The KTV industry has entered a downward spiral since 2015.
In 2015, the first store in Beijing, the head brand Money Cabinet, was closed, which became a turning point for the 120 billion industry to go down. Immediately afterwards, more than 80 big singer KTVs under Wanda Group closed their stores, and the same curtain call story was staged in various cities across the country, such as Xia Greenland, Hao Ledi, and King of K Songs.
The scenery of KTV for 20 years is gone forever.
Relevant data show thatIn 2015, the number of KTV business premises reached the peak of the industryMore than 120,000 KTVs are located all over the country;But by 2016, 60% of KTV stores were closed, and the number dropped from 120,000 to more than 50,000. By the end of 2022, there are less than 50,000 KTVs left in the countryThe number is not much different from the script killing stores that have only become popular in recent years.
In the story of the prosperity and decline of the KTV industry, on the one hand, it is the urban legend of the rich second generation of celebrities who spent millions overnight, and it is the most representative drunken gold fan under the "night economy", and on the other hand, it is the youth mark of the post-80s and post-90s who are gradually fading.
In August 1999, Time magazine published a special issue entitled "The 100 Most Influential People in the World in the 20th Century".
The stars are concentrated, and an unfamiliar name is prominently listed:Daisuke Inoue
Few people know who Daisuke Inoue is, but when it comes to his invention - karaoke, it can be described as a household name.
How much impact does karaoke have on people's lives?
Time magazine aptly assessed: he changed the night in Asia.
Karaoke has not only changed the nightlife in Asia, but also given birth to a huge industrial chain.
In 1971, Daisuke Inoue invented the world's first karaoke machine, and 11 of them were quickly put on bar counters and incorporated into the repertoire. There are more ** in the bar, and the atmosphere is there, but it does not attract too much attention.
About a week later, he changed his method and asked the waitress to sing first, and then invited the customers to sing along, and the effect came!”
From 6:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the microphone didn't stop for half a moment, and the guests participated.
While the atmosphere was changing, sales were soaring. ”
By making a profit from renting karaoke machines, Inoue Daisuke soon developed second, third, and all-in-one models. With the widespread popularity of karaoke machines, some large electrical appliance manufacturers in Japan have intervened in the production and development, and karaoke machines have begun to go to the world.
Karaoke entered China, first in Taiwan, and later became famous in 1989.
The first karaoke hall in mainland China was born in Guangzhou, and opened in January 1988 at the Guangzhou Dongfang Hotel. An open hall with a capacity of 60 people, a small circular stage with jukebox equipment, entertaining most of the foreign guests and people with status. In the summer of the same year, Beijing's first karaoke hall "You Song Karaoke Hall" opened, and in the following years, karaoke halls blossomed everywhere in Beijing.
According to the statistics of the Beijing Bureau of Culture, as of September 1993, there were 282 registered song halls in Beijing, and by 1995, there were more than 1,400 new cultural and entertainment venues, including song halls.
Past a night.
At seven or eight o'clock, the shops are closed, and people are ready to go to bed after watching TV. The advent of karaoke ignited people's enthusiasm for nightlife.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture originally stipulated that the business hours of the song hall should not exceed 0 o'clock, but it was gradually relaxed to 2 o'clock in the morning, and after special approval, it can be opened until 3 o'clock in the morning.
At that time, karaoke was the most high-end entertainment venue, with live bands, contracted singers, backup dance troupes, ......Such a specification configuration is naturally expensive.
In 1995, there was a ** report that a certain gentleman invited a friend to a *** singing karaoke on Dongsi South Street, and the bill at the checkout showed 1,314 yuan - 76 yuan for 2 Coca-Cola, 28 yuan for a bottle of Kesai mineral water, 45 yuan for a beer drink, 78 yuan for a pot of black tea, 198 yuan for a fruit plate, plus 15% service charge and private room fee.
What was the housing price in Beijing that year?About 5000 yuan.
That is to say,At that time, after spending four nights in karaoke, I could buy a one-square-meter house in Beijing.
As soon as the high consumption was exposed, karaoke became the target of public criticism. On August 11 of that year, Beijing issued the "Temporary Provisions on the Prohibition of Improper Acts for Profit in the Food and Entertainment Industry", which regulated the fees of entertainment industries such as song halls.
High consumption was restricted, catalyzing karaoke to start taking the civilian route.
The cash drawer is coming!
In January 1995, the first KTV in mainland China settled in Jing'an, Shanghai. At that time, people's understanding of KTV was still in the *** karaoke that ordinary people could not reach, and the arrival of the cash cabinet broke this pattern.
In 2001, Cash Cabinet entered Beijing and opened its first store in Chaowai. According to the clerk's recollection, the Chaowai store has been popular since it opened, especially from 2005 to 2009, when private rooms needed to be booked two days in advance, and even on weekdays, they would be full every night, with a monthly income of more than 10 million. At its peak, the daily income could reach more than 800,000 yuan.
Since then, cash cabinets have been opened in Guangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan and other places, and at that time cash cabinets have not only become synonymous with KTV, but even become a symbol of fashion and trends.
