GACKPOID article translation~
This is old news, nothing new, sorry! XD I just didn't get around to posting it here till now (it's been up at EnY, and there will be more articles about GACKPOID put up very soon.) This article was translated by Sweiled and I together, and we did quite a bit of work together on the other GACKPOID ones as well, because of all the complicated techy terms. ^^; She did the first part, and I did the part where it starts talking about copyrights. Enjoy!
Pease do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission. Thank you~
How GACKPOID came to be
Did you notice that the “Nico Nico Douga Time Signal” (the one that goes “Ni~co Nico Douga♪”) has been changed since April 30? “Is this Gackt’s voice?” The internet was abuzz with this topic during Golden Week. [1]
There was an article posted on nico nico news which said that a new product involving Gackt would be released at the end of the May consecutive holidays [1] and that this new software would use the same VOCALOID 2 engine by Yamaha Corporation which was made famous by Hatsune Miku. (Related article)
[1] Golden Week, or the May consecutive holidays, refers to a period of holidays celebrated in Japan during the first week of May. The holidays are on April 29, May 3, May 4, and May 5.
As the article was posted on April 1, a lot of people thought that it was an April Fool’s joke at first, but at the end of the holidays on May 7, INTERNET Co., Ltd. announced the release of がくっぽいど VOCALOID which uses Gackt’s voice. Turns out that it wasn’t a joke, but was real news after all!
So this writer then quickly requested an interview with the representative director of INTERNET Co. Ltd., Murakami Noboru, and I grilled him on topics ranging from the facts behind the development of GACKPOID and its differences with Hatsune Miku, right down to copyright issues.
GACKPOID is real after all
I: So the nico nico time signal really was Gackt’s voice
M: Yes. We had been using Gackt’s real voice up till now, but it was changed to GACKPOID’s voice from April 7 00:00 a.m. onwards. There is also a sample song on the sample page for users to try, so you can listen to it with your own ears. (Link)
I: I think there were a lot of people who thought that the April Fool’s news was a joke since it involves a huge artist.
M: That’s right. That’s what we were aiming for. If it’s (posted on) April Fool’s Day, a lot of people will think that it’s a joke. We also took a “no comment” stand for inquiries. In fact, most of the reactions on the internet were, “It (has to be) a joke.” To be honest with you, we were hoping for that to happen. This way, the news would create more of an impact when we did announce it.
I: Torturing them, in a way. What’s the difference between GACKPOID and Hatsune Miku?
M: They both use the same VOCALOID 2 software engine.
Both of them were released under a licensing agreement with Yamaha, so their basic functions are similar. But we are trying to come up with ways to make GACKPOID easier for beginners to use.
We are planning to include a few sample songs that we have mixed/arranged ourselves. We will be using 2 of Gackt’s songs for this. We will include the melody, lyrics, and intervals as part of the VOCALOID data so the users can edit them freely. It’s not that difficult to edit the data for the lyrics so we hope that even those who are trying out VOCALOID for the first time can have a fun time doing it.
We created this software based on a demand for a male voice.
I: Even so, it’s still surprising that Gackt agreed to take part in this project.
M: Gackt did the voice tone [2] and bolster [also called ‘body pillow’], among other things, with Dwango. The voice tone is the one that goes “You’ve got mail, xx-chan,” and our company handled the voice synthesis engine for that. If we asked anime voice actors to do this, this software wouldn’t be any different from Hatsune Miku. In that sense, asking Gackt is the best option.
[2] Chaku voice is similar to ring tones except that it uses the voice of a real person, usually artists, instead of ringing sounds/tones.
I: I think the main reason why Hatsune Miku reached such sudden popularity was because a female voice is used for that character. Before that there was a VOCALOID which used a male voice, KAITO [3], but it didn’t attract much attention.
[3] KAITO was created using the first VOCALOID engine by Yamaha.
M: Part of it is probably because there are more male users, so a female voice is more popular. But (since most of the users are male), we think it’s better to have them do it with a male voice rather than a female’s.
Besides, I’m sure they will want to have a male voice as well and not just a female’s once they are addicted to making music. We heard that KAITO has in turn become popular because (the users) had no other male voice to choose from. I think there is a demand for male voices.
Gackt was enthusiastic (about the project) too.
I: Did anything interesting happen during the recording?
