SXSW 2012

When the Web unites millions of users into large networks around creative and free new media practices, how does this "open source culture" challenge assumptions about the production of content and the use of online social platforms?Vocaloid is a music production software from Japan that synthesizes voices for songs. In 2007, Crypton Future Media released Hatsune Miku, a young, female version of Vocaloid. Thousands of musicians use the software and character to make innovative songs and videos, which are circulated on Nico Nico Douga & YouTube for free, and many receive millions of hits within weeks. Vocaloid has helped amateur musicians land professional contracts, produced live concerts with holographic singers, and made Miku into a global virtual idol.This talk looks at one case study of a peer-produced media franchise that exploded into a global phenomenon using social media and free distribution, and the issues and successes of networked creative production.