The inventor of karaoke died at 100 years old: the curious reason for having created it and why he is not a millionaire

He inventor of karaoke, Shigeichi Negishi, he died at 100 years old. Although the creation of him became an attraction that became popular in the world and remains to this day, this man is of Japanese origin He didn’t become a millionaire.

According to reports, this man born in 1923 a Tokyo, Japanhe died on January 29, but the news only spread a few hours ago.

How karaoke was invented

After what a friend heard him singing at work and made fun of himNegishi, who grew up as the director of an electronics company, thought the solution would be knowing how to sing, but with music as accompaniment, he spreads The daily mail.

So that was it 1967 presented had his first karaoke. Her name was Sparkling box, which has led other companies to create different types of equipment. It proved to be an ideal trigger for copies.

A curious fact, something that usually happens when faced with new technological phenomena, is that when their new device came out, professional singers feared it would leave them out of work.

After the release of the Sparko Box, other manufacturers made their own versions and Musician Daisuke Inoue released the 8 Juke box set four years later in 1971, often credited as the first.

however, the Japan Karaoke Industry Associationrecognized the Sparko Box as the first karaoke, underlining that it paved the way for its happy present in the world of entertainment at meetings, private parties or discos.

Because he invented karaoke and didn’t make millions

Although his idea sparked a craze across the planet, Negishi didn’t make millions because He never patented the invention.

Not only that, but they also stopped producing the Sparko Box because “He got tired of the conflict with musicians and the routine of door-to-door sales”expands specialized media.

But his daughter Atsumi Takano He confessed that he was happy to know that his idea had become something he enjoyed so much.

“He was very proud to see his idea evolve into a fun culture through songs from all over the world. For him, spending 100 years surrounded by his family was reward enough,” she concluded.

What is the origin of the word karaoke

“Karaoke” is a neologism and its origin is linked to the Takarazuka Kagekidan theater company, it spreads Nippon.com.

And we remember that in 1956 the performances were on the verge of being suspended due to a Orchestra members strike.

To avoid this, the theater company asked the Matsushima electronics company for tapes with the music and the equipment needed to play them.

The performances went off without a hitch, but the orchestra pit remained empty. In Japanese, it was a kara no okebokkusu (empty orchestra pit), expanded from Japan.

The million dollar karaoke industry

According to Karaoke White Paper 2020the year before the coronavirus pandemic, the market size of the karaoke industry was distributed as follows:

• Pub: They represented 151.3 billion yen.

• Karaoke room, individual rooms with karaoke: 379.8 billion yen

• Tourist buses, banquet halls and wellness institutes: 45.6 billion yen.

In total, the sum was approx 576.5 billion yen.

But other points must also be taken into consideration:

• Content Producer Sales: 70 billion yen.

• Content Distribution: at 272.7 billion yen.

If you add the revenue from karaoke smartphones, car navigators and televisions with internetthe total industries related to this entertainment may have reached a size of a trillion yen