M: Gackt is also familiar with Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID and was very interested in the project. We did the recording twice because Gackt himself said, “I don’t like it (the first recording) so let’s do it again.” He worked enthusiastically on the project.
The audio data for VOCALOID is recorded using an incantation-like song that is made up of all the 50 Japanese syllables which Gackt had to sing in different keys. The recording was very difficult, but Gackt’s voice didn’t change at all even though he sang for 4 hours non-stop and I thought to myself, “(He is) a pro indeed.” The recording progressed smoothly without any breaks in between. Gackt even arranged his time according to our schedule. There weren’t any NGs either.
I: Who named it GACKPOID?
M: Gackt himself. He suggested GACKPOID when we were doing the recording and that’s how it became the name of the software.
I: The cover of the package is an illustration right? Is there a name for it?
M: Not in particular. If we were to give it a name, it would have to be “Gackt’s character”.
Illustrations can also be used for commercial or noncommercial purposes.
I: Hatsune Miku had various impacts on copyright awareness on the internet, but what is GACKPOID’s stance (on those issues)?
M: First of all, users can freely use voices and images to make songs for public release, whether or not it’s for commercial or noncommercial purposes. They are also free to use them at cell phone ringtone download sites. Of course, the copyrights for songs produced using GACKPOID belong to the author regardless of whether (the songs are used for) commercial or noncommercial purposes.
We are also planning to make the use of the character basically free as well. Aside from cases where the (character’s) image would be significantly harmed, it can be put on the internet or used in publications without regard to whether it’s for commercial or noncommercial use, and without the need for consent.
In England, the band Radiohead allows users to freely set their own prices for their music (related article). In that way, the world of music is moving forward, but I think it is just now starting with respect to videos. Because we want to increase the opportunities for its use, we want to make GACKPOID basically free.
If you think about it, it’s quite amazing that a song sung with Gackt’s voice can be free. We don’t want to run a business of rights, and so we want it (GACKPOID) to be used more and more.
We want to protect the user’s copyright consciousness.
I: Copyright problems have increasingly become a hot topic, but what do you think about this?
M: I feel that the peoples’ awareness of their rights is increasing. It’s illegal to disregard the copyrights of CDs, television programs and movies, and there is no justification for that, but the issue won’t be about these kinds of works made by professionals; the issue will become, how will the copyrights of a work created by an individual and submitted to a video sharing website be protected?
In extreme cases where a user does not want their work to be used without permission, there’s no choice but to submit it to a site where the work’s copyright is subject to being held in trust. If it’s not held in trust, then you have to expect that there will be secondary use (of the work) to some extent.
However, even if you want to put the copyright in trust, there are several (required) conditions, such as a past history of success, and there are aspects that do not make it easy for an individual to create a binding contract. And there is also the problem of the current copyright management system not sufficiently addressing the internet.
For music produced using VOCALOID, the copyright in those works belong to the creator; whether or not that copyright will be put into trust, and if it is, how the creator will choose which music publisher to (go to), should all be left to the creator’s intent. However, I think that the majority of the creators who submit their works to sites like Nico Nico Douga, more so than wanting to profit by entrusting their copyrights, they want their works to be noticed by lots of other people, and they are happy when their works become a topic (of conversation).
I: It would be nice if GACKPOID also broke big, wouldn’t it.
M: What I’m afraid of is that it will be thought of as a copycat. It may prompt a backlash in some areas, but I believe we can only continue forward. I’ll be happy if it finds acceptance.
Hereafter, we want to release more things that are on different tracks. We gain a lot of information from user communities. From the maker’s point of view, it’s scary to receive negative feedback, but we receive a lot of opinions and trends that will be useful as reference for the future.
I also believe it’s extremely significant that an outlet for (creative) works was born through the use of video sharing websites.