At that time, the cash cabinet, relying on the hot market, established its own factory, specializing in loudspeakers, audio and other equipment, opened a cash cabinet training school, and even owned a fashion magazine, which was in the limelight for a while.
In the decade after the millennium, it can be described as the first period of China's consumer market, and the vigorous and upward economic development has driven huge consumer demand. In particular, from the high-end consumption of karaoke to the civilian consumption of KTV, Melody has made great contributions.
In 2000, Melody KTV landed in Beijing and brought Japan's mass-market karaoke model.
The Japanese word for "wholesale in large quantities" means "wholesale in large quantities" and "self-service", and by extension, "wholesale style" refers to a transparent, self-help and affordable way of doing business.
Mass-selling KTV has built a new business model, such as changing the pricing model of karaoke by song, but by hourThere is no ** consumption, the price is clearly marked, and it is comprehensively upgraded and optimized in many aspects such as music library, impression, service, and box. Its main business model is to rely on low box fees to acquire customers, and the profit points are mainly in additional consumer goods such as wine and fruit plates.
Once the mass merchandising model was launched, it quickly swept the market, and KTV also completely became a mass civilian consumption. Whether it is a young person's broken love, or a businessman's business dealings, or a middle-aged person's class reunion, or even after a family dinner, KTV has become the best choice.
As a result, nostalgic golden songs collided with dice, shaking wine glasses with bright lights, and this lucrative industry began to expand rapidly, and a large number of KTV brands such as Silver Cabinet and Xile Di rushed in. Since 2003, the entire KTV industry has developed savagely across the country.
When KTV conquered the city, it coincided with the heyday of the Chinese music scene, and many pop songs spread all over the streets and alleys. Correspondingly, countless all kinds of mass merchandiser KTVs have sprung up, and "wolf howling streets" are all over the alleys around the school, with an average annual growth rate of more than 10% from 2008 to 2011.
An industry insider said, "As long as you dare to open, you can make a lot of money." At that time, no matter if you invested a few million, or even tens of millions, the fast rate of return was half a year, and the slow one to a year and a half basically paid off. ”
In 2015, the KTV industry ushered in a huge turning point. On the one hand, the number has ushered in a peak, with about 120,000 KTVs in the countryOn the other side, the tide of store closures is violently staged.
In fact, at the end of 2014, the decline of the KTV industry has been revealed, and more than a dozen stores across the country have closed one after another, and its home base of Shanghai has not been spared. By 2015, there were only 3 stores left in the country. Not only the cash cabinet, but also KTV brands such as Big Singer and Hao Ledi also ushered in a turmoil, with a significant decrease in performance and withdrawal from the market.
Why does the wind change so quickly?
A senior KTV management expert has mentioned many times that in addition to the uneven management level of enterprises across the country, a major problem faced by the KTV industry is the saturation of the market.
There are only so many cities in the country, and the number of KTV stores that can be carried in a city is limited. ”
In addition to the rapid expansion of the market brought about a high degree of saturation, the development of the mobile Internet industry in 2014 has intensified the cruel competition in the KTV industry. In order to seize the passenger flow and improve profits, under the Red Sea market, KTV has embarked on a cruel road of involution-* war.
In 2014, the company fought low prices to compete for the market, setting off an O2O money burning war. The low-price fight has triggered a huge change in the industrial pattern, and the traditional offline KTV that has been engulfed in it has also fallen into disorderly low-price competition. On ***, each KTV has become the price of cabbage, with 8 yuan to sing for 3 hours, unlimited time period;There are 94 yuan for 5 hours, free parking;There is 22 yuan for ...... to sing all night
KTV itself is an asset-heavy industry with huge upfront investment. As a result of the war, the industry, which is already facing rising labor and rental costs, has its profits being continuously thinned, with large chain brands cutting meat to survive, and self-employed people "quietly dying".
Winter has arrived, from 2015 to 2020, the number of KTV companies in the country has shrunk significantly, and in the past five years, nearly half of the businesses have not survived this "cold winter".
According to Aiqicha data, most of the nearly 68,000 enterprises operating karaoke in China are in a state of cancellation or dissolution. Only 26,917 are actually in business, which is less than half of the total. And in the last year, only 125 new karaoke stores were registered, and only 125 new stores were opened in 31 provinces and cities. Obviously, there is no new blood coming in at KTV at all, and the trend of decline is visible to the naked eye.
Is there still a chance for KTV?
In recent years, the industry has also tried to save itselfMini KTVs have been pinned on high hopes.
In 2016, mini KTV was popular with capital and blossomed everywhere. A mini KTV with a cost of only 20,000 or 30,000 yuan has entered the market in a big way, and it can be seen everywhere near shopping malls or movie theaters, which is convenient for people to go shopping and rest, eat and wait, and sing a few songs in the space before the opening of the movie, a single song is 3 yuan, and it is about 30 yuan for an hour, which is not cheaper than ordinary KTV, but it is more efficient and convenient.
