Hitting a high note

A man sings in a Karaoke bar. Photo:IC

By Tu Lei

Finding a way to spend her free time isn't a problem for karaoke lover Zhou Bei, a 27-year-old university employee who hits the microphone about once a week at a KTV club. The quandary is deciding where to croon her favorite tunes. Convenience and a growing number of promotional discounts at the growing number of clubs make it hard for her to choose.

"In the past, I liked Kingkoo, because it's near Xi'dan, where we could shop after singing. But now, I wonder if I should go to Tango KTV, because Bank of China card owners get a 31 percent discount there now," said Zhou, who added that she spends about 50 yuan ($7.32) a session by sharing expenses with friends, sometimes as little as 30 yuan ($4.39) if she gets a bank card discount.

Zhou is not alone. The KTV competition in Beijing is hotter than her favorite artist, Jolin Tsai, between the three major KTV companies – Party World, Melody and Party Life – and thousands of smaller independent clubs in Beijing fighting to attract more wannabe Tsais and Andy Laus.

KTV competition

By the end of November, Party Life will open its third store in Beijing's Central Business District near the new CCTV tower. Two months ago, Coolth, a KTV newcomer, held a drinking party to celebrate its opening in Wangjing, a crowded Korean residential area. In May, IT valley Zhongguancun witnessed the opening of Music King, another newcomer, after Party World, Melody and Party Life had already been there for eight years.

"The KTV competition in Beijing is serious," said Yu Lei, one of the supervisors at the Party World Huixin branch. Party World has more than 10 large branches on the mainland after 15 years of development.

Yu said in Beijing alone, there are about 20 mega KTVs similar to Party World, and Chen Xiaoping, director of culture industry association in Xicheng District, said there are thousands of KTV bars in Beijing after about 20 years of the entertainment's debut in China.

The price wars are as popular as the hits they push.

At the Huixin branch of Party World celebrants can sing from noon to 3 pm every Monday for 50 yuan ($7.32), or simply 16 yuan ($2.34) an hour if they exclude the buffet.

Kilometers away at Party Life, the price is 110 yuan ($16.11) for four hours in a three-person room, or about 27 yuan ($3.95) per hour per person, including the buffet.

That's one chorus of non-peak hours competition between two huge Beijing KTVs in Beijing. At peak hours the price wars aren't as harmonic. On Saturday night, the highest price is 400 yuan ($58.59) per hour at Tango, 389 yuan ($56.99) an hour at Party Life, or drop to 128 yuan ($18.75) per person at Party World.

Party World's Yu said while strategies to ensure steady customers constantly vary with promotions most services in different KTVs is similar with the primary factor being location.

A report on the KTV industry released by consultant Zhiyan Kexin in June said most customers' preferences largely depend on partying near their homes.

Song fan Xie Jingwei is typical of those who don't like to travel too far for fun. "The Huixin Party World is my first choice because I live near it," said Xie who resides near North Fourth Ring Road.

High notes

Liu Yanan, a waiter at the six-floor Huixin Party World, told the Global Times that its 150 rooms are usually all booked before 9 pm daily.

Yu added that the Huixin branch has just gone beyond the break-even point since it opened two years ago.

"Two years ago, we spent about 100 million yuan ($14.65 million) on opening the Huixin store, with the fees covering the rent and decorations, and now, we are seeing some profits," said Yu, who added that all the four Party World branches in Beijing are currently in the black.

"The financial crisis has not dampened the services industry, and people still like to spend money on entertainment," said Yu.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that by the end of 2007, the nation had 27,207 KTVs with a total business profit of 2.2 billion yuan ($322.25 million). Updated figures won't be released until next year, according to an anonymous official at the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

In most regions of China KTV is still soaring high though some are hitting flat notes in others, said Qu Tao, an official from the culture industry market center under the MOC.

Qu added that the KTV industry has entered a mature stage, and predicted the chain KTVs will continue to expand while smaller ones will be under more pressure as the government tightens its supervision of copyright royalties, health and safety standards and criminal activities such as prostitution.

However, while the industry doesn't lack for customers such as Zhou and Xie, it does suffer from a lack of management talent to keep up with the expansion.

Savvy KTV managers are in demand and are constantly moving from one chain to another as salaries rise to lure them, said Yu. "A lack of management talent is worrisome for the industry's future development," said Yu.

Management woes don't phase the likes of Zhou, who lives till the next time she can serenade her friends with a rendition of Jolin Tsai's Dao Dai (Replay).

"At KTV it's not only about singing the songs," she said. "It's a great chance to hang out with friends, eat and just have fun."

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