In 1971, a Japanese bandleader named Daisuke Inoue found himself in an awkward situation during an overnight trip to an onsen hot spring. A prominent client asked him to play music for him, but Inoue did not have his band with him. Instead of letting the moment pass, he recorded a tape of his band playing instrumental versions of popular songs and left it with the client. The client loved the idea so much that Inoue realized he could merge these pre-taped accompaniments with a jukebox to create a machine that allowed anyone to sing along without a live band. He commissioned 11 home-made machines called 8 Juke, each costing around 425 dollars and using 8-track tapes. These machines accepted 100 yen coins and metered out several minutes of singing time. Inoue initially loaned the machines to snack bars in Sannomiya for free, taking a portion of the monthly earnings. The machines did not take off immediately, so he hired hostesses to sing on them ostentatiously, which sparked interest. Within four years, the number of units he rented had increased from 11 to around 25,000. Despite this success, Inoue never patented his machine and eventually lost interest in the business, handing it over to his brother. By the 1980s, larger Japanese corporations had picked up the idea and started manufacturing commercial versions with better technologies like LaserDiscs. In 2004, Inoue was awarded the tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Peace Prize for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.
The Patent Holder From Manila
While Inoue was perfecting his business model in Japan, a Filipino entrepreneur named Roberto del Rosario was developing a different version of the karaoke machine. In 1975, del Rosario claimed to have invented the first karaoke-type machine known as the Sing-Along System. This machine included multiple features enclosed in a single portable cabinet casing, including an amplifier, a speaker, a double or single tape deck, an optional tuner or radio, and a microphone mixer that enhanced the singer's voice using effects like reverb and echo. The machine used cassette tapes of instrumental versions of popular songs which later became more widely known as Minus-One. Unlike Inoue's 8 Juke, del Rosario's machine was not coin-operated and did not have video, but it included songbooks with lyrics. The Sing-Along System was originally developed since the late 1960s as a teaching device for students taking singing lessons at del Rosario's Trebel School of Music. It was refashioned for amateur and recreational use from 1975 to 1977. Del Rosario was himself a pianist and owned a company, Trebel Industries, that was the leading manufacturer of pianos and harpsichords in the Philippines. He also invented and patented other audio equipment before and after the Sing-Along System. Unlike Inoue, del Rosario patented the Sing-Along System, issued in 1983 and 1986, and is recognized as the sole holder of a patent for a karaoke system in the world after he won a patent infringement case against a Chinese company in the 1990s. Despite this, he also did not profit significantly from his invention. In 1985, Del Rosario was awarded the Gold Medal for Best Inventor by the World Intellectual Property Organization for the Sing-Along System, among other awards. He was also elected to the executive board of the International Federation of Inventors' Associations and lobbied for more government support for inventors in the Congress of the Philippines, leading to the successful passage of Republic Act No. 7459, better known as the Inventor and Inventions Incentives Act of 1992.
The evolution of karaoke technology transformed it from a novelty into a global phenomenon. In the 1980s, Pioneer started to offer Video Karaoke machines that were capable of displaying lyrics over a video that accompanied the music. In 1992, a scientist named Yuichi Yasutomo created a networked karaoke system for Brother Industries called the X2000, which served up songs in MIDI format via phone lines to modem-equipped karaoke machines. This new technology swept Japan; by 1998, 94% of karaoke was being sung on networked karaoke machines. As an early form of music on demand, it could be called the first successful audio streaming service. It also allowed for big data analysis of songs popularity in real time. The technology continued to advance with the introduction of CD+G, Laser Disc, VCD, and DVD players with microphone inputs and an audio mixer built in. Most karaoke machines have technology that electronically changes the pitch of the music so that amateur singers can choose a key that is appropriate for their vocal range, while maintaining the original tempo of the song. In the 2000s, karaoke devices shifted towards the use of hard drives to store large collections of karaoke tracks and touch screen devices that allowed users to select their songs. In 2010, a new concept of home karaoke system through the use of live streaming from a cloud server emerged. The earliest cloud based streaming device, KaraOK!, was released by StarHub on the 14th of January 2010, licensing songs from RIMMS. The use of cloud streaming allows for smaller devices with over the air updates compared to costly and bulky hard drive-based systems. In 2015, Singa was launched, providing karaoke for Android and iOS mobile devices, in addition to a web browser product for a subscription fee. Other similar service providers include Smule and Starmaker. By July 2023, the YouTube channel Sing King Karaoke reached 11 million subscribers, making it the largest karaoke channel on the platform.
The Dark Side of the Song
Karaoke's popularity has not always been a source of joy. In the Philippines, at least half a dozen killings of people singing My Way caused newspapers there to label the phenomenon My Way killings. Such was the violence that some bars refused to allow the song, and some singers refrained from vocalizing it among strangers. Between 2002 and 2012, numerous fatal incidents in the Philippines occurred in connection to karaoke bars and the song My Way, popularized by Frank Sinatra. Similar violent and fatal incidents connected to karaoke bars have also occurred in other countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, and China. Prostitution became an issue implicating karaoke in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia. In Thailand, karaoke girls are brought in not only from Thailand itself but from neighboring countries and are sent to other parts of the world. Asian karaoke establishments are often fronts for gentlemen's clubs, where men pay for female hosts to drink, sing, and dance with them. In Japan, such a business is called a piano bar. In some traditional Chinese restaurants, there are so-called mahjong-karaoke rooms where the elderly play mahjong while teenagers sing karaoke. The result is fewer complaints about boredom, but more noise. Noise regulations can be an issue, especially when karaoke is brought into residential areas. Despite these issues, karaoke remains a powerful social force, used for professional training in music and public speaking, highlighting its broad appeal and impact on popular culture.
