Chinanews client, Beijing, August 19 (Reporter Xie Yiguan) "How long have you not been in a KTV?" A friend asked Xiaolin when he passed a KTV retailer while shopping.

　　Xiao Lin remembered that the last time he went to KTV was on the eve of college graduation, three or five friends expressed their dissatisfaction with college time in a small space.

Nowadays, the people singing together are scattered around the world, and the KTVs are also going lonely.

KTV passenger traffic and revenue drop sharply

　　The KTV that Xiaolin and his friends passed by has closed its doors, and a notice of suspension of operations is posted on the wall.

　　Xiaolin doesn't know when KTV will open its doors again, but it is an indisputable fact that KTV passenger traffic and revenue have plummeted under the epidemic.

The picture shows the suspension notice of a KTV epidemic.

Photo by Xie Yiguan, a reporter from China News Service

　　The "General Report on the Development of China's Music Industry" released by the Music Industry Development Research Center of Communication University of China shows that in 2020, due to the superimposed impact of factors such as the epidemic, the overall passenger flow of the KTV industry will drop by 70%-80%.

　　In addition, the China Culture and Entertainment Industry Association's "Report on China's Music and Dance Entertainment Industry 2020" pointed out that the total number of karaoke establishments in China in 2020 was 47,235, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%; operating income was 59.69 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 53.3%.

　　“The continued closure of stores under the influence of the epidemic has put tremendous pressure on the company’s existing finances and will terminate the labor contract with all employees.” In February 2020, the king of karaoke "A Letter from the General Manager to All Employees" once mentioned Heat transfer on the Internet.

　　According to Dianping, the king of karaoke has been ranked first in the hot list of Beijing Entertainment Club.

Before this letter, the king of karaoke "out of the circle" was still a hot search for "Wang Sicong KTV spent 2.5 million a night".

　　After the king of karaoke, Wu Hai, the founder of Mei KTV and Orange Crystal, also published an article titled "Hey, I'm just a small, medium and micro enterprise", revealing the fixed financial expenditure of Mei KTV in December 2019. (Total 5.51 million) and the book fund balance (12 million), based on this calculation, the company can only support 2.176 months without business.

The quantity is "cut in half", the winter of KTV has already come?

　　According to the data from the enterprise search, as of March 2021, there are 64,000 KTV-related companies in my country, and 40,000 companies have been cancelled or revoked, which is a far cry from the 120,000 companies at their peak.

　　KTV closed because of the epidemic?

In fact, the epidemic is just an accelerator for the decline of the industry.

　　"In the past ten years, my country's KTV growth rate has shown an inverted'V'-shaped growth rate. In 2015, the growth rate was 11%, reaching the highest value in the past ten years. Among them, more than 50% of KTVs have been cancelled or revoked." Tianyan Check Data show.

　　The "General Report on the Development of China's Music Industry" also pointed out that in 2016 alone, the number of traditional KTVs decreased by nearly 60%.

　　Around 2015, the cash drawer, known as the "originator of KTV," closed many stores.

The cash drawer entered Shanghai in 1995, opening the era of mass-marketing KTV.

Since then, a large number of selling KTVs such as Le Sheng, King of K Songs, and Melody have entered the streets and alleys, becoming mainstream entertainment venues for young people at that time.

The former Beijing Chaowai Store of the cash drawer ceased operations in February 2015.

Photo by Xiong Ran from China News Service

　　However, the direction of the times will change.

Today, there is only one store left in Beijing, which is no longer the glory of the year.

Other KTVs are also closed in the cold winter, or are struggling to survive.

Why is KTV going downhill?

　　Since the first karaoke hall entered Guangzhou in 1988, the KTV industry has been developing in China for more than 30 years.

　　"Why do people go to KTV less now?" When this topic appeared on Weibo hot search, netizens gave various reasons. One of them was, "KTV is too slow to update the music library. Many songs no".

　　In recent years, the KTV market has to absorb the pressure of rents, increased labor costs, store upgrades, and industry competition, but also faces the issue of music copyright.

　　Since 2014, the China Audiovisual Copyright Collective Management Association has launched intensive rights protection operations.

In October 2018, the China Audiovisual Copyright Collective Management Association issued the "Announcement on Stopping the Use of Some Songs Involved in Litigation", requiring VOD (video on demand) manufacturers and KTV operators to withdraw more than 6,600 classic KTV tracks before October 31. Including many high-frequency songs in KTV.

　　The offline KTV market also faces the impact of online K song software.

"Although KTV is very fun, offline KTV functions are now available on mobile phones, and you can sing in bed, so you don't have to go offline to play." A store staff told reporters.

A KTV in a shopping mall in Fengtai District, Beijing.

Photo by Xie Yiguan, a reporter from China News Service

　　According to the "White Paper on the Development of China's Online K-Song Social Entertainment Industry in 2020", the number of monthly active devices in the online K-song industry in 2019 has approached 220 million, and the penetration rate of netizens exceeded 50%.

　　Just like, "It's not Unity, but Meituan and Ele." that is holding the throat of Master Kong's instant noodles. "It's not xylitol, but the mobile Internet that knocks down chewing gum."

"It's not your opponents, not your peers, but the times that defeats you", this sentence is also confirmed in the KTV industry.

　　Back then, the post-80s and post-90s born in KTV sang thoroughly and vented their hormones to work and family physically and mentally. Today's young people are more willing to release themselves and complete social interactions in script killings, escape rooms, and partying.

　　Do you like KTV? When was the last time you went to KTV?

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