VOCALOID Crypton Future Media 30th Anniversary: special interview

[MagicalMiku]

Crypton Future Media 30th Anniversary: special interview

(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/992716

Today, July 21st, 2025, marks the 30th anniversary of Crypton Future Media's founding!
To commemorate this, our CEO Ito's book "The Future of Creation: How Hatsune Miku Was Born in Hokkaido" (published by Chuokoron-Shinsha) will be released on July 23, 2025. We hope that the book will provide you with a glimpse into Ito's life, thoughts, and hopes for the future.

Also, starting today, as part of the 30th anniversary of the founding of Crypton Future Media, Wantedly will be running a special series of articles (6 articles in total) looking back on the company's 30-year history together with our company president, Ito. We hope to introduce our company's business once again, focusing on the topics that could not be packed into "The Future of Creation." If you are interested, please stay with us until the final installment.

[30th Special Episode.1 PART1] The History of Crypton
The first theme is "The History of Crypton." Hatsuyama, who has been with the company for 20 years and knows the transition of the office from the back office, and Nishio, who was involved in the launch of the character licensing business, will also be joining us. Together with Ito, they will talk about the time when Crypton was founded and the history of the office.

From left to right: Hatsuyama, Ito, and Nishio
Hiroyuki Ito : CEO of Crypton Future Media, Inc. After working at Hokkaido University, he founded Crypton Future Media, Inc. in Sapporo in July 1995. He is currently working on developing services and technologies inspired by sound, such as DTM software, music distribution aggregators, and 3DCG technology. He was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal in 2013.

Fumiko Hatsuyama : Joined the company in 2005. Manager of the administrative team that handles accounting, recruitment, human resources, labor, general affairs, public relations, accounting, and other company-wide administrative matters. She has supported the company as a back office worker for 20 years.

Nishio Kimitaka : Joined the company in 2007. After launching and expanding the character licensing business for "Hatsune Miku", he is now a manager in the President's Office. In addition to developing existing businesses, he is also involved in developing new businesses that incorporate new technologies such as AI, aiming to expand creative opportunities and fields for creators.

The company I started at age 30 is now 30!

--First, let me ask you about President Ito.
Our company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in July this year, and you turned 60 in March this year, so does that mean you started your company at the age of 30?

Ito : Yes. The company I started when I was 30 has now turned 30. When I think about it, the 30th anniversary feels even more meaningful.
This year, I received a surprise cake and bouquet of flowers from all the employees on my birthday.

For April Fool's Day, we prepared something called the "Ito Hiroyuki Kanreki Pack," which imitates our company's product, the "Piapro Characters Super Pack."
The company's founding anniversary is July 21st, but I already feel like this year is more special than any other year before.

- I understand that you got a job after graduating from high school and worked as an employee at Hokkaido University before starting your own company. Could you please tell us again how you ended up starting your own company?

Ito : I was born in Shibecha, a rural town in Hokkaido where there are more cows than people. In those days, it was very common to get a job after graduating from high school, and I became a civil servant after graduating from high school. I was assigned to the Faculty of Engineering at Hokkaido University.

When I started working, the Internet had not yet spread to ordinary households, but it was introduced to universities early on. I was able to use it as part of my job. Now that the Internet and smartphones are commonplace, it may not seem like a big deal, but back then there were no mobile phones, and it took more than a month to exchange letters with friends overseas. That's why I was so shocked by the Internet, which allows data to be exchanged instantly regardless of the actual distance. It was so interesting to imagine what I could do if the Internet became widespread. I thought that turning the ideas I had into reality would be much more interesting than continuing to work as a civil servant, so I decided to start a business.

-So your vision of the potential of the Internet was what prompted you to start your own company. Our company was established as a "sound trading company," but where did the idea of making sound into a business come from?

Ito : Yes. The reason I felt the various possibilities of the Internet was largely due to the influence of futurist Alvin Toffler, but I'll leave that out for now as I talk about that in "The Future of Creation." I've always loved music, and after I started working, I got into sound sampling (recording sounds and importing them as sound material data). At the time, I think I had 2,000 to 3,000 floppy disks with various sounds on them in my apartment.

Since I had made so many, I wanted to have many people listen to the sounds I made. I started exchanging sound materials with people overseas using the personal ads section of the American music magazines I read at the time.
When I received an inquiry through a personal ad, I would first send my own catalog by mail or fax. When I received an order, I would save the sound material on a floppy disk and mail it. As the number of such exchanges increased, and due to changes in the exchange rate, I started importing overseas sound sources and software and selling them domestically.

