international, we first have to grow local
When asked about how VTubers in Malaysia could promote themselves internationally, Mr. Motoaki Tanigo shared that collaborations with video game companies tends to be the most common way for VTubers to get a foothold in the industry.
As for growing the VTuber industry in Malaysia, he mentioned that it may not necessarily be easy for internationally-based VTuber companies to enter the local industry. Hence, it is important for Malaysian VTubers to grow the local market themselves. By increasing the overall competitiveness in the market, this pushes the growth of the local industry as a whole.
5. The ‘holo Indie’ programme gives back to fans
For game creators who want to use Hololive IPs in your game creations, Mr. Motoaki Tanigo has some good news for you! Hololive Productions has a programme called “holo Indie” which offers support to fan-made works, including providing official permission to use Hololive assets and a platform to promote your game.
For those who want to create non-game fan work such as animations, he encourages you to apply to the programme anyway, as they are always open to supporting all kinds of fan creations. He even mentioned the possibility of providing 3D models of VTubers in the future in order to facililate better game creations.
Which piece of advice from Mr. Motoaki Tanigo sticks with you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Blessed thanks to Master Yagoo!