Source: http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/130/130797/
***
It's such a weird idea! Just the whole concept has me going, "huh?" XD When I first heard about it I couldn't even figure out what it was exactly~ I had never heard of voice synthesis software. And the sample sounds kinda freaky. XD; It's amazing how he is letting anyone use his voice so freely... If you just think of his voice as a musical instrument (a very unique one of course), then it's not so strange after all. A song made with GACKPOID may sound like him, but it will never be him! ^^ Well, it might not even sound like him, but a robot version of him. We all know he secretly wants to be a robot anyway so this is the logical first step. XD XD OH if I got it I'd soo make GACKPOID sing Cube. XD
It will be fun to hear what people come up with when it's released~
Pease do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission. Thank you~
How GACKPOID came to be
Did you notice that the “Nico Nico Douga Time Signal” (the one that goes “Ni~co Nico Douga♪”) has been changed since April 30? “Is this Gackt’s voice?” The internet was abuzz with this topic during Golden Week. [1]
There was an article posted on nico nico news which said that a new product involving Gackt would be released at the end of the May consecutive holidays [1] and that this new software would use the same VOCALOID 2 engine by Yamaha Corporation which was made famous by Hatsune Miku. (Related article)
[1] Golden Week, or the May consecutive holidays, refers to a period of holidays celebrated in Japan during the first week of May. The holidays are on April 29, May 3, May 4, and May 5.
As the article was posted on April 1, a lot of people thought that it was an April Fool’s joke at first, but at the end of the holidays on May 7, INTERNET Co., Ltd. announced the release of がくっぽいど VOCALOID which uses Gackt’s voice. Turns out that it wasn’t a joke, but was real news after all!
So this writer then quickly requested an interview with the representative director of INTERNET Co. Ltd., Murakami Noboru, and I grilled him on topics ranging from the facts behind the development of GACKPOID and its differences with Hatsune Miku, right down to copyright issues.
GACKPOID is real after all
I: So the nico nico time signal really was Gackt’s voice
M: Yes. We had been using Gackt’s real voice up till now, but it was changed to GACKPOID’s voice from April 7 00:00 a.m. onwards. There is also a sample song on the sample page for users to try, so you can listen to it with your own ears. (Link)
I: I think there were a lot of people who thought that the April Fool’s news was a joke since it involves a huge artist.
M: That’s right. That’s what we were aiming for. If it’s (posted on) April Fool’s Day, a lot of people will think that it’s a joke. We also took a “no comment” stand for inquiries. In fact, most of the reactions on the internet were, “It (has to be) a joke.” To be honest with you, we were hoping for that to happen. This way, the news would create more of an impact when we did announce it.
I: Torturing them, in a way. What’s the difference between GACKPOID and Hatsune Miku?
M: They both use the same VOCALOID 2 software engine.
Both of them were released under a licensing agreement with Yamaha, so their basic functions are similar. But we are trying to come up with ways to make GACKPOID easier for beginners to use.
We are planning to include a few sample songs that we have mixed/arranged ourselves. We will be using 2 of Gackt’s songs for this. We will include the melody, lyrics, and intervals as part of the VOCALOID data so the users can edit them freely. It’s not that difficult to edit the data for the lyrics so we hope that even those who are trying out VOCALOID for the first time can have a fun time doing it.
We created this software based on a demand for a male voice.
I: Even so, it’s still surprising that Gackt agreed to take part in this project.
M: Gackt did the voice tone [2] and bolster [also called ‘body pillow’], among other things, with Dwango. The voice tone is the one that goes “You’ve got mail, xx-chan,” and our company handled the voice synthesis engine for that. If we asked anime voice actors to do this, this software wouldn’t be any different from Hatsune Miku. In that sense, asking Gackt is the best option.
[2] Chaku voice is similar to ring tones except that it uses the voice of a real person, usually artists, instead of ringing sounds/tones.
I: I think the main reason why Hatsune Miku reached such sudden popularity was because a female voice is used for that character. Before that there was a VOCALOID which used a male voice, KAITO [3], but it didn’t attract much attention.
[3] KAITO was created using the first VOCALOID engine by Yamaha.
M: Part of it is probably because there are more male users, so a female voice is more popular. But (since most of the users are male), we think it’s better to have them do it with a male voice rather than a female’s.
Besides, I’m sure they will want to have a male voice as well and not just a female’s once they are addicted to making music. We heard that KAITO has in turn become popular because (the users) had no other male voice to choose from. I think there is a demand for male voices.
Gackt was enthusiastic (about the project) too.
I: Did anything interesting happen during the recording?
M: Gackt is also familiar with Hatsune Miku and VOCALOID and was very interested in the project. We did the recording twice because Gackt himself said, “I don’t like it (the first recording) so let’s do it again.” He worked enthusiastically on the project.
