Re: SeeU & Uni History lesson
ST Media has talked about this before, specifically during the livestreams for SeeU's 400th renewal edition. For those unaware, I'll give a quick summary of events that transpired over the last couple of years or so.
ST Media's Rights to SeeU
So, on this front, there's a lot of confusion about the role that ST Media plays with SeeU and that they can "bring her back." But, this is not the case and never has been. When they started selling SeeU in 2017 or so, the only rights they acquired were distribution and promotional rights; really more of a license than rights. SBS Artech, which still exists, can revoke them at any time. When they began selling SeeU on CharacterPlanet, it was the leftover stock from SBS after CreCrew had shut down. This stock had run out by 2021.
Uni's Development Issues
Like many projects, ST Media suffered greatly from the launch of VOCALOID5. As we all know, during the change from VOCALOID4 -> 5, YAMAHA had overhauled their department with a new philosophy. 3rd party companies were required to repurchase their development rights, and their current projects were effectively cancelled. By this time, Uni's Append voicebanks were in production (near completion as far as we know). As a small company that Dr. Yun founded from the success of VOCALOID EMPIRE (which was a Korean-only forum site), he was unable to continue the development of Uni and became severely depressed and ashamed.
Why Does This Matter?
Well, the situation above is why ST Media disappeared for years and only came back for certain events. However, likely due to the success of the SeeU and Uni anniversary crowdfunds, Dr. Yun uploaded the first ST Media livestream in 2023. He explained his situation regarding his mental health, his absence, apologizing, and that he hopes he can make it up to the fans moving forward. He claimed he had a new spark of hope for the project; with the start being the sales of SeeU's 400th renewal project.
But Wait; if They Don't Own SeeU's Rights, How Did They Order More Codes?
They didn't. Dr. Yun explained that some time ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic, a Chinese company had purchased a batch order of codes from SBS for SeeU activations. They wanted to distribute their own package version of the voicebank, or resell it in the Mainland. These codes never went to use, so the 400 were used for the SeeU renewal project. During the process and livestreams, Dr. Yun mentioned how even though they were allowed to do this project and use SeeU, they were not allowed to significantly alter her likeness, the name of the product, etc. He also explicitly stated that SeeU as a voice synthesis product is "dead," and to never expect any form of update. While sad, he emphasized that ST Media would continue to support SeeU as a character.
Why Don't They Just Buy the Rights?
This is something else Dr. Yun has discussed. In the livestreams with ST Media, someone did ask this exact question, and his response was that there are still many workers at SBS Artech who worked on SeeU and are attached to her. They would love to continue SeeU, but the executives at the company have opposing opinions, as SeeU was a financial blunder in addition to the scandal related to her voice provider. Dr. Yun said he felt it would be wrong and offensive to even offer such a proposition to the company.
How is This Related to Uni SV2?
While SeeU is technically another company's product, Dr. Yun worked with her for many years as a producer and fan before founding ST Media and creating Uni. She as a product means a lot to him, just like Uni is his daughter. This history and insight into the SeeU situation shows a glimpse into the struggle and perserverance that Dr. Yun, Uni, ST Media, and related members have had throughout the struggles of dealing with the death of the first pillar of the Korean VOCALOID community, and the rebirth of the second with SynthesizerV2 AI. Dr. Yun mentioned on the webpage that he would be talking about a story closer to launch, and I assume that it will be something similar (like his livestreams) detailing how much they have been through and how happy he is to have made his promise to the Korean VOCALOID community.
I liked her Vocaloid tone, but I never got super into her because I don't know any Korean. I might be tempted to get her now thanks to cross-lingual support.
