Hi, one key point I'm really concerned is that talent retention might be harder now due to the sucess of key affiliate talent transitioning to indie vtubers and maintaining same viewership, but keeping a bigger share of profits.
This trend began with Dokibird and her success last year, then with Mint. We had seen Amelia and Fauna (and in some way Minato Aqua) returning with indie models and keeping a great portion of their fanbase. It is widely known that Gura was well known in her past life in the internet and she can leverage her previous persona.
I fear that one key risk is talent turnaround can be quickier now, mainly because they can feel once they achieve certain levels of critical mass with subscribete, they can choose the indie path where there are less restrictions, less bureacracy and a bigger share of the money. I really don't blame the talent and think more of this is something Cover must work on. They need to change things so talent feel that being in the company is the best thing for the long-term.
If any of the talents wants to stream only, going indie or maybe with VShojo after gaining a significant fanbase is probably the right choice for them and I find it unlikely that anything Cover does will correct that. I don't think that is a problem Cover should focus on fixing, because I don't think they can win, as I mentioned here https://www.dungeoninvesting.com/p/is-cover-corp-the-next-anycolor
In my opinion, agencies have 3 choices:
- Be a lightweight structure for barebones support, taking a minimal part of earnings but limiting the range of support they can offer in merchandise, events and similar things (VShojo)
- Be a vehicle for gaining viewership with a focus on efficiency and not on musical careers on events, and focus on quantity to avoid the leavers overwhelming the structure (Anycolor)
- Focus on long-term monetization and help for events, IP management and merchandise to help with retention, rather than sreaming exclusives (what Cover is doing).
IMHO, Cover's structure will offer the better combination of retention and earnings power, but since they started as support for streaming, that will take time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for streamlining things, not adding bureaucracy and so on, and I hope Cover does as best as possible in that regard. But I don't think their strategic focus should be on keeping streaming-only (or mainly) talents. They just can't compete (and doing several strategies in a single agency is a problem, as contracts would vary too much, leading to more conflict)
That said, Fauna/Nimi is the only one that really has similar levels of success streaming as an independent as she did in Cover. Go beyond the subscriber numbers and check viewership. Dokibird/Ame is doing less viewership than she used to while streaming a lot more. Aqua has simply cut on streaming, she seems to want to take it easy and coast on a few streams a month (also understandable!). And that is only taking into account streaming from their accounts only. They will also lose merch (less distribution and help designing, although now they have a better margin) and events, and have more costs (typically they have to hire people to find sponsors, production stuff...). For fully streaming-focused talents, the balance is positive, but I don't think that's the case for all!
Recent graduations have been tough for both the fandom and the company (or investors), but I don’t believe they signal the beginning of a decline for Hololive.
For virtual talents aiming for greater success in terms of impact and popularity, joining a company like Hololive is often the more favorable path. Talents like Calliope, Suisei, Miko, and Marine are prime examples. What they’ve accomplished wouldn’t have been possible as independent VTubers—and they know it. They’re leveraging Hololive’s massive fandom to grow even further, while the company benefits from their success in return.
That said, this kind of lifestyle doesn’t suit everyone—especially those who are more self-directed and focused on independent streaming.
At some point, a divergence—namely, differences in direction between talent and management—was inevitable. I don’t think Cover’s current direction is wrong, especially given the company’s scale today. But it’s clear that their approach has changed significantly since the recruitment of some now-graduated members.
So, what can Cover do going forward?
They need to focus on recruiting talents who align with this new direction.
Their future strategy will likely emphasize unit-based streaming content, as well as idol- or musician-style concerts and live events—things that are difficult to execute independently.
This shift is already visible in how they’re developing new talent. DEV_IS, for example, is heavily focused on unit-level music content, Justice appears to be positioned as an all-rounder, and Hololive EN is increasingly structured around group-oriented content production.
I think we broadly agree :). Mori, Suisei, Miko or Marine are great examples of talent that can't really achieve their goals without the agency because their focus goes well beyond streaming, and I think it is good they focus on that, as it is the advantage they can offer.
I am a bit more undecided about unit-based content, because leavers (and there will always be leavers!) can hurt more the dynamics, and bringing in replacements to an existing groups is essentially a big no at least in the current culture around them. But I like what they are doing in DEV_IS
Hi, one key point I'm really concerned is that talent retention might be harder now due to the sucess of key affiliate talent transitioning to indie vtubers and maintaining same viewership, but keeping a bigger share of profits.