These hobby activities became the foundation of my business, and I founded Crypton as a "sound trading company" that imports and sells overseas sound sources and software.
I thought that if I combined my love of "sound" with the Internet, I could do a lot of things. When I founded the company, I was still selling software packages by mail, but even before I started the company, I was convinced that one day I would be able to sell "sound" downloads over the Internet.

--Now that I think about it, there's a story that says "Crypton is Sapporo's first internet company." Is there an anecdote that supports this?

Ito : Ah, it was when we submitted our articles of incorporation. When you set up a company, you have to submit articles of incorporation (documents that outline the company's fundamental principles) to a notary public, but when I wrote "Internet-related business" on it and submitted it, it was rejected. The reason was, "What is the Internet?" "Internet is not a common word, so it cannot be recognized." I explained from the very beginning what the Internet is, and finally they accepted it.

Because of that, I believe we are the first company in Hokkaido to advertise ourselves as an "Internet-related business."

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.1 PART2] The History of Crypton

(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/992716

The current office is our fourth location! The history of CFM offices!
-From here, I would like to ask Mr. Hatsuyama and Mr. Nishio to join the conversation and look back on our company's 30 years.
In the book "The Future of Creation," there is a chapter that talks about our company's business in chronological order, but there is no mention of the relocation of our office. So, here I would like to delve deeper into the "history of our office" rather than the details of our business.
In our Wantedly story, we often introduce the state of the company's office, but this was not the office when we first started, right?

Ito : Yes, that's right. When we first started, we only had about five employees, and we chose the location of our office with little consideration given to visitors or convenience of transportation. The only thing we were particular about was that it had to be in Sapporo city. However, we wanted to move quickly, so we moved our office three years after we started.

Hatsuyama : I hadn't joined the company yet, but I remember that there was an office where "strange phenomena" would occur if you were working overtime in the middle of the night...

Ito : That's right. There was a straight corridor in front of the entrance to that office, but there were several times when the visitor buzzer would ring and I would open the door to find no one there... it was just a "strange phenomenon," you know? (laughs)

-It's probably best not to delve any further into the story of the first office (laughs). Hatsuyama-san, you joined the company on its 10th anniversary, but what was the office like at that time?

Hatsuyama : When I joined the company in 2005, we were still using the office that we had moved to in 1998. Just like the current office, it was in a place that could be reached by subway in Sapporo, so I had no trouble commuting. Since the number of employees was still small, the president himself taught me about the work after I joined the company, and I remember that the place was under the blue sky, which was also a change of pace.

We had about 20 people using an office of about 70 tsubo (in Japan, is common to use "tsubo", which is the area of two tatami mats, to calculate a building's area), and when the singing voice synthesis software "VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku" released in 2007 became an unexpected hit, all the employees came together to pack and ship the packages. At that time, the members at the time were the ones who put each disc into a package and shipped it to customers. Nishio-san, you worked with us, right?

Nishio : Yes, I did. I joined the company about two days after the release of "VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku", so that was my first job. I had just said "Nice to meet you" to Mr. Sasaki (= Wataru Sasaki, in charge of Hatsune Miku development), and we were talking about our backgrounds as we put the CD-ROM into the case (laughs).

- When the first Hatsune Miku software was released in 2007, this was still your second office. For those who were there at the time, this office must hold many memories.

Hatsuyama : Yes. At least, I have the impression that it was a place where our company experienced a major turning point.
Nishio-san was directly involved in the work of "Hatsune Miku", so I wonder if there are many things that left an impression on you?

Nishio : Yes. While I was busy with the packing work, the derivative works of "Hatsune Miku" spread rapidly on the Internet, and the number of inquiries to our company increased dramatically. Then one day, Sasaki-san said, "Nishio-san, can you help me?", and I also became fully involved in the work related to "Hatsune Miku". From then on, it was turbulent.

Ito : Just because the work related to "Hatsune Miku" suddenly increased, it doesn't mean that other work decreased. On some days, we received more than 100 inquiries, and after finishing the daily work of other work, we held a meeting to discuss how to handle the inquiries about "Hatsune Miku". Since I had never dealt with characters before, I had a hard time answering them.

Nishio : We printed out the inquiries and had meetings almost every day at around 10 or 11 p.m., asking, "President, do you want to do it?"

Ito : That brings back memories. As the amount of work increased, we decided to hire more employees. However, as the number of people increased, the office became cramped and it became difficult to find a place to hold meetings... so we started looking for a new office again.

Hatsuyama : The number of employees increased so suddenly that we ran out of chairs for employees before we even decided on a new office, right?

Nishio : That's right! About a month before we moved, several of us, including me, were using metal chairs (laughs). I remember it was very hot because the place was exposed to the setting sun.

