What does the word "karaoke" literally mean?
In Japan, it has long been common to provide musical entertainment at a dinner or a party. In 1971, Daisoki Inoue, a Japanese drummer musician, made a tape recorder-like machine that played songs for a 100-yen coin each - and leased them out so that the stores did not have to buy new songs on their own. Soon, new businesses called karaoke boxes, with compartmented rooms, became popular.