The first karaoke machine in South Korea was installed way back in 1991. And since then karaoke has become ingrained into the social fabric of South Korea in a huge way. In the west karaoke is seen as an occasional activity. Something done sparingly on nights out or during big celebrations. Whereas, in South Korea, it is a daily occurrence for many people.

Noraebangs, which translates to Song Rooms, are everywhere in South Korea. And they come in a huge variety of styles and sizes. From the small, more intimate booths designed for solo singers or couples. To the sprawling karaoke complexes featuring restaurants, bars, and live entertainment.

Karaoke is such a huge part of their culture that many businesses will entertain important clients at a Noraebang. Which, in our opinion, is something western businesses should start doing too! If you’re thinking of visiting South Korea then you will definitely want to try your hand at karaoke. But, with hundreds upon hundreds of amazing Noraebangs to choose from, how can you know which ones are worth seeing? Well we are here to help. Today we will be ranking the best karaoke bars in all of South Korea.

Gangnam You & Me Shirt Room

Starting off in the cultural heart of South Korea. Gangnam in Seoul is the trendiest and most vibrant place in the nation. With a thriving social scene that is second to none. You will likely remember the famous song ‘Gangnam Style’ which was an ode to the luxury and fashionable lifestyle of Gangnam.

You & Me is easily one of the best Gangnam Karaoke spots in the city. Primarily because it is so versatile. Karaoke is only one of the many entertainment activities on offer here. Alongside luxurious karaoke rooms it is fitted with a number of fully stocked bars. Managed by an amazing team who are ready to wait on you hand and foot. You will be treated like royalty during your time here. They even offer a luxury pickup service. So you can travel to and from your accommodation in comfort.

You & Me is open from 7 PM to 3 AM every day. We highly recommend booking in advance as it does tend to fill up quickly. It boasts amazing views of Gangnam too. So if you happen to be in Seoul, this is not to be missed!

Su Noraebang

This isn’t one location but rather a chain of karaoke bars across South Korea. And, arguably, it is perhaps the most famous karaoke chain in the nation. There are numerous locations wherever you go. And, the best part is, they are all open 24 hours a day! So you can get your karaoke fix whenever you want.

Many of the locations come with a variety of rooms. From single occupancy ones to large group rooms. And they allow you to record and save your singing as well. Which is a nice touch. The rooms are elegantly decorated. And, for how luxurious they feel, it is reasonably priced too.

Awesome Coin Noraebang

This is another chain of karaoke rooms that is ideal for the traveler on a budget. Rather than paying an hourly rate you pay by the song using coins. There are many venues across South Korea. The biggest and best ones are located in Seoul though. The venues are amazing social spaces too. With lively communal areas where you can meet likeminded travelers and locals.

There are a number of different sized karaoke booths. Some designed for single occupancy. And others made for small groups. Each use of one of the rooms will set you back a mere 500 South Korean Won. Which is roughly about 40 cents. These locations don’t provide food or drink. But you are welcome to bring your own refreshments into the venue. So you can enjoy some of the local street food while you sing your heart out!

Newco Music Town

Located in the Sincheon neighborhood of Seoul, this is one of my all time favorite karaoke spots in South Korea. The biggest draw here is the food. Their menu is filled to the brim with amazing local dishes. And the food is always of an extremely high quality. All the food is served in your private karaoke room. They also serve a wide range of both alcoholic and non-alcholic drinks. Meaning everyone is catered for.

This is an ideal location for groups of travelers as it features a number of additional activities such as a games room. The music selection is vast and contains all the latest hits as well as all the classics you’ve come to know and love. The selection is regularly updated too. So, whenever you visit, you’re sure to find the hottest songs to sing along to.

Charity is the ultimate act of kindness on the planet. There is nothing more worthwhile than giving up your time and energy to help those less fortunate. And there are so many different ways one can help. Especially if you’re someone who is part of a band. Charity gigs are some of the most effective money raising opportunities out there.

But how do you actually host a charity gig? There are quite a few key differences between a charity gig and a regular one. The primary one being that neither the venue owner or the band will be making any money. But the actual running of charity events is also subject to a few key differences. Today we are going to be showing you how to host a charity gig in six easy steps!

Find A Venue

If you are the owner of a venue already then you can ignore this step. We will assume you are going to be generous enough to offer up your venue for the gig. But if you’re not then the first step is finding somewhere that is willing to host the gig for free. This is easier said than done. A lot of venue owners often can’t afford to run a gig for free.

