My first article in this series was about modern karaoke's first great format and, unfortunately, also it's first great casualty - Laser Disc Karaoke. Before karaoke was found on Laser Disc, there were vinyl records, eight track tapes, cassette tapes, even VHS tapes that featured karaoke tracks. Many of these formats, especially cassette tapes, had been relatively successful here in the U.S. and other parts of the Western world. The articles on this 'Evolution' series, however, only will deal with formats that also display on-screen lyrics.
This article is about Compact Disc with Graphics karaoke, also known as CD+G or CDG. A CD+G is essentially the same as an audio CD with the exception that there is an additional encoding placed on the disc that will display the lyrics onto an attached screen when the disc is played in a machine that has a graphics decoder. Although there is more information placed on a Compact Disc with Graphics than a standard audio CD, the CD+G will play in any machine capable of playing "regular CD's". The evolution of the CD+G followed the evolution of the audio CD by about four years; the first consumer compact disc players and discs were introduced in 1983 while the first karaoke CD+G players and discs were produced in 1987.
With the strength of the growing compact disc market as a catalyst, the compact disc with graphics grew in popularity in the late 1980's and quickly became the format of choice for those involved in the karaoke industry. The first CD+G's were not consumer oriented but designed to be used by those in the industry. Initially there were two companies that established a foothold in this karaoke format, DKK Karaoke and SAV/Nikkodo. Both these companies had Bar and Club owners, Mobile Disc Jockeys, and KJ's in mind when producing their discs. The discs being released at that time would have a mixture of all types of music - Top 40, Country, Standards, Traditional, Oldies, even Gospel and Nursery songs were more often than not found all on the same disc. This proved advantageous to the professionals in the karaoke industry but did very little to encourage sales to the consumer market.
Also a factor in keeping the normal consumer away from purchasing a karaoke machine and discs was the cost. CDG's and the machines that supported them were more expensive than comparable audio CD's and players at the time. A CD+G was twice as costly as a regular audio CD, usually selling for over while a normal music CD was priced somewhere around . The compact disc with graphics karaoke players were likewise more expensive than a typical CD player. In order to appeal to the normal consumer some changes would have to be made.
The first change came about when some healthy competition among the producers of karaoke software began. In the early 1990's many companies that were already producing karaoke cassette tapes converted their music tracks to the ever growing CD+G format. Companies such as Pocket Songs, Sound Choice, and Priddis began offering CDG's, challenging the stranglehold that DK Karaoke had on the blooming CDG karaoke market. These other companies started offering CD+G discs with single artists or single themes, as they had already produced these on their cassette and audio CD formats. Now there were discs that had a greater appeal to the average consumer than only someone using these tracks professionally. Finally someone could find several songs that appealed to their personal taste all on the same disc, instead of having to purchase a disc that only had a couple of the songs that they would actually sing. This development made DK Karaoke see the need to offer their music in this way. They stopped production of their very popular original 99 discs and re-released the same music on 110 discs, now offering discs with particular themes. One disc would have all country music, another disc would feature all oldies, and so on and so on. Also, to appeal to the average consumer, instead of offering their discs in cloth sleeves as they had done with their original 99 discs, they even began selling their discs in jewel boxes with tray cards. The public was now being enticed to get their own karaoke machine for their homes.
The increased competition of companies producing karaoke music on CD+G did not immediately result in a lower price. Wholesale prices for Sound Choice and DK Karaoke CD+G's was nearly a disc so a consumer would have to pay around a disc. Even with the huge release of karaoke CD+G's, with the song selection designed for the end user, only the most avid singers and karaoke enthusiasts were purchasing karaoke systems.
Finally, after several years, the price of quality karaoke compact discs with graphics dropped substantially. Now very few individual karaoke CDG's are priced above . Some 'Broadway' CD+G's and double or triple disc sets may hover in the range, but now you can purchase most discs for around or less. Machines have taken an even greater drop in price. A quality karaoke CD+G player can be purchased for less than 0, with features such as key control, echo control, and digital recording. These machines generally do not only play the CD+G format but also DVD, VCD, and often MP3 and MP3+g, making these machines useful for not only karaoke but also to play your movies or standard music.
So basically the evolution of the karaoke CD+G has followed the evolution of the audio CD. The audio CD has become the greatest music format of all time. Likewise, at least in the Western world, the CD+G is the greatest karaoke format that ever was. In other parts of the world the DVD and VCD reign supreme. However in the English speaking world the CD+G far outsells any other format. However there is something trotting toward us in the distant horizon, threatening the rule that the CD+G holds on the karaoke software market. Who is this masked stranger that dare threaten the CD+G kingdom? Why look! It is digital karaoke and digital karaoke will make up it's very own article, an article waiting to be written in the near future.