- That's true (laughs) So the office you moved to in 2008 is the one you're in now?

Ito : No, we moved to our current office in 2012. The previous office was about 450 square meters, but it became too small when the number of employees exceeded 50. I think we decided to move to our current office when we had about 70 employees. We have always been in Sapporo since the company was founded, but we have moved three times, and our current office is the fourth. The number of employees has recently exceeded 150.

Hatsuyama : It was from our third office that each desk was separated by a partition and we were able to have our own space. I think the convenience and ease of working have been getting better and better with the office move. Our current office also has a cafe space, and when I see it bustling at lunchtime, I feel that it has become a good office environment.

Nishio : It's interesting to see each desk and get a glimpse of each person's personality. Some people have their favorite character goods lined up everywhere, while others have no goods and just an aroma diffuser. It's nice to be able to work in an environment where I can relax.

- I also have a lot of decorations on my desk (laughs). Aside from your desk and the cafe space, has anything else changed?

Hatsuyama : The atmosphere at the entrance has changed quite a bit. In the past, many users and fans would come to our office to visit, and for a while after we moved to our current office, we had a whiteboard and notebook at the entrance where visitors could freely write illustrations and text.

Ito : To be honest, I still want to have them there. Now, more people want to visit our office, and it has become difficult to welcome all of them equally, so we have removed them from the office entrance. Also, since it is an office building where various companies gather, there are security issues. Instead , we now have a permanent "Piapro Wall (a board where you can freely write illustrations and text)" in front of the "Snow Miku Sky Town" store , which is directly managed at New Chitose Airport, the gateway to Hokkaido's skies . If you come to Hokkaido, we would be happy if you could write illustrations and text there!

*There are also other companies' offices on the floors of the office building currently being used by Crypton.

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.1 PART3] The History of Crypton
(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/992716

Everything is for creators. This has been our unwavering philosophy since our founding!

- In our next interview, we plan to delve deeper into the business content of our company by category, but our business is quite broad, and from a third party's perspective, it may seem that we lack consistency as a "sound trading company."
So, in this first interview, I would like to tell everyone reading this article that "we do have consistency!" Could you tell us about our company's mission as "meta creators" and our catchphrase "creating what we make"?

Ito : I'm sure there are people who wonder, "Why is a sound trading company doing character licensing and regional development projects?" But there is of course consistency.

As I mentioned at the beginning, our company was founded as a "sound trading company" that imports and sells sound materials such as sound effects. We didn't define a corporate mission or slogan from the beginning, but from that time on, I wanted to support music creators with the "sound" I handled, and I also wanted to give something back to my hometown, Hokkaido, through business someday.

When we released "VOCALOID2 Hatsune Miku" in 2007 and many works such as music and illustrations were posted online, I found it interesting that various works were being created, and I thought that we should not stop that flow. And in order to maintain and create an environment where everyone can easily create with "Hatsune Miku", I also thought that we had no choice but to protect the character license ourselves.

Of course, I was not completely free of doubts. When we developed the content posting site "piapro", I asked myself whether it was something a sound trading company should do. But the answer came quickly. In order to boost the creations of music creators, it would be better to create an environment where other creators who collaborate with each other - in other words, illustrators, video makers, and other various creators - can create freely, and foster an environment where a chain of creations can easily occur. That's what we thought.

It may have been around that time that we started to become strongly aware of our current mission as "meta-creators." As creators for creators, that is, "meta-creators," we decided to create products and services that are necessary for various creators to create something, not limited to music. The catchphrase that succinctly expresses our corporate philosophy is "Tsukuru wo tsukuru."

Nishio : We started accepting proposals for Hatsune Miku from various companies, of course, as a way for creators to present their work, but we also wanted to expand the creative chain and the area by doing things that we couldn't do on our own. In developing the project, we placed emphasis on not degrading Hatsune Miku as music software, making sure that creators were involved, and making sure that the development would produce something new. "Is that project something that can only be done with Hatsune Miku?", "We need to confirm with the creator, but can we schedule it?", "Can we reorganize the project into something new that has more affinity with Miku?", etc. I was an outsider with a bullish attitude who didn't know the basics of character licensing, and I caused a lot of trouble for each licensee. However, it was not our character, but a character that could not exist without the creation of creators, so it was something we couldn't compromise on, and we came with the thought, "Let's all create fun things together, licensees, as licensees, become part of the creative chain!"

I think we have been seriously facing the idea of "creating what we make". We are very grateful to each company that has been sincere in facing our unreasonable and involved development without getting carried away.

