Oneafternoon,whileenjoyingaleisurelystrollinherfavoriteshoppingcenterinBeijing,somethingcaughttheeyesofWangWen.The25-year-oldprofessionalwasattractedbyarowofglassboothssomewhatresemblingtelephonebooths.Afteracloselook,sherealizedtheywerenothinglessthankaraokebooths.Itwastoomuchofafinechancetohavefunandplaythepopstarforafewsongs,soshedecidedtogiveitatry.
Afterqueuingfornearly30minutes,sheandherfriendfinallygottoopenthedoorofoneoftheglassbooths,wheretheyweregreetedbyapairofdisplayscreens,barstools,headphonesandmicrophonesinasmallbutcozy2-square-meterspace,justenoughtofittwokaraokefans.
ScanningtheQRcodeonthescreenwithhersmartphone,sheconnectedtothesystemandpurchaseda15-minutepackageofsingingandfun.Theamateursingerthenbeganherperformance,singinghappilyjustasinaclassickaraokebar,alsoknownasKTVinChina.
鈥淚t鈥檚fun.Ididn鈥檛havetoinviteseveralfriendsandbookaKTVroominadvance;IcanjusthavefunbysingingspontaneouslyevenifIjusthave10minutesorsooffreetime,鈥漌angtoldChinAfrica.
Since2016,suchKTVboothshavebeenmushroomingacrossChinawithover10,000setsinstalledinshoppingmallsinthelastsixmonths.AccordingtoLuoAnwu,founderofM-Bar,oneofthemostprolificbrandsofKTVboothsinChina,hisglassboothshavealreadyappearedin135citiesacross29provinces,municipalitiesandautonomousregions.
AllowingKTVenthusiaststorecordandsharetheirperformancewiththeirsmartphone,suchminikaraokeparlorstargetmostlyyoungpeopleofthepost-80sand90sgeneration,whosefreetimeisfragmentedandforwhosharingmomentsoftheirlifeonsocialmediahasbecomealifestyle.
Amoreflexibleoption
ForWeiPengju,DirectoroftheCreativeCultureResearchInstituteatBeijing鈥檚CentralUniversityofFinanceandEconomics,thisemergingrecreationexperienceisasignofanewtrend,inwhichyoungpeopleprefertoconsumeentertainmentandculturalproductsinamoreflexibleway.鈥淚tistheresultofphysicalstoresintegratingwiththeInternet,鈥漢eexplained.
鈥淜TVboothisarealInternetproduct,fortheyintroduceInternet鈥檚featuresofsharingandentertainingtoofflineKTVclubs.Throughitsintelligentcontrolsystem,customerscanremotelyadjustthelighting,theplayingsystem,theairconditioningandWi-Ficonnectioninsidethebooth,whichallowsthemtohavecompletecontrolovertheirexperience,鈥漵aidLuo.
Suchintelligentsystemalsomeansservicepersonnelarenolongernecessary.AccordingtoKuangShi,asenioranalystonInternetcommunicationbusinessatBOCInternationalLtd.,awhollyownedsubsidiaryofBankofChina,thepriceofsuchKTVboothsgoesfrom16,000to28,000yuan($2,316$4,053),inadditiontoamonthlyrentfeeof900yuanto2,000yuan($130-$289)paidtoshoppingmalls.Besides,themonthlycostofmaintainingtheequipmentislow,ataround100yuan($14.5),accordingtoLuo.
Userfeesarealsomoreflexiblethantraditionalkaraokebars.Clientscanchoosetopayforeither15minutesorthreesongsataround20yuan($2.9).AccordingtoWei,suchboothsarealsoanexcellentmedia,whichmeansadditionalrevenuescanbegeneratedthroughadvertisement.
AccordingtoamarketresearchconductedbyKuang,thecurrentdailyrevenuegeneratedbyoneboothcanreacharound400yuan($57.9).
