Karaoke is growing in popularity. It’s a fun, and entertaining asset every bar, nightclub, and event space can utilize to bring their customers together and help them make memories with their friends or family. While surfing the internet for the best karaoke solutions you may have run into more than a few options.
We’re here to walk you through some of these options to help you find the best solution on the market for your needs.
Here’s everything you need to know:
The top four karaoke solution types
1. Subscription Services
Karaoke subscription services are the most popular karaoke solution you can invest in. These solutions ensure you always have the latest music at your fingertips. With a subscription, you never need to worry about your music offerings may be outdated or your tech needing ongoing support from your employees.
Instead, with an app, your customers can easily customize their karaoke experience to fit their needs. They can sing their favorite songs, queue their favorites, and have a full-fledged experience, without your company ever having to worry.
With a karaoke subscription service, like Singa, you can rest assured that you’re providing a high-quality experience every time. Whether you’re looking for a reliable source for your karaoke rooms or need something that can accommodate your entire bar: Singa has you covered. It’s a cost-efficient option with all the benefits you need to provide a high-quality experience for your customers every time.
Pros:
- Offer the latest songs and a large song library
- Fun, interactive, and easy to use
- Flat monthly fee for a ton of fun!
Cons:
- Optimal usage requires internet access
2. Offline Software
These are what we like to call traditional karaoke players. So handling the karaoke tracks and the legality of those tracks is up to the user. These solutions are harder to maintain and can require more upkeep than you have time for. While it can work for some KJs it can be a lot of effort for a business to handle or for any one-off events you are having. Offline software isn’t always the most reliable, either. You can’t always expect to have access to the latest songs. To upgrade your library, you‘ll need to do some research. Learn more about karaoke software options here.
Pros:
- Traditional karaoke players provide a classic feel to your space
Cons:
- Issues with the legality of tracks
- More upkeep
- Legality is up to the user
3. Plug and Go Machines
We’ll let you in on a little secret: Plug and Go Machines are a thing of the past. These karaoke solutions have a limited song selection and require manual updates. They lack the additional features your business needs to maintain a fun karaoke experience for years. This means your investment decreases in value every year. Plug-and-go machines are great for small spaces that you’re looking to liven up with karaoke. However, they can be a costly investment if you plan to use karaoke long term. Though if you are set on one you can read our karaoke machine suggestions here.
Pros:
- One time investment
- Easy setup
Cons:
- Lack of additional features of the subscription services
- Don’t offer integrations or brand customization
- Costly investment in the long-run
4. Live karaoke with a band
Who doesn’t love some good ol’ fashion live entertainment? I know we do! Live Karaoke is perfect for events, weddings, and businesses. They invite your guests to fully immerse themselves in the music and have some fun for a night! The best part is: You can make it so anyone can join in on the fun!
Pros:
- Great for events
Cons:
- Not a sustainable option for bars and casual venues
- Can be quite expensive and difficult to maintain
- Can be quite intimidating for some to participate
Finding the best solution for your needs
Best for KJs
A karaoke jockey (KJ) is someone who manages karaoke at a venue. It’s their job to keep everyone excited to sing. They often announce the song titles, turn the mic to the next singer, and keep the party going through the night. Whether you have a KJ every night or a certain day of the week: you’ll need access to high-end karaoke equipment to ensure they can get the party started.
- Subscription services: Subscription services provide karaoke jockeys with the tools they need to create an entertaining atmosphere for their customers. With access to the latest songs, you never need to worry about people asking for songs you don’t have! The subscription service also allows you to create a branded experience that helps tie the experience back to your brand.
- Offline Software: This karaoke solution is the old-school karaoke jockey solution. Some KJs prefer this solution because it’s what they’re used to. However, you may have some run-ins with the law since it’s up to the KJ to find legal access to the latest karaoke hits.
Best for private karaoke rooms
Karaoke rooms are growing in popularity. They provide a private yet public way to sing your favorite karaoke tunes with your friends and family. These rooms are great for bringing in extra revenue to your bar or nightclub. Since groups of singers will likely stay for a few hours, ordering drinks and food throughout the night. You can learn more from our Karaoke Room Business Guide here.
- Subscription services: These karaoke solutions for businesses are arguably the best for private karaoke rooms. Since these options allow for a suite of personalization and branding opportunities. Most subscription services, like Singa, have business solutions specifically designed for karaoke rooms. With these services, you can easily set up karaoke for your customers to use without your employees getting involved. They can request songs, browse the library, and enjoy the private experience the subscription service can provide.
- Plug and Go: Some spaces can make plug-and-go options work with their current setup. This works well if you just have karaoke as a nice bonus and not part of your business model. However, there are fewer customization options and more manual updates you’ll need to maintain. This can be particularly hard to keep up with if you have more than one karaoke room you’re trying to maintain.
Self-hosted venues
Bars and venues also provide an exciting atmosphere for individuals to come together and enjoy some good ol' fashion karaoke fun. With bars and venues, karaoke is the entertainment. You need a karaoke solution that your staff and easily pick-up and run with! If you are just starting with it you can get some tips on hosting karaoke nights here.
- Subscription: With a subscription, you can customize your experience and rest assured that you have the latest and greatest karaoke equipment. Subscription services make it easy to have ads displaying and background music playing.
- Live band If you have a band contracted at your venue, live karaoke can be an option. With live karaoke, you can always have great entertainment, but managing it can be expensive and time consuming for your team.
Self-service karaoke
Self-service karaoke is when you have a karaoke station in a bar or club, and anyone can just go in and sing their favorite songs on their own. These are great if you would like to have karaoke as a nice extra for your customers. This also works well in a karaoke room format as well, if you don't want to many rogue karaoke singers throughout the night.
- Subscription: With Singa Pro you have the ability to set-up karaoke kiosks where people can self-manage their own karaoke. People can simply walk by and either add songs for a iPad station, or from their phones with the Singa app.
- Plug and Go: If your venue is not too serious about karaoke and just wants a musical add on a karaoke machine set-up in a back room can be a nice touch. This can also be good to try before moving onto a karaoke subscription service.
Outdoor/Festival karaoke
Festival karaoke is becoming a growing trend as of late, as it is a sure-fire way to engage the crowd and make everyone feel like part of the experience. Its especially important to make a big splash with your karaoke and make sure everything runs smoothly!
- Subscription: With tools like mobile song request this can be an awesome and easily implemented solution, especially when paired with an epic KJ. However, a subscription might not be the most reliable option in all settings. If there’s no wifi or connection to the internet, it will be hard to provide a high-quality experience.
- Live band: Live band fits the vibe! This is the perfect solution for an outdoor festival in locations where you can't bring a subscription service. It helps you ensure you can keep the party going and provides the playful atmosphere of outdoor music festivals. This though can be intimidating for some to take part and limits the song selection.
Experience Singa today
The truth is, just because a karaoke solution is the traditional go-to setup doesn’t mean it’s always the best. The world is changing around us and continues to go digital, your bar, nightclub, or restaurant to do the same. When you upgrade your karaoke experience to Singa, you never need to worry.
Singa is one of the best subscription-based karaoke solutions. The technology is unbeaten, and the selection of music is top tier. With a subscription to Singa, you never need to worry about your customers growing bored. Singa provides a high-quality experience every time.
If you have any questions you can reach out to us at sales@singa.com to learn more about our Singa karaoke solution for business.