| History Of Karaoke cont' |
| TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS & THE KARAOKE BOX: |
| Though Karaoke was at first an entertainment mainly for business people, it has grown to be a nationwide amusement, thanks to technological development and a new business called the "karaoke box." Originally in the form of tape of a popular song's accompaniment, Karaoke evolved to the large laser disk and then to the compact disk, which can locate the beginning of a song immediatly. This development also made possible the enhancement of video scenes to create an atmosphere suitable to each song, displayed on a TV monitor along with the words. Using technological innovations such as the video disk, laser disk,and CD graphics, Karaoke has grown to be a mojor entertainment industry. Family-use Karaoke sets have also become popular, making the amusement formerly limited to night spots possible in the home. However, there is an obstacle to this end of the business: since most Japanese houses stand close to each other and are built of wood, with poor soundproofing, it would be very annoying of the neighbors to sing into a microphone at night. Seizing upon the opportunity created by this problem, entrepreneurs created the Karaoke box, a roadside facility containing closed-door insulated rooms for singing. They are advertised as a place where you can sing to your heart's content. The first Karaoke box appeared in 1984 in a rice field in the countryside of Okayama Prefecture, just west of the Kansai area. It was built from a converted freight car. Since then, karaoke boxes have been built on unoccupied grounds all over Japan, and in urban areas, Karaoke rooms, which consists of compartments made by partioning and soundproofing rooms in a building, were introduced and set up one after another. As these facilities were established mainly to provide places to enjoy singing, they became widely popular among all sectors of the population--female office workers, housewives, college students, and even high school students. |
| KARAOKE'S UNEXPECTED EFFECT: |
| Since Karaoke boxes are closed-door facilities, they became an object of public concern as potential havens for misdeeds among young people. On the other hand, however, since not few families enjoyed singing together in Karaoke boxes, the Karaoke box also plays a role as a place for family communication through singing. This is important at a time when generation gaps and family breakups are a nationwide concern. Now, the Karaoke boom has spred abroad, enjoyed not only in Korea and China, but also in Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe. Since Karaoke displays the words and scenes of a song on a monitor, it has also been attracting the attention of countries trying to improve their literacy rate, as a good educational tool. It is likely that Karaoke, the entertainment industry born in a small spot in Kansai, will continue to make further strides in both technological development and popularity. It is said that since the popularization of records, radio, and Tv, people have become passive receivers of entertainment. The advent of Karaoke might help correct this phenomenon and make a great contribution to the history of musical entertainment. AND THAT IS THE REST OF THE STORY... |
