We all know what Karaoke is, a very popular form of entertainment, where people sing along to recorded music, while reading the lyrics from a display screen, usually with the aid of a microphone. But do you know the origin of Karaoke?
How Karaoke Started?
It all started in the 1970s with a Japanese singer called Daisuke Inoue. He was the first person to record songs, which were subsequently sold to people to sing along too. The average song was sold for a 100-yen coin (+/- 40 pence), a lot of money in them days as it equated to the price of two typical lunches. Its popularity soon increased and the first form of Karaoke soon spread to various Restaurants and bars. After becoming popular in Japan, Karaoke spread to East and Southeast Asia during the 1980s and subsequently to the United States, Canada and other Western countries.
The First Karaoke Machines
The first Karaoke machines used cassette tapes to record the songs, but as technology advanced, they were soon superseded by CDs, VCDs , laserdiscs and currently DVDs. In 1992 the X2000 Karaoke machine was invented. It included a dial-up telephone network, which enabled continuous music updates. As it was also smaller in size, it gradually replaced the more traditional machines.
Currently karaoke machines connecting via fibre-optic links are available on the market, which provide instant high-quality music and video.
But unlike you would have expected, the patent for the sing-along machine is not held by Inoue but by a Filipino inventor, called Roberto del Rossario. He invented the Minus-One, for which he received his patents in 1983 and 1986 following a legal battle with a Chinese company who claimed to have invented the karaoke machine.
In the early years Karaoke was initially seen by many people as simply a method for the intoxicated to embarrass themselves. But as the available music selections increased, more and more people within the industry saw it as a very profitable form of entertainment. Where Karaoke was first found in a few restaurants and hotel rooms, karaoke is now organised by various bars and clubs up to seven nights a week. The classic stand alone machine has been replaced by high quality sound systems, including multiple display screens, light effects and dance floors.
So as you can see, Karaoke has come a long way and will remain a popular form of entertainment in years to come.