JOYSOUND is a premier Japanese karaoke brand, managed by XING INC., musical entertainment and content provider pioneer, which is also a subsidiary of Brother Industries, Ltd.

Formed in 1992, JOYSOUND became Japan’s first broadcast karaoke brand. Until that time, the Japanese karaoke industry utilized physical media such as cassettes, CDs, laser discs for shop and home use.

A Brother Industries, Ltd. venture team transformed this analog market by developing revolutionary new techniques in digitizing songs to MIDI format and employing networks for new song broadcasting, allowing users swift access to a large number of just-released music to which they could sing along, thus launching Japan’s karaoke boom.

This “boom” has expanded along with the growth of high speed networks, and continues to spread across the world. For our business use karaoke (Japan domestic market), we currently boast a massive music catalog of more than 300,000 songs(*1), more than anyone else in the industry, so it’s possible to enjoy singing not only Japanese tunes, but songs from all over the world.

Advances in the field of karaoke are not simply defined in terms of improving audiovisual quality or delivering the latest songs. It is now possible to harness the power of the web and social networks to introduce an entirely new level of karaoke experience. The potential of this connectedness can easily be seen in another incredible feature: the “Nationwide Sing-Off”. You can ask JOYSOUND karaoke to test your skills by grading your singing performance. Thanks to the wired network, users can save their scores on our cloud, allowing them to compare results and go head to head against singers all over the country.

In 2006, JOYSOUND launched the karaoke social network UTASUKI. In this ground-breaking service, users create their own online page from their mobile phone or PC, curate a list of favorite songs along with their own personal song history, and then easily access it during a visit to their favorite karaoke shop. Even better, you can utilize the performance camera feature in select JOYSOUND karaoke spaces to shoot movies of your performances. Share them online with your friends or do a virtual collaboration with up to 5 different people.UTASUKI now boasts a membership of over 10 million users.

Thanks to recent innovations in JOYSOUND technology, many karaoke systems now come equipped with a connector which allows users to hook up musical instruments like a guitar or keyboard, enabling you to play along with your favorite karaoke song and practice your instrument at the same time. Combined this with the UTASUKI movie feature and musicians who have never met can bring their own instruments to their favorite JOYSOUND karaoke, shoot a video of themselves playing the same song and then link together to make their own online “Virtual Jam Music Video ” they can view any time.

Japanese karaoke shops are renowned worldwide for their high quality and spotless rooms, but towering above these stands the JOYSOUND brand, a leading karaoke chain outfitted with the latest in cutting-edge technology, spaces and sound environments possessing incredible acoustics, delicious food and superlative service.

For example, an array of showcase spaces can be found at our JOYSOUND flagship shop in Shinagawa, Tokyo, which includes: a high-spec VIP Room, ladies-only spaces, 40 person capacity party rooms and room with stage, the “Gibson Room” in which you can try your hand at playing authentic Gibson guitars, a high resolution audio room for experiencing the best possible sound, and a space where you can stream your performance live online. In all, 72 different types of karaoke spaces are available.

Operating hours for each shop are typically from noon to early morning of the following day. Equally accessible after a hard day at work or school, you can even sample the JOYSOUND experience while on a visit to Japan and many find it the perfect space to spend a few relaxing hours in a comfortable environment with delicious food, making new friends or deepening friendships.

“Music Entertainment: wherever, whenever, with anyone” perfectly sums up our philosophy here at JOYSOUND. For example, JOYSOUND was the first to introduce a downloadable mobile phone ringtone service for the Japanese market. This service arose from technology developed for converting karaoke song MIDI data and transmission for mobile phones.

Following this, networked applications of this karaoke-based music data spread to a variety of platforms, including PCs, mobile devices, TVs and games, delivering content that includes music and lyrics, guitar tutorials, video, games and educational material.

When you want to enjoy karaoke in Japan, here is a guide to help you enjoy your Karaoke experience!!