Shakingthemarket
Instarkcontrast,thetraditionalkaraokemarkethasbeenlookingbleakinthelastfewyears.PartyWorldKTV,whichusedtobethechampioninthissector,closedthreeofitsfourstoresinBeijinginearly2015.Inthesameyear,WandaGroupannouncedtheshutdownofitsentireKTVparlorbusiness.
LiJiachao,acultureindustryanalyst,attributedthedeclineofKTVclubstorisingrentandlaborcostsaswellasmorediversifiedentertainmentoptionsbroughtbytheInternet.
鈥淜TVbusinessesareseverelyunderminedbytheInternet.Foronething,someconsumerschoosemobilephonekaraokeappsoverphysicalKTVclubs.Foranother,newInternet-basedsalespromotionmethodssuchasgroupbuyingintensifycompetition.Toattractconsumersandsurvive,KTVclubshavehadtoconstantlycutdowntheirpricesandarenowunabletomakeendsmeet,鈥漬otedLi.ConsumersqueuingupforexperienceHouWeiliNevertheless,YangHu,founderofBeijing-basedTangchaoKTVclubs,doesnotbelievekaraokeboothswillcometoreplacetraditionalclubs.鈥淭heexperienceprovidedbyKTVclubsisthatofhavingapartyforbothsocializingandhavingfun.Butthekaraokeboothsarejustaplaceforsinging,鈥漢esaid.
ThisopinionseemstobesharedbyWangWen,whosaysthateventhoughsheappreciatedhertimeintheKTVboothshestillpreferstraditionalkaraoke.鈥淚boughtthe15-minutepackage.Howtimeflies!Ididn鈥檛evenfinishmythirdsongbecauseIspenttimeonselectingtherighttunes,andtheinstrumentalpreludesalsocount,鈥漵hesaid,notingthefeeswereabitexpensive.
ManagementissuesandrelativelyhighfeesmighthinderthedevelopmentoftheKTVboothsmarket,accordingtoYang.鈥淎sthisproductistargetingbusyconsumerswithfewandscatteredfreetime,queuingwilldiscouragethemfrombuying.Besides,asnoservicepersonnelareavailableonthespot,consumersareunabletogethelp,鈥漢eexplained.
Internet-poweredniche
Ifkaraokeboothshaveyettofullyconvinceconsumersandindustryprofessionals,theyhavebeenquicktoattractventurecapitals.
Inearly2017,M-Barreceivedaninvestmentof60millionyuan($8.7million)fromUbox,China鈥檚largestmanufacturerofvendingmachines.Aroundthesametime,BeijingKuzhiTechnologyCo.Ltd.,developerofChina鈥檚mostpopularmobilekaraokeapp,announcedastrategicpartnershipwithAimyunionTechnology,manufacturerofMedaminiKminikaraokebooths.
LeiHongzhen,ProfessorofBusinesswithShaanxiNormalUniversity,notedthatkaraokeboothscatertotheneedsofacertainnichemarketandthereforeenjoypromisingprospects.鈥淲hetheragivenbusinessmodelissuccessfulornotdependsonwhosedemandsitmeetsandhowitdoesso.Clearly,minikaraokeparlorsaremeetingyoungpeople鈥檚demandforentertainment,鈥漢esaid.
ButLuZhenwang,anInternetindustryanalyst,questionedwhethertheboothscouldbesustainable.TraditionalKTVclubscangeneraterevenuefrommultiplesources,nottheleastofwhichisbeverageconsumption.Karaokebooths,fortheirpart,canonlyrelyondirectuserfees.鈥淚ntermsofenvironment,KTVclubswinhandsdown.Whentheheatfadesaway,howmanyconsumerswilltheKTVboothskeep?鈥漚skedLu.
AsanemergingbusinesspoweredbytheInternet,theonlywayforKTVboothstosurviveandthriveisthroughconstantinnovation,expertsargue.
鈥淎dmittedly,astheyloseedgeasafashionableandchicentertainmentoption,theywillbeabandonedbyconsumers.Butasaproductofinnovation,karaokeboothscanfindafuturethroughinnovation,鈥漌eisaid.
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