The Splice 🧬 The Most-Followed Virtual Influencers of 2022
Plus we’re taking a closer look at how virtual musicians connect to the Metaverse
Good afternoon!
Welcome back to The Splice 🧬 by VirtualHumans.org: a weekly newsletter curating the latest news, developments, and insights in the virtual influencer space.
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🧬 Core Strands from This Week
The Most-Followed Virtual Influencers of 2022
🔎 The Synopsis: As you may know, we exhaustively track, document, and rank virtual influencers. In this week’s feature article, we rounded up the Top 10 (+1 bonus character you may be surprised to see).
🧬 The Splice: The Brazilian shopping icon Lu of Magazine Luiza continues to reign supreme as the most followed virtual influencer of 2022. The iconic Barbie and the TikTok star Nobody Sausage are following right behind her.
🔭 What We’re Looking at This Week
Music and the Metaverse: Are we on the brink of a virtual artist revolution?
🔑 Key Quote: “With the buzz around the metaverse and the figures to back up its potential, record labels, musicians, producers, and investors are scrambling to figure out their role as music and gaming engines collide. Pair that with the rise of NFTs – a token stored on the blockchain that promises decentralized, certified digital ownership of digital assets not locked into any game, console, or platform – and artists and labels are looking at a whole new economic and creative virtual landscape.” — Rolling Stone
The metaverse and the future of Chinese influencer marketing
🔑 Key Quote: "Of the 80% of Chinese netizens following online celebrities, over 60% follow virtual idols – with over half spending at least 500 RMB a month on related purchases. Virtual influencers have struck a chord with young Chinese consumers, with interaction rates often three times higher than their real counterparts.” — The Drum
This Site Wants to Connect Brands With Virtual Influencers
🔑 Key Quote: “Virtual influencers are gaining in popularity because of an increased surge in gaming, anime, and virtual experiences in general, such as both virtual and augmented reality. As yesterday’s youngest generations, raised on the internet, age into independence, their interests gain increasing influence in the world. Virtual influencers are a summation of those interests on social media.” — Christopher Travers, Founder of Virtual Humans for YPulse.
Best,
VirtualHumans.org
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Insights by Makena Rasmussen, Christopher Travers, and Astrid Hiort.