The audio data for VOCALOID is recorded using an incantation-like song that is made up of all the 50 Japanese syllables which Gackt had to sing in different keys. The recording was very difficult, but Gackt’s voice didn’t change at all even though he sang for 4 hours non-stop and I thought to myself, “(He is) a pro indeed.” The recording progressed smoothly without any breaks in between. Gackt even arranged his time according to our schedule. There weren’t any NGs either.
I: Who named it GACKPOID?
M: Gackt himself. He suggested GACKPOID when we were doing the recording and that’s how it became the name of the software.
I: The cover of the package is an illustration right? Is there a name for it?
M: Not in particular. If we were to give it a name, it would have to be “Gackt’s character”.
Illustrations can also be used for commercial or noncommercial purposes.
I: Hatsune Miku had various impacts on copyright awareness on the internet, but what is GACKPOID’s stance (on those issues)?
M: First of all, users can freely use voices and images to make songs for public release, whether or not it’s for commercial or noncommercial purposes. They are also free to use them at cell phone ringtone download sites. Of course, the copyrights for songs produced using GACKPOID belong to the author regardless of whether (the songs are used for) commercial or noncommercial purposes.
We are also planning to make the use of the character basically free as well. Aside from cases where the (character’s) image would be significantly harmed, it can be put on the internet or used in publications without regard to whether it’s for commercial or noncommercial use, and without the need for consent.
In England, the band Radiohead allows users to freely set their own prices for their music (related article). In that way, the world of music is moving forward, but I think it is just now starting with respect to videos. Because we want to increase the opportunities for its use, we want to make GACKPOID basically free.
If you think about it, it’s quite amazing that a song sung with Gackt’s voice can be free. We don’t want to run a business of rights, and so we want it (GACKPOID) to be used more and more.
We want to protect the user’s copyright consciousness.
I: Copyright problems have increasingly become a hot topic, but what do you think about this?
M: I feel that the peoples’ awareness of their rights is increasing. It’s illegal to disregard the copyrights of CDs, television programs and movies, and there is no justification for that, but the issue won’t be about these kinds of works made by professionals; the issue will become, how will the copyrights of a work created by an individual and submitted to a video sharing website be protected?
In extreme cases where a user does not want their work to be used without permission, there’s no choice but to submit it to a site where the work’s copyright is subject to being held in trust. If it’s not held in trust, then you have to expect that there will be secondary use (of the work) to some extent.
However, even if you want to put the copyright in trust, there are several (required) conditions, such as a past history of success, and there are aspects that do not make it easy for an individual to create a binding contract. And there is also the problem of the current copyright management system not sufficiently addressing the internet.
For music produced using VOCALOID, the copyright in those works belong to the creator; whether or not that copyright will be put into trust, and if it is, how the creator will choose which music publisher to (go to), should all be left to the creator’s intent. However, I think that the majority of the creators who submit their works to sites like Nico Nico Douga, more so than wanting to profit by entrusting their copyrights, they want their works to be noticed by lots of other people, and they are happy when their works become a topic (of conversation).
I: It would be nice if GACKPOID also broke big, wouldn’t it.
M: What I’m afraid of is that it will be thought of as a copycat. It may prompt a backlash in some areas, but I believe we can only continue forward. I’ll be happy if it finds acceptance.
Hereafter, we want to release more things that are on different tracks. We gain a lot of information from user communities. From the maker’s point of view, it’s scary to receive negative feedback, but we receive a lot of opinions and trends that will be useful as reference for the future.
I also believe it’s extremely significant that an outlet for (creative) works was born through the use of video sharing websites.
Source: http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/130/130797/
***
It's such a weird idea! Just the whole concept has me going, "huh?" XD When I first heard about it I couldn't even figure out what it was exactly~ I had never heard of voice synthesis software. And the sample sounds kinda freaky. XD; It's amazing how he is letting anyone use his voice so freely... If you just think of his voice as a musical instrument (a very unique one of course), then it's not so strange after all. A song made with GACKPOID may sound like him, but it will never be him! ^^ Well, it might not even sound like him, but a robot version of him. We all know he secretly wants to be a robot anyway so this is the logical first step. XD XD OH if I got it I'd soo make GACKPOID sing Cube. XD
It will be fun to hear what people come up with when it's released~