Two club owners decided to have the machines in their clubs in Osaka and this catapulted the karaoke craze even further.

Realising the gap in the market for a product that let people interact with and participate in popular music, Inoue created a tape-recorder machine (the Juke 8) that played songs when money was inserted.Īt first the market was uninterested but after getting a better understanding of how the machines worked the demand for them rapidly increased. Inoue did so and it was a successful and enjoyable experience for them both. The president of a small company asked Inoue to record some of his keyboard music for him to sing along to for business clients. In Japan, providing musical entertainment is a tradition at dinners and parties and often guests of Inoue would request recordings of his music to sing along to. “Karaoke” translates to “empty orchestra”. A Japanese entertaining group created the phrase after an orchestra went on strike and a machine was used instead to play the music. The first karaoke machine was invented by Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue in Kobe, Japan in 1971 however Inoue admits to not creating the name “karaoke”. The music plays without the vocals and the songs are typically well-known. Karaoke is defined as an amateur or amateurs singing along to a song following the lyrics on a screen into a microphone.

Karaoke has become a popular interactive entertainment activity – with the global karaoke market estimated to be worth nearly $1 billion. Ever wondered where this phenomenon originated from? Surprisingly you actually enjoy screeching in front of total strangers. You’re on a night out, had a couple too many alcoholic beverages and your more outgoing friend suggests karaoke (gulp) … Together you pick your favourite song that you (hopefully) know most of the words to and sing your heart out.

Japanese karaoke