The Difference Between Corpos and Indie Vtubers

Vtubers are content creators (mostly streamers) who use a virtual avatar as their online persona instead of their real identity.

Although, despite this general quality we all share the community is (for the most part) divided into 2 parts:

• Corpos
• Indies

There might be some similarities between them but there are also some clear differences that are worth pointing out and that is what we are going to see today.

Corpos

Let’s start with the most influential side of the vtuber industry — the corpos.

As the name implies, when talking about “corpos” we refer to vtubers who are part of a corporation or talent agency that takes them under their wing. The agency provides resources, mentoring, management, and financial/legal support to their talents in exchange for a revenue share from merchandise, ads, donations, and memberships.

Not all agencies have the same business model though.

The biggest vtuber agency in the world is Hololive (from Japan) and it follows this revenue split with its talents. On the other hand, VShojo, the biggest agency in the United States, doesn’t take a cut from donations but has a heavy split in merchandise.

(We only know this based on information given by the talents themselves)

Also, not all corpo vtubers belong to a vtuber agency. There are some curious examples of companies that are using vtubers as living mascots. The 2 biggest examples of this are Opera Browser (with GX Aura) and Crunchyroll (with Crunchyroll-Hime).

Corpo vtubers and agencies sometimes go through the more traditional route, almost resembling Japanese idol culture from which it took heavy inspiration.

This means that they tend to do things like:

• Debuts
• Graduations
• Concerts
• Music videos
• Tours
• Big events
• Etc

The corpo vtubers also tend to be the most professional in the industry. However, that doesn’t mean that the talents aren’t willing to make some mature jokes here and there, but they mostly stay within the limits that the agency gives them.

This is done to prevent issues with their audience while also giving the talents enough freedom to do what they want with their content.

Another thing worth mentioning is that agencies will either hire existing indie vtubers or create their own, including their model, and then run auditions for the said model to pick the person that better fits that model and the vision the agency has for it.

Corpo vtubers will also do debuts in groups called waves or generations of around 3, 5, or sometimes more members as a way to introduce and spark hype for their talents.

Pros

• You receive assistance and resources
• Legal protection from bad actors that might try to harm you
• Most agencies give you a base salary every month plus a split of your earnings
• More exposure to an already big audience
• You get a manager who guides you along the way

Cons

• They own your model and the rights to your content, not you
• You have to ask permission for everything you want to do
• Most agencies are from Japan which causes some cultural conflicts with Western talents
• You receive a small percentage of the revenue you make

Indies

Next is the the biggest side of the vtuber industry — the indies.

After the vtuber boom in YouTube and Twitch, the number of people who wanted to become vtubers increased immensely. This created a new market and those who noticed worked to improve vtubing technology to make it more accessible.

Thanks to this you don’t need to be part of a million-dollar corporation to become a vtuber. Instead, you can be an independent vtuber or (as they are commonly known) an indie.

Unlike corpos, indies have complete control of all their activities and get all the profits without any splits but they are also responsible for everything they do. There is no support, no guidance, no protection, no nothing.

However, if you make it big enough as an indie you can eventually hire managers, editors, artists, etc., and participate in many big events like conventions where you can meet with your fans.

Some even use this as an opportunity to create another business or promote their gigs. For example, Elara Vtuber has other 2 businesses that complement her vtuber activities, a coaching business and a merch business.

Not only that but vtubing has become a tool for many people to promote their services in many areas.

For example:

• Voice acting
• Art
• Animation
• Music
• Video editing
• Graphic design
• Managing

Also, the vtuber space has a lot of generous and talented individuals who create vtuber assets both free and paid so getting started has become very accessible.

You don’t even need to start with a complete vtuber model. You can start with a PNG model that reacts based on your voice and mouse movement. It is much cheaper and will let you test the water before committing to vtubing.

Pros

• Complete control of your activities
• Keep 100% of the revenue you make
• You own the rights to all your assets and models
• You can branch out to other business models

Cons

• You need to figure out everything yourself
• You start out from zero
• You cover all the expenses yourself
• No protection or assistance

Final Thoughts

Corpo vtubers have the support and help of agencies that assist them with various things related to their vtuber and streaming activities while indies have to handle everything themselves.

Many vtubers dream of joining a vtuber agency to receive the support they give while others value their independence and control over their own activities more which makes staying indie more valuable for them.

In the end, it depends on your goals to decide which is the best route for you.

See you next time!