Miku is the polar opposite though -- she's a character that anyone can use to create their own albums, merchandise, comics, and so forth. The real product is the software itself, which the character has, of course, so effectively promoted.

Effectively, Miku is a sort of "democratized" form of pop culture: instead of a single media company tightly controlling a pop star, it's the masses who reap the benefits.

Hatsune Miku is to Japanese pop idols what Touhou is to popular traditional franchises like Gundam -- and accordingly, has grown in popularity at nearly unheard-of rates. If we're lucky, the next few decades will have more and more of this: pop culture made by consumers, for consumers, for the benefit of consumers.