Mini-karaoke booths are spreading across the country and gaining popularity among young people. (Photo: Li Hao/GT)
Karaoke is one of the most popular pastimes among young people in China. Ordering a spacious singing room and spending hours with a group of friends singing, laughing and enjoying each other's company is a relaxing and common social scenario. However, when the traditional elements of entertainment go digital, it penetrates deeper into young people's lives and changes their lifestyles and the way they socialize.
The rise of mini-KTVs
If you often go shopping in Beijing, you will notice karaoke booths that look like a telephone box in many shopping areas. This is the latest combination of digital-tech and traditional entertainment, and it is gaining increasing popularity among young people.
As opposed to old-fashioned Karaoke rooms, the small karaoke booths are all self-serviced and people can use the system and pay for the bill using their WeChat account by simply scanning a code. All performances are automatically recorded and sent to users' phones through WeChat, which can be shared on different social media platforms.
"It's super convenient and flexible. I can book the booth for at least 15 minutes and get a moment to myself, which is a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city," said a 26-year-old user surnamed Liu. "I don't need to organize a big party for karaoke anymore. Now I can just enjoy it by myself, or ask one or two friends to join me."
Liu said that the mini-KTV booth provides greater privacy, and it is appealing to people like her who are too shy to sing in front of a crowd. "The traditional KTV is booked by the hour, which is kind of time consuming, and oftentimes you don't get a chance to sing when there are a lot of people," she said.
In addition to privacy, the mini-KTV booth provides a new option for dates. Instead of going out to dinner or a movie, many couples can visit the booth and have fun performing love songs.
"It's romantic and much more fun. I'm thinking of recording an album with my husband in the mini-KTV booth on our anniversary," said music lover Yolanda Gu, 29, a senior manager in the IT sector.
Mini-KTV booths first hit the market about a year ago and quickly spread from Guangdong and Fujian provinces to the whole country. Now they are widely seen in shopping areas in hundreds of cities in China and have been dubbed as a "harvesting machine of customers' fragments of free time" by Chinese media for its great attraction to young people. The current common brands are Mbar, Mida MiniK, Lingda Minik and WOW, and the competition is growing fierce.
A new way of socializing
Moreover, mini-KTV booths are connected with online singing apps, another digitalized service based on traditional karaoke, and by clicking a button on your phone, one can upload his or her songs directly to those apps and interact with friends online.
In fact, various singing apps are enjoying growing popularity among young people and have created numerous online communities, changing the way that people socialize.
Keke (screen name), a regular user of one of the main singing apps Quan Min K Ge, is one of them.
"I have made many friends with the same hobbies and interests through this platform, and I think this kind of 'socializing through singing' makes a lot of sense," said Keke, whose songs attract tens of thousands of listeners on the app.
Keke started to use the app about two years ago and joined an online community through the platform where he communicates with other members.
"You can join different groups, or what we call 'families' on the app, and people in the family will support and learn from each other."
He said there is a hierarchy system within the family based on your singing experience, and one can be "promoted" into higher levels by the quality of his or her recorded songs.
Working in the finance sector in Beijing, Keke has never had professional voice training. After learning from his singing "family" and regular practice, he has improved greatly and has become a lead singer. The experience brings much fun and joy to his routine life, and some members in the community have also become his good friends.
"We were strangers from different places but are closely connected by our common love for singing, which is amazing. The chemistry in the family is really good," said Keke.
Ruan Shaohui, a regular user of another singing app called Chang Ba, which loosely translates into "Singing Bar," echoes Keke's opinion.
"It bridges geographical limitations, and I can make a lot of friends who love music from different cities and provinces," said Ruan.
He has been using the app for a year and has more than 6,000 fans on it so far.
The app scores each user's performance; various ranking lists based on different elements, such as location, popularity and scores, are updated in real time. Ruan often communicates with those who sing well and stand out.
"We listen to each other's songs, talk about music, and become good friends," Ruan said.
Gu also uses singing apps, and she thinks different apps meet different socializing needs. For apps like Quan Min K Ge, which are linked to WeChat and QQ, one can directly link their "daily social circle" with the app and interact with one's real-life friends through music, while apps like Chang Ba create a brand new "online singing ecosystem" and virtual communities where people socialize with each other, she explained.
"I think the former makes more use of daily social contacts and helps expand our circle, while the latter creates a new circle, including many online celebrities," said Gu.
Improving innovations
The social culture around singing also attracts many expats, and some of them like the recent innovation of mini-KTV booths, too.
Manya Koetse, a sinologist and chief editor of What's on Weibo, a website reporting social trends in China, is one of them.
"I like karaoke. It is fun and makes it easy to break the ice, even if you do not know people very well," she said.
Koetse loves mini-KTV booths and is impressed by the innovation.
"The fact that you just need your phone to make use of karaoke is convenient and fun. China is way ahead of other countries in terms of app development and high-tech entertainment," she said.
However, despite its popularity, the mini-KTV booths are still in their early stages and have a lot of room for improvement. The most criticized aspect is the high price of use.
"It's too expensive. I paid about 12 yuan for one song. That's a bit too much," said Gu.
Many others, including Koetse and Liu, agree. One can either pay for a certain amount of time in the booth or pay by the song. The prices also increase when there is higher usage. Some users also suggest that free WiFi should be provided inside the booth.
In addition, the mini-KTV booths are not foreigner friendly.
"There should be other ways to use the system than WeChat. As a foreigner, it is difficult to use WeChat to pay if you don't have a Chinese bank account," Koetse said, adding that bilingual instructions would also be nice.
However, Koetse is optimistic about the future of this new high-tech entertainment.
"I know that they will also move to Singapore and other Asian countries, and I am sure it will be a trend there too," she said.
