Popakademie publishes White Paper on “Virtual Music Artists”
15. June 2026
The Popakademie Baden-Württemberg has published a new edition of its white paper series, Popakademie DIGITAL. The paper is based on the bachelor’s thesis by Marie Imkeller (Music Business B.A.), supervised by David Stammer (Project Manager for Digital Innovation).
Avatars and virtual elements in the presentation and marketing of artists have been a topic of discussion long before the recent developments in AI. In Popakademie DIGITAL #7 - Virtual Music Artists, author Marie Imkeller (B.A. alumna) describes various types of presentation based on the categories 1) purely virtual (e.g., Hatsune Miku), 2) hybrid (e.g., Gorillaz), and 3) real artists with virtual elements (e.g., Travis Scott). She explores the history, technical background, and content strategies of virtual music artists and examines differences between the U.S./Europe and the Asian region. The analysis is based on a review of 90 artist projects that the author has compiled in an openly accessible database. Through Popakademie DIGITAL, the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg regularly publishes white papers on topics related to the digital music industry and current trends in the sector. The series is conducted at SMIX.LAB (Social Music Innovation and Experience Lab), the Popakademie’s digital competence center.