Hatsuyama : We officially decided on the company mission and catchphrase around 2017, but the president's policy has remained consistent since the company was founded. Always, everything, for the creators. With "Hatsune Miku", that desire has been directed toward more than just music creators, but I feel that our desire to develop a business that benefits creators by combining the technologies of "sound" and the Internet has not wavered even after 20 years together.

-The regional development project is also in line with the catchphrase "Creating what we make."

Ito : Yes. I think that people who make music, grow vegetables, and build towns are all "creators." And I also think that creativity is the strength of a nation.

That's why we're applying the power of "content" and "technology" that we've cultivated so far to develop local projects that support our hometown, Hokkaido.

If you think of this as a "sound trading company," it may seem a little out of place, but if you think of it as an initiative by a private company in Hokkaido, I think you'll see it as a natural progression. At least, in my mind, it's all connected.

-Finally, we would like to ask Mr. Hatsuyama and Mr. Nishio, who cooperated as the first conversation partners with President Ito. Please tell us the most memorable episode related to "creation" that has happened since you joined the company!

Hatsuyama : I'm in charge of administration, so I remember helping renovate the office, which is a new word for "creation."

Our office is roughly divided into two areas, the "Noisy Zone" and the "Mokumoku Zone." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the programmers in the "Mokumoku Zone" have switched to teleworking, and vacant seats have become noticeable. In response to the president's words that he wanted to "stimulate communication among employees," we decided to renovate part of the "Mokumoku Zone" into a cafe space. The president decided on the outline of the blueprint, but the specific design was left to the management team with a lot of discretion. It was fun to hear from employees about the colors of the chairs and floor carpets and decide by majority vote.

Thanks to that, many employees still gather at lunchtime, and recently there are not enough seats. We also have club activities and screenings, and we are happy to see that it is being used more after regular hours.

Nishio : There are too many episodes to narrow it down to one, but the ones that left a strong impression on me were the live performances at Nippon Budokan for "Hatsune Miku Magical Mirai 2015" and "HATSUNE MIKU EXPO 2014 in Indonesia". I was watching both from the back of the venue, and in the middle of the excitement, I was drawn into a silent space filled with an emotion that was difficult to express in words, with nuances like "thank you" and "okay, next", and was not directed at anyone or anything.

Maybe I was just so tired that I felt relieved, but the scene at that time is burned into my memory. I am grateful that I have been able to see so many different scenes thanks to being involved in "creation".

-Thank you everyone!

From the second episode onwards, we plan to have talks with people in charge of each business, in the order of music business, character-related business, creator support business, and regional development business. Please look forward to it!

Mai Shirai
Crypton Future Media, Inc. / Marketer
Joined Crypton Future Media, Inc. in August 2018. Public relations officer. Recently, I was happy to see the Hatsune Miku episode of the TV show "New Project X" and the book "The Future of Creation".

 

[MagicalMiku]

special message from Crypton Future Media's CEO, Hiroyuki Ito, for the 30th Anniversary(●'◡'●)
(translated from the original message in japanese, available here:)

30th ANNIVERSARY｜クリプトン・フューチャー・メディア株式会社

札幌から「ツクルを創る」を続けて30年。クリプトン・フューチャー・メディアは2025年7月21日に設立30周年を迎えました。

www.crypton.co.jp

On July 21, 2025, our company, Crypton Future Media, Inc., celebrated its 30th anniversary!

Looking back, we were founded in July 1995. Now it is July 2025, so the era has come full circle. I started my business at the age of 30, so this year I finally turned 60.

At that time, the Internet had not yet spread widely in society. It was a time when traditional media industries such as telephones, newspapers, and broadcasting were very dominant. I think that emerging forces trying to start something with the Internet and computers were classified as a little odd, and I think that many people in the world were not yet aware of the changes that were coming. That is why I started my business in Sapporo, where I live, because I "really wanted to explore what was beyond digital on my own." The background of my company and why I started it in Sapporo are written in the message for the 20th anniversary of its establishment.

Over the past 30 years, the environment related to music (production, distribution, advertising, etc.) has changed drastically. There is a DAW (music production software) studio inside the computer, and virtual instruments can be used to create not only drums and orchestras, but also human singing voices since the advent of VOCALOID (a voice synthesis technology developed by Yamaha Corporation). It has become common to publish music created through video sites and music distribution services, and the distance that homemade music can be delivered has rapidly expanded from Japan to the world. In addition, by utilizing SNS, individuals have become media, and new information can now be casually disseminated.