This trend began with Dokibird and her success last year, then with Mint. We had seen Amelia and Fauna (and in some way Minato Aqua) returning with indie models and keeping a great portion of their fanbase. It is widely known that Gura was well known in her past life in the internet and she can leverage her previous persona.
I fear that one key risk is talent turnaround can be quickier now, mainly because they can feel once they achieve certain levels of critical mass with subscribete, they can choose the indie path where there are less restrictions, less bureacracy and a bigger share of the money. I really don't blame the talent and think more of this is something Cover must work on. They need to change things so talent feel that being in the company is the best thing for the long-term.
Hi Andres.
If any of the talents wants to stream only, going indie or maybe with VShojo after gaining a significant fanbase is probably the right choice for them and I find it unlikely that anything Cover does will correct that. I don't think that is a problem Cover should focus on fixing, because I don't think they can win, as I mentioned here https://www.dungeoninvesting.com/p/is-cover-corp-the-next-anycolor
In my opinion, agencies have 3 choices:
- Be a lightweight structure for barebones support, taking a minimal part of earnings but limiting the range of support they can offer in merchandise, events and similar things (VShojo)
- Be a vehicle for gaining viewership with a focus on efficiency and not on musical careers on events, and focus on quantity to avoid the leavers overwhelming the structure (Anycolor)
- Focus on long-term monetization and help for events, IP management and merchandise to help with retention, rather than sreaming exclusives (what Cover is doing).
IMHO, Cover's structure will offer the better combination of retention and earnings power, but since they started as support for streaming, that will take time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for streamlining things, not adding bureaucracy and so on, and I hope Cover does as best as possible in that regard. But I don't think their strategic focus should be on keeping streaming-only (or mainly) talents. They just can't compete (and doing several strategies in a single agency is a problem, as contracts would vary too much, leading to more conflict)
That said, Fauna/Nimi is the only one that really has similar levels of success streaming as an independent as she did in Cover. Go beyond the subscriber numbers and check viewership. Dokibird/Ame is doing less viewership than she used to while streaming a lot more. Aqua has simply cut on streaming, she seems to want to take it easy and coast on a few streams a month (also understandable!). And that is only taking into account streaming from their accounts only. They will also lose merch (less distribution and help designing, although now they have a better margin) and events, and have more costs (typically they have to hire people to find sponsors, production stuff...). For fully streaming-focused talents, the balance is positive, but I don't think that's the case for all!
Hi Andres & Dungeon,
Recent graduations have been tough for both the fandom and the company (or investors), but I don’t believe they signal the beginning of a decline for Hololive.
For virtual talents aiming for greater success in terms of impact and popularity, joining a company like Hololive is often the more favorable path. Talents like Calliope, Suisei, Miko, and Marine are prime examples. What they’ve accomplished wouldn’t have been possible as independent VTubers—and they know it. They’re leveraging Hololive’s massive fandom to grow even further, while the company benefits from their success in return.
That said, this kind of lifestyle doesn’t suit everyone—especially those who are more self-directed and focused on independent streaming.
At some point, a divergence—namely, differences in direction between talent and management—was inevitable. I don’t think Cover’s current direction is wrong, especially given the company’s scale today. But it’s clear that their approach has changed significantly since the recruitment of some now-graduated members.
So, what can Cover do going forward?
They need to focus on recruiting talents who align with this new direction.
Their future strategy will likely emphasize unit-based streaming content, as well as idol- or musician-style concerts and live events—things that are difficult to execute independently.
This shift is already visible in how they’re developing new talent. DEV_IS, for example, is heavily focused on unit-level music content, Justice appears to be positioned as an all-rounder, and Hololive EN is increasingly structured around group-oriented content production.
I think we broadly agree :). Mori, Suisei, Miko or Marine are great examples of talent that can't really achieve their goals without the agency because their focus goes well beyond streaming, and I think it is good they focus on that, as it is the advantage they can offer.
I am a bit more undecided about unit-based content, because leavers (and there will always be leavers!) can hurt more the dynamics, and bringing in replacements to an existing groups is essentially a big no at least in the current culture around them. But I like what they are doing in DEV_IS
Thanks for the timely update,
Tried to be as timely as possible, hard on CET times!