In just two years, the number of domestic mini KTVs has increased from 360,000 units soared to 70,000 units, and the overall market size reached 13 units by 2018900 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 151%。
Hundred Families Help Program However,Time has proven that mini KTVs are only a symptom rather than a cure.
The diversification and online of entertainment methods make it impossible for traditional KTVs to fight back. Tencent's "National K Song", Ali's "Singing Duck", Byte's "Yinyu", and NetEase's "Sound Street" ......The big factories have collectively launched, the music library is wider, there are more functions, and the social attributes that the Internet is best at, making the **KSong app occupy the mobile phones of young people.
In the era of smart phones, clothing, food, housing, transportation, and entertainment consumption have shifted to online in an all-round way, and individual power has been improved, and young people can find any entertainment they want on their mobile phones, such as online games, variety shows, shopping, live broadcasts, online chats, etc., "The Internet has met the most refined needs of many people." ”
On the other hand, the KTV industry itself is already a "sunset industry" in the mouth of the public, with old and single.
1. Monotony, obsolescence and other problems. But it is not so much that the KTV model is backward, but more precisely, KTV is being abandoned by a new generation of young consumer groups.
In 2014, a research report showed that from the perspective of consumption power, the post-90s generation is a high-consumption group of offline KTV, accounting for 4% of the people who consume more than 500 yuan in KTV. However, in 2019, data released by Koubei and Ele.me showed that in the past year, the number of middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old who chose to spend in the afternoon session of KTV was nearly 20% higher than that of young people.
This data continues to change, Meituan App consumption data shows that in the first half of 2021 compared with the first half of 2019, the number of users in the 18 to 21-year-old age group of mass merchandising KTV nationwide decreased by 13 percent year-on-year4%, and consumption fell by 15 percent year-on-year4%。
There are various signs that the younger generation is abandoning offline KTV.
Many KTV bosses are also reflecting on the problems faced by the development of the industry, "the services that KTV can provide, as well as the management of the enterprise itself, are restricting the development of mass KTV, KTV has developed for nearly 30 years, the products provided have not changed much, there is not much innovation, young people will inevitably feel bored, and many KTVs are still hoping to make money by selling alcohol." ”
Some of the more powerful KTVs are also seeking transformation, and catering KTVs, party KTVs, and comprehensive KTVs are emerging in an endless stream. Taipei's Chun K launched its sub-brand K-Party and Windsor's sub-brand W K-Bar, which made a more fresh attempt to provide consumers with a diverse space that combines singing, partying, and bars, but the market response was still mediocre.
Its rise is also vigorous, and its death is also sudden. The rapid decline of KTV does not mean the end of the industry, it is only the inevitable result of the rapid expansion of the market in the early stage. After all, the capacity of the market is limited, and how rapid the development of the blue ocean period is, how tragic the washing of the red ocean period will be.
Benchmarking against Japan, the birthplace of karaoke culture, the karaoke industry has listed companies including First Koshang, Round 1, and Shidax. However, in China, the KTV industry has not yet entered the era of standardized management. Starting from the industry itself, the KTV industry has developed from high growth to a stage of steady growth and intensified competition, but its operation and management are still extensive.
The main work of many KTVs is still scheduling, reception, and handling complaints, and they only know how to set goals, such as setting a goal of 8 million annual revenue, but they don't know how to achieve goals through management. Practitioners in the KTV industry are generally not highly educated, and there has been a lack of talent training mechanism, which seriously restricts the development of this industry. ”
A perfect franchise system can bring brand power and customers to the enterprise, and support more effective membership management, but most of China's KTV industry is invested by individual bosses, and several people partner to open stores, and there are very few truly professional and brand operations.
The outbreak of the epidemic in 2020 is a speeder for the reshuffle of the KTV industry. The epidemic has accelerated the elimination of old production capacity, and KTVs that do not pay attention to management and cannot cope with risks have been eliminated in large numbers, "because of the epidemic, the blow area is relatively large, and some stores with good management level have also been traumatized." Relevant data show that in 2020, the passenger flow of the KTV industry fell by 70% to 80% year-on-year.
Is there really no way out for KTV?
In terms of quantity, KTV has not disappeared, but it no longer occupies the public's attention.
According to data from the China Culture and Entertainment Industry Association, although the KTV industry is becoming sluggish, it is still the largest industry in the world. In December 2020, the "2020 China ** Industry Development General Report" released by the project team of the ** Industry Development Research Center of Communication University of China showed that the scale of the karaoke market in 2019 was as high as 1034400 million yuan, accounting for 26% of the total value of the industry18%, which is the first place in the subdivision of China's leading industry.
After 20 years of brutal development, KTV has entered the stock market from the incremental market, and KTV will not die, only its era of profiteering. China's market is vast, the consumption classification is obvious, and when the tide rises, the KTV industry has flocked to it.
First- and second-tier cities compete for the biggest cake, but when the tide recedes, the sinking market may be the best direction for the sustainable development of the industry. In the sinking market, "eating, mahjong, KTV" is an unshakable three-piece set of leisure life, and the cake here may not be the largest, but it is the most stable.