In 2007, we quickly shifted the sale of our original DTM software from box sales to online distribution through "SONICWIRE". In addition, we started "ROUTER.FM" in 2010 as a service that allows music creators to sell their music worldwide, and have established an infrastructure system that allows one-stop delivery to streaming services around the world such as Apple Music and Spotify, Finger Print services, and video streaming services. We have also developed services that broaden the scope of expression for music creators, such as "SONOCA," a music card for smartphones, and "COUGEN," a lighting control tool for musicians.

We are also actively working on Hatsune Miku and other piapro characters, and in January 2025, the first animated work featuring Hatsune Miku, "Project SEKAI: The Broken World and Miku Who Can't Sing," was released nationwide. In April and May, we have completed the "Hatsune Miku JAPAN LIVE TOUR 2025 ~BLOOMING~" concert tour, visiting seven cities in Japan, and in November, we plan to hold "HATSUNE MIKU EXPO 2025 ASIA," our first Asian tour. In addition, Hatsune Miku and our efforts have been increasingly featured in the media as good examples of industry and culture.

We carry out many of these operations in Sapporo, where our headquarters is located. We started our business in the days when the Internet was still a novelty, believing in the potential of the Internet. Since our founding, we have installed Internet lines in our offices, built servers, and used them to the fullest. That's why we were able to do business with the world from Sapporo, a regional city. Thirty years have passed since our founding, and although the Internet is no longer at the forefront, it has become fully established as social infrastructure. On top of the infrastructure of the Internet, various technologies have been born (AI, blockchain, etc.). These technologies will also eventually become infrastructure and will surely affect music creators, which will bring about changes in both music and creators. The exciting future will continue, and Crypton would like to continue to be interested in such technologies (we are also looking for friends who will create the future together!).

Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Mirai (the future) will continue, and we would like to continue to walk together with you.

Thank you for your continued support!

July 21, 2025
Crypton Future Media, Inc.
Representative Director Hiroyuki Ito

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.2 PART1] Music x Technology

(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/994119

Today, we bring you "Episode 2" of a special serial in which our CEO, Ito, looks back on the 30-year history of Crypton Future Media together with our employees.

This serial project was born out of a desire to introduce our company once again, focusing on the stories that could not be included in Ito's book "The Future of Creation: How 'Hatsune Miku' Was Born in Hokkaido" (Publisher: Chuokoron-Shinsha) , which was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Crypton. In Episode 1, we introduced the story of Crypton's founding and the history of our offices, so if you haven't seen it yet, we hope you will enjoy it.

The theme of Episode 2 is "Music x Technology." This time, we are joined by Sasaki, the producer of Hatsune Miku and in charge of voice development, and Koizumi, who manages the singing synthesis software development team and the music business team, who will introduce our music business together with Ito.

From left to right, Sasaki, Ito, and Koizumi.

Hiroyuki Ito : CEO of Crypton Future Media, Inc. After working at Hokkaido University, he founded Crypton Future Media, Inc. in Sapporo in July 1995. He is currently working on developing services and technologies inspired by sound, such as DTM software, music distribution aggregators, and 3DCG technology. He was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal in 2013.

Wataru Sasaki : Joined the company in 2005. Manager of the voice team. He is the planner of "Hatsune Miku", "Kagamine Rin/Len" and "Megurine Luka", and leads the development of singing synthesis software. He also participated in the launch of the hugely popular app game "Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku", released in collaboration between Sega Corporation and Colorful Palette Co., Ltd.

Kiyomitsu Koizumi : Joined the company in 2008. Manager of SONICWIRE's music business team. In addition to developing businesses for music creators such as "SONICWIRE.COM", "SONOCA", "KARENT", "ROUTER.FM" and "nodee", he is also in charge of promoting AI research for music creators and being the product manager for virtual singer products such as "Hatsune Miku".

The main product at the time of the company's founding was the "sampling CD"!

- As a "sound trading company," we handle a variety of "sound" products for digital creators. Those who are unfamiliar with computer-based music production (DTM) may not understand, so first, could you tell us specifically what kind of "sound" you handle?

Ito : To explain it in an easy-to-understand way for those who are not familiar with DTM, there are three main types of "sounds" that we handle. One is software that can reproduce the sounds of musical instruments such as pianos and guitars on a computer, and is called "virtual instruments." The second is a collection of sound materials called "sample packs" that contain a large number of short musical instrument phrases and single sounds. In the days when CDs were mainstream, they were called "sampling CDs." The third is sound materials such as cat meows, river babbling, thunder, magic spells, and UFOs flying. It will be easier to understand if you imagine sound effects from movies and dramas. To be precise, there are many more, but to make it easy to understand, I think it's something like this.

Our company's download store for digital creators, "SONICWIRE," handles a lot of such "sounds," and we offer about 30,000 products and more than 40 million sounds in each product.