The venue you select should be spacious enough to accommodate a fair amount of people. To ensure you can raise enough money to make the gig worthwhile. It should have space so that you can provide refreshments and sell band merch or put up a charity donation stall. The location should be easily accessible by public transport too.

A Mixture Of Bands

The best way to ensure you get lots of people interested in the gig is to secure a few different bands. If possible the bands should be ones that are extremely popular in the local area. While this is a charity gig, people still need to be entertained. Otherwise they are less likely to make any donations.

Most local bands are going to be very willing to perform at a charity gig. It is great exposure for them and, on the whole, musicians are kind people. We recommend getting 3 to 4 different bands to perform.

Provide Snacks

Most music venues will already have their own bar. And they will likely run this to ensure they can still pay the staff wages for the evening. But you should consider providing snacks for the guests. A baked goods stall is a great way to bring in some extra money for your chosen charity.

You don’t need to go all out either. Some simple recipes such as brownies, cookies, cakes, and muffins are always a good idea. You will need to ensure you have some vegan options too. I recommend the vegan cookie recipes here at easyvegancookies.com. They are easy to make and will definitely impress the guests.

Ample Marketing

Marketing is the lifeblood of any successful gig. And this is especially true for a charity gig. Without proper marketing you are doomed to failure from the get go. You need to be doing so much marketing that people can’t ever forget that this charity gig is happening.

Social media is the most obvious marketing channel you should be using. You should use every social media platform at your disposal. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. Any and every one. You should also do a lot of physical marketing. Posters and fliers are the best way to increase awareness of your charity gig.

Work With The Charity

If you really want to make the event a success you should consider actively working with your chosen charity. Especially if they are a local one. Get some of the charity organizers involved with the gig. Maybe they could appear on stage and briefly tell everyone what the charity is about and how the money raised will be used.

Host A Raffle

This is another great way to raise a bit more money during the gig. Everyone loves a raffle. Especially when it’s for a good cause. See if the bands that are playing are willing to donate some band merch as prizes for the raffle. Or the venue could offer up free tickets to future gigs or free drinks from the bar.

Florida is a state that is often overlooked by most people in the music industry. But these same people seem to forget that Florida has one of the richest and most diverse music pedigree in America. Many genres, while not being born in Florida, took root here and expanded over the years. Rock, Jazz, Soul, Blues, Country, Latin. All of these genres were, and still are prominent in Florida’s cultural identity.

And we can’t forget the huge number of successful musicians that call Florida home. Jim Morrison, Ariana Grande, Ray Charles, Sean Kingston, Pitbull. The list goes on and on. And every year we see thousands of hopeful musicians coming out of Florida. Throwing their hat into the ring and trying to make a name for themselves.

Florida, and particularly Tampa Bay, is home to a significant number of popular recording studios. Due to the high demand, both from amateur artists and professional musicians, opening a recording studio in Florida is an extremely smart investment. But how do you go about running a recording studio?

Creating The Studio

The first step in running a successful recording studio is, of course, creating the studio. And this takes a lot more work than most other businesses.We will assume you have found a suitable location for your studio. A recording studio needs a lot of interior and exterior work before it is functional. For a number of reasons. To that end you will likely need to completely gut and rebuild the property you have selected.

The first thing you need to consider is the amount of electrical equipment needed to run a successful studio. You will want a few different recording booths and editing studios. Along with the ability for every artist to connect all their own instruments and equipment to the electric systems. So you need to ensure your studio is built to handle such a huge amount of power usage. Otherwise you are not only running the risk of losing power during a recording session, but it also presents a huge fire risk.

Next is soundproofing, acoustics, and structural integrity. This will require you to rebuild a lot of the building’s walls and roofs. The roofing needs to be sturdy enough to handle a lot of the strain that will be put on it by the lights, hanging microphones, and soundproofing. You will need to find a good commercial roofing company to help you with this. I’d recommend the roofing company in Tampa as they have a proven track record for reliable service and offer a vast range of specialized roofs.

Interior Decor

A successful recording studio needs to not only be practical but aesthetically pleasing. Musicians, especially famous ones, can be very picky about where they record. They will be used to a certain level of comfort. We aren’t saying they will all be divas. But it is more likely than not that they will be.

Your studio decor needs to be sleek, stylish, and inviting. You should focus on decorations that speak to the musical history of Florida. Pictures of famous