The Global Sing-Along
Karaoke has taken on unique forms in different parts of the world. In Asia, a karaoke box is the most popular type of karaoke venue. A karaoke box is a small or medium-sized room containing karaoke equipment rented by the hour or half-hour, providing a more intimate atmosphere. In South Korea, karaoke boxes are called noraebangs. The term noraebang is a Korean compound word, blending norae, meaning song, and bang, meaning room. Singing is an important part of social life in Korea, where people will perform, and be persuaded to perform, an impromptu song at virtually any social occasion. In mainland China and Taiwan, a karaoke establishment is called a KTV. In North America and Europe, a karaoke bar, restaurant, club or lounge is a bar or restaurant that provides karaoke equipment so that people can sing publicly, sometimes on a small stage. Most of these establishments allow patrons to sing for free, with the expectation that sufficient revenue will be made selling food and drink to the singers. In Australia, karaoke was gradually popularized in the late 1980s. A number of Filipino migrants brought with them their own minus-one music from cassette music tapes and video tapes purchased mainly in the Philippines. Commercially, karaoke was first introduced into Australia in 1989 by Robin Hemmings who had seen karaoke operating in Fiji. In 2021, the University of Adelaide Karaoke Club was formed, re-popularizing karaoke among the student population of Adelaide. In the mid-2010s to the early 2020s, late night talk show host James Corden ran a popular segment named Carpool Karaoke on his program, The Late Late Show With James Corden, where Corden would sing karaoke with famous celebrities such as Mariah Carey and Paul McCartney while sitting in a moving automobile.
The Art of the Performance
The digital age has revolutionized how people experience karaoke. Since 2003, much software has been released for hosting karaoke shows and playing karaoke songs on a personal computer. Instead of having to carry around hundreds of CD-Gs or LaserDiscs, karaoke jockeys can rip their entire libraries onto their hard drives and play the songs and lyrics from the computer. In 2005, Freeware Karaoke software from Thailand on Windows All In One Karaoke Player Version 2.0 has released. It can play all MIDI Karaoke file, Video Karaoke file, and Audio Karaoke file. In 2006, first released of eXtreme Karaoke is a paid software by bank transfer pay 500 THB and send to E-mail for activate license key and also can play same with All In One Karaoke Player. In 2006, Recisio was founded as a downloadable karaoke software. In 2008, eXtreme Karaoke changed from License file to HardLock, the price is 2,000 THB for software. In 2010, a new concept of home karaoke system through the use of live streaming from a cloud server emerged. The earliest cloud based streaming device, KaraOK!, was released by StarHub on the 14th of January 2010, licensing songs from RIMMS. The use of cloud streaming allows for smaller devices with over the air updates compared to costly and bulky hard drive-based systems. Recisio transitioned into Karafun, an online subscription based system in 2011. In 2015, Singa was launched, providing karaoke for Android and iOS mobile devices, in addition to a web browser product for a subscription fee. Other similar service providers include Smule and Starmaker. In August 2017, ROXI home music system launched in the UK, and later that year in the US, providing on-demand music streaming and a karaoke singalong feature called Sing with the Stars. ROXI matches songs in its cloud based licensed music streaming catalogue to a lyrics database to provide real time scrolling on-screen lyrics. The music system also uses a hand-held Wii style point and click controller with built-in microphone allowing users to select and sing along to thousands of songs from its catalogue. In 2003, several companies started offering a karaoke service on mobile phones, using a Java MIDlet that runs with a text
The Digital Revolution
file containing the words and a MIDI file with the music. More usual is to contain the lyrics within the same MIDI file. Often the file extension is then changed from .mid to .kar, both are compatible with the standard for MIDI files. Researchers have also developed karaoke games for cell phones to boost music database training. In 2006, the Interactive Audio Lab at Northwestern University released a game called Karaoke Callout for the Nokia Series 60 phone. The project has since then expanded into a web-based game and will be released soon as an iPhone application. Karaoke is now available for the Android, iPhone and other playback devices at many internet storefronts.
Karaoke continues to evolve with new technologies and cultural shifts. In 2010, karaoke taxis were available in London, England in the Kabeoke fleet of private hire vehicles. Tesla's newer cars have an infotainment system that features a Car-a-oke app. Mini karaoke box or karaoke booth is a device similar in shape and size to a phone booth, equipped with a karaoke machine inside. Typically made from soundproof glass, it can be installed anywhere and is suitable for use by one or two people. It is popular in East Asia. After the COVID-19 outbreak, karaoke bars in Japan reopened with rules such as mask wearing, mic covers, and singer must face same direction as onlookers. The global karaoke market has been estimated to be worth nearly 10 billion dollars. Karaoke's global popularity has been fueled by technological advancements, making it a staple of social gatherings and entertainment venues all over the world. The precursors of karaoke machines using cassette tapes made their first appearances in Japan and the Philippines in the 1970s. Commercial versions manufactured by Japanese companies using LaserDisc became available worldwide in the 1980s, leading to a surge in popularity. Karaoke machines are commonly found in lounges, nightclubs, and bars; as well as in-home versions which later combined with home theater systems. Over time, karaoke has evolved with digital music, video games, smartphone apps, and online platforms, allowing users to sing anytime and anywhere. Beyond leisure, karaoke is used for professional training in music and public speaking, highlighting its broad appeal and impact on popular culture. The future of karaoke lies in its ability to adapt to new technologies and cultural contexts, ensuring its place as a global phenomenon for years to come.