- Thank you! There are so many different kinds of "sound" in one word. Currently, "SONICWIRE" is the main source of download sales, but when you first started, you physically imported products such as CD-ROMs and shipped the product packages to sell, right?

Ito : Yes. For the first 10 years or so since the company was founded, package sales were the main focus, and at the time, Crypton's main product was "sampling CDs." Since one CD or CD-ROM contains hundreds of different sounds, it is very useful as a source of inspiration for music creators, and there is a demand for it.

We don't do that anymore, but at the time, we sometimes sold directly to general customers who came to the office. By the way, Sasaki-kun, who is here now, has been interested in sampling CDs since his student days, and he came to visit us as a customer when he was in high school.

Sasaki : That's right. I was a high school student interested in electronica and sampling, so I came to Crypton several times to buy sound materials. A friend who came with me at that time started working at Crypton before me and became the developer of "MEIKO" (laughs).

Because of this connection, I actually helped to write introductions for the sampling CDs that Crypton handled from time to time from my late teens before I joined the company. I would pile up sampling CDs on a table at a family restaurant and write introductions while listening to them on a CD player...it's a nostalgic memory now.

- In the second chapter of the book "The Future of Creation," President Ito calls himself a "sampler geek." Does that mean that you, Sasaki, were also a "sampler geek"?

Sasaki : I like samplers and recording equipment, but in my case, I might be an otaku of "sound" itself. For example, I'm interested in the squeaking sound that occurs when rewinding or fast forwarding a cassette tape, and I'm fascinated by sound effects in anime and radio. Also, when I was in middle school and high school, I would ride my bike to the record store after school and spend all my time in the listening section.

Ito : It would definitely be more accurate to say that Sasaki is a "sound fetishist."

The three of us are people who enjoy "sound" as our occupation, so I think that each of us has had some kind of experience of being obsessed with something related to "sound," although to different degrees. Koizumi-kun, you must have had some, too, right?

Koizumi : If I had to say, I'd say I'm an otaku of performance information (sequences) that is given to "sound." Since middle school, I've been transcribing pop songs and choral songs by ear and reproducing them on game consoles and computers, creating ringtone data and live sound effects for band songs, and typing in original ringtones into the receiver of the landline at my part-time job. I was so absorbed in inputting the performance data that I forgot to eat and sleep.

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.2 PART2] Music x Technology
(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/994119

Entry into the mobile content business marks a turning point!

- The first turning point for our company, which imported and sold "sound," was in 2001, when we entered the mobile content business.

Ito : Yes, that's right. When mobile phones started to gradually become popular, we learned about services that sold downloadable ringtones and ringtones, and we thought it would be a business opportunity for our company. As I mentioned earlier, our company handled various sound effects in the form of "sampling CDs," so we thought we could use that huge amount of sound for ringtones. When a call comes in, a cat will meow, or a bell will ring. We were confident in the abundance of such materials.

At that time, our employees went to mobile phone carrier companies to make proposals and made sales, and we made deals with several of them, and in the spring of 2001, we started operating the club ringtone specialty site "North Sound" and the sound effect site for mobile phones "Pocket Sound Effects." Our mobile content business started with this sound effect business, and then we gradually increased the content we handled to wallpapers and games, which has led to the present day.

Koizumi : Most mobile carriers have already ended the operation of the "North Sound" and "Pocket Sound Effects" sites, but the name "Pocket Sound Effects" itself is still carried on as the name of a sound effect brand handled by "SONICWIRE." There is a large lineup of highly versatile sounds created by Japanese creators, such as a cooking sound collection that includes the sounds of simmering and grilling meat, and a stationery sound collection that includes the sounds of a pen moving and the tapping of calculator keys, so if you're interested, be sure to give them a listen on "SONICWIRE." (> Pocket Sound Effects )

-And it was this entry into the mobile content business that led to your encounter with the singing voice synthesis technology "VOCALOID" and the birth of "SONICWIRE," is that correct?

Ito : That's right. I wrote about my encounter with VOCALOID in Chapter 3 of "The Future of Creation" book, so I won't go into details here, but to put it simply, Yamaha's semiconductor division was making sound chips for cell phone ringtones, and someone from that department introduced me to Hidenori Kenmochi, who was in charge of developing VOCALOID at the time. In other words, it was a connection that was only made possible by entering the mobile content business.

Koizumi : The connection with SONICWIRE is that it was created by applying the distribution know-how we had cultivated in the mobile content business.

When we built and operated the "North Sound" and "Pocket Sound Effects" sites in-house, we began to install large-scale distribution servers that could handle millions of downloads in a month. SONICWIRE was developed as a download site for digital creators by applying the servers we had introduced in the mobile content business and the technology we had cultivated in developing sound effect sites.

