S.Korean karaoke machine leader TJ Media enjoys post-pandemic boom

South Koreans’ love for singing is no secret, and with the lifting of social-distancing rules in the post-pandemic era their suppressed desire for singing has exploded, pushing the country’s karaoke industry back into full swing.

Thanks to the red-hot karaoke market, Korea’s No. 1 singing machine manufacturer TJ Media Co. reported an earnings surprise for the first quarter of this year, according to the company on Friday.

The Kosdaq-listed karaoke machine maker reported 1.7 billion won ($1.3 million) in operating profit for the January-March period, up a whopping 250% from the same period last year. Sales also jumped 59% on-year to 23 billion won.

The company’s stellar performance was largely owing to brisk sales of both karaoke machines and digital song search devices at home and abroad, the company explained.  

Sales of its mainstay product all-in-one singing machines in the quarter more than doubled to 9 billion won from the prior year, while digital song index device sales climbed 50% to 9.6 billion won.

Especially, demand for its digital song index devices from Japan was too high to meet, resulting in supply shortages, the company said, attributing its explosive popularity to the post-pandemic entertainment boom.

Its digital song index is sold in a personal digital assistant (PDA)-type device, which allows users to find songs even with only the partial name of a singer or a song title or partial lyrics.

POST-PANDEMIC BOOM

COVID-19 took a big toll on industries across the board in the past three years, and the singing machine industry was one of the hardest hit due to a nationwide ban on gathering to prevent the spread of the virus.

People immediately avoided visiting noraebang, Korean karaoke establishments with many private singing rooms, leading to the closure of many noraebang operations in the country during the pandemic.

But with the economy reopening last year, people have started visiting them again and TJ Media’s sales also rebounded.  

TJ Media’s sales last year were already triple those of its rivals, making it an unrivaled leader in the Korean singing machine market. The latest earnings results further cement its dominance.

The Korean karaoke leader expects to set a new earnings record this year on a rise in prices of its karaoke machines and content, which will be reflected starting in the second quarter.

The party has just begun, and the amateur singing machine market is expected to be on a roll, especially after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise rendition of “American Pie” at the White House last month during his state visit to the US.

TJ Media founded in 1981 is ready to meet the surging demand for singing with its wide range of product lineup, covering everything from all-in-one on-stage singing machines for group singing and coin-operated individual singing facilities to home karaoke systems.

Write to Yu-Rim Oh at our@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.