Beijing karaoke supplier forms alliance with cinemas

Beijing ThunderStone Technology Co Ltd, one of the largest karaoke system suppliers in China, announced partnerships with more than 10 leading Chinese cinema operators on Sunday, its latest efforts to further expand its online-to-offline mini karaoke businesses.

The company said it had signed deals with over 10 cinema operators, including Wanda Cinema, Evergrande Cinemas, UME International Cineplex and Poly International Cinema, and is expected to provide more than 7,000 mini karaoke booths called WOW mini KTV in those cinemas by the end of 2017.

WOW mini KTV product director Lei Yifeng said the partnerships are a win-win strategy for both ThunderStone and those cinemas.

"When customers wait for movies, the mini KTV will offer a convenient place for entertainment. At the same time, the mini KTV itself will also attract more customers for those cinemas."

Equipped with everything singers need in a regular KTV room, the glass-enclosed WOW mini KTV only covers about 2 square meters and can be paid via online apps such as WeChat and Alipay. It will automatically send the saved recordings to users via personal WeChat accounts, allowing them to share the recordings on social networking platforms.

Founded in 1996, ThunderStone takes almost half of the global market share for karaoke systems, accounting for around 40,000 KTV stores, according to company figures.

Seeing the potential of the emerging mini karaoke sector, the company launched WOW mini KTV program at the end of 2016, aiming to cater to younger generations. It usually cost around 20 yuan for a 15-minute karaoke session.

Lei said the company and the cinemas will seek more cooperation in the future, such as offering cinema customers free mini KTV coupons.