Ito : As we discussed in the Episode 1 conversation, even before starting the business, I believed that one day it would be possible to sell "sound" over the Internet, in other words, to distribute it by download, so the idea of "SONICWIRE" itself was in my head from early on. We actually started operating "SONICWIRE" in November 2007, but the development itself began around 2002. At the time, there were no other sites to refer to, so our reliable system engineers worked blindly on the development based on the specifications I came up with.

Incidentally, the name "SONICWIRE" comes from the sound of the word.

-Did you have any difficulties when switching over to distributing downloads of things that you had previously sold in packages?

Ito : Since there was no precedent for downloading DTM software or sound materials, we started by explaining the concept of download sales to each manufacturer and getting permission. We also developed our own ripping tool to extract sound files from CDs that were sold in packages.

Koizumi : The material collections currently available for download, such as sampling CDs, are called "sample packs," and when you purchase them, you can download them as audio files such as WAV. However, sampling CDs at that time were called "audio CDs," the same as the CDs released by singers, and when you played "Track 1," for example, the four-bar drum part was repeated 10 times with a blank space in between. Of course, it was just audio data that was not looped, so creators at the time had to "sample" the CD-ROM themselves after purchasing it, by cutting out and importing only the parts of the sound they wanted to use.

Therefore, when we started download distribution, we had to create distribution data that had been looped from the sampling CD. In addition to the ripping tool that President Ito mentioned earlier, various in-house tools were developed in parallel during the development of "SONICWIRE," such as a tool that automatically detects and separates silent parts for loop processing. Some of these in-house tools are still being updated and are still in active use today.

-Have you seen any reaction to the fact that download distribution has become the main mode?

Ito : The company's reputation was good. When we sold packages, we had over 1,000 titles of packaged products such as sampling CDs, so even if we limited each product to small lots, we still had to manage a considerable number of them in stock at the office. The drastic reduction in the cost of managing inventory within the company was undoubtedly a happy thing for our employees, and another welcome change was that we no longer had to keep customers waiting due to out-of-stock items.

Koizumi : Since we were a pioneer in the industry in download distribution, overseas manufacturers began asking us for our opinions on how to create products with download distribution in mind. Recently, in addition to selling DTM-related products, we have also been consistently involved in the development of software sound sources released overseas, from the early stages to release.

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.2 PART3] Music x Technology
(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/994119

In 2004, we also started a singing voice synthesis software business!

-While dealing with the various "sounds" mentioned in the story so far, in 2004 the company began planning, developing and selling its own singing synthesis software. The singing synthesis software business is covered extensively in "The Future of Creation," so here I would like to ask about the things that were not included in the book.

Mr. Sasaki has appeared in the media as the developer of "Hatsune Miku," but how did you decide to become the developer in the first place?

Sasaki : At that time, we didn't have a voice development department, so when I heard that there was talk of creating a new singing voice synthesis software, I volunteered to do it. At the beginning of this interview, I mentioned that a friend who joined Crypton before me developed "MEIKO", but he left the company, so I ended up taking over the singing voice synthesis software, including "MEIKO" and "KAITO". Now we have more employees, and separate teams are handling voice development, software sales, and character licensing, but before that system was in place, there was a time when I was involved in all of them.

Because of the trust we have built with companies and creators, I still take on the coordination of character licensing cases, but I basically focus on voice development.

-Our company released the first software for "Kagamine Rin & Len" in December 2007, and "Megurine Luka" in January 2009, but sometimes people mistakenly think that these were planned because of the success of "Hatsune Miku". In reality, the three were planned simultaneously, right?

Sasaki : Yes. From the beginning, we planned and developed a "Character Vocal Series" of three voices: a girl's voice, a boy's voice, and a voice that supports English.

The first one we worked on was Hatsune Miku, which coincidentally was the first singing voice synthesis software released after the birth of video sharing sites such as NicoNico Douga and YouTube. The reason Megurine Luka was released in 2009 was due to the development schedule, and it is completely incorrect that the planning and development of Kagamine Rin/Len and Megurine Luka were influenced by the sales of Hatsune Miku.

Koizumi : If the timing had been different, MEIKO and Kagamine Rin/Len might have been in the same position as Hatsune Miku is now. It's quite interesting to think about it like that.

Ito : What I learned from MEIKO and KAITO led to the birth of Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin/Len, and Megurine Luka. Due to its name value, Hatsune Miku tends to stand out, but for our company, all software (virtual singers) are indispensable, and we believe that they all equally support the chain of creativity for everyone.

--By the way, I'm sure there are people reading this who are wondering, so I'll ask you... How is the progress of "Hatsune Miku V6 AI" going?

Sasaki : Regarding the "challenges that are currently difficult to overcome as we proceed with development," which we reported on the SONICWIRE blog in December 2024, we are now seeing a clue to solving them with the cooperation of YAMAHA. We are proceeding with development so that we can make it possible for you to try the new features in some form by 2025, so we apologize to everyone who is looking forward to it, but we would appreciate it if you could wait for a little while longer.

Ito : When it comes to new initiatives such as "NT" and "V6 AI," "Hatsune Miku" always takes the lead, but of course we are also thinking about other virtual singers. It's taking time, but we hope you will continue to watch over the developments going forward.

 

[MagicalMiku]

[30th Special Episode.2 PART4] Music x Technology
(translated from the original interview in japanese, available here:)
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/crypton/post_articles/994119

Music x Technology. What are the possibilities of AI?

- As mentioned earlier, there are more and more situations where AI technology is being used these days, such as "Hatsune Miku V6 AI". Some creators are uneasy about AI, for example, because they are worried that generative AI may learn their work without their permission. Could you take this opportunity to tell us what your company thinks about AI?

Ito : Because the image of generative AI is prevalent, it is often seen as the enemy of creators due to problems such as unauthorized learning, but AI is not just generative AI. For example, if you combine AI with music understanding technology, it will be possible to have AI find music that perfectly suits your tastes. If we can provide a music discovery service using such AI technology, it will not only be convenient for listeners, but it will also create opportunities for creators to listen to their music.

I think of AI as a new pen tool, and I think it is a technology that can expand the possibilities of music depending on how it is used.

Sasaki : I think that the pen tool is an analogy of an everyday tool used by craftsmen and students alike, and I think it is a good expression. Although the product name does not have "AI" in it, the singing voice synthesis software "Hatsune Miku NT (Ver.2)" that we updated in March this year actually incorporates AI. I think many people have the image that "AI-based singing synthesis software = software that can make a singer sound just like a human", but we want to value "singing voices that retain the characteristics of a virtual singer" that are different from humans, so rather than using AI to reproduce realistic singing voices, we incorporate AI as a tool to make creators' work more efficient.

- What kind of functions specifically are there to make creators' work more efficient?

Sasaki : It is a function that automatically adjusts the intonation, pitch curve, vibrato, etc. that are suitable for the expression of the singing voice that the creator is aiming for by the AI built into the vocal editor. This makes it easier to express the ideal singing voice.

Koizumi : Of course, creators can make adjustments freely at their own discretion.

In traditional tuning, in order to shape the ideal in your head from scratch, you first have to do the preparations, then edit it to your own style, which can be quite a hassle, so I hope that you will make full use of these AI assist functions and leave the work that AI can do to a certain extent, so that you can concentrate on the more creative parts.

Ito : I talk about AI in Chapter 7 of "The Future of Creation," so I hope you will read that as well.

-Finally, we would like to ask Mr. Sasaki and Mr. Koizumi, who cooperated as the second conversation partners with President Ito. Please tell us the most memorable episode related to "creation" that has happened since you joined the company!

Sasaki : This is not related to the pen tool that we just talked about, but I think "creating" is an everyday tool, everyday act that is always with us. Before developing Miku, which is almost 20 years ago, President Ito was very interested in the potential of the "QR codes" that you see on the tables of restaurants nowadays, and he would say things like, "I feel like this has potential, but what do you think would be interesting to use it for?" He also launched an online sound editor (free service) called "Voon" that anyone can use, and said, "It would be great if this made sound editing more accessible and interesting things could happen." I remember learning from this that the attitude of not being bound by common sense and incorporating new perspectives is what "creating something" is.

Koizumi : This isn't about something I created myself, but President Ito has been nurturing people who "create tsukuru" (create something for the creators) for over 30 years. I have been trained for over a dozen years, and especially since I became a team manager in 2019, I have learned business operations, member management, and how to be a person, sometimes by hand and sometimes by watching.

I strongly feel that the reason I am always eager to try new things and continue to challenge myself to create products and services is because I have continued to learn the attitude of "creating tsukuru".

This is the "creation" episode that has left the biggest impression on me and continues to this day.

-Thank you everyone!

Episode 3 will feature a talk with people in charge of character-related businesses. Please look forward to it!

Mai Shirai
Crypton Future Media, Inc. / Marketer
Joined Crypton Future Media, Inc. in August 2018. Public relations officer. Recently, I was happy to see the Hatsune Miku episode of the TV show "New Project X" and the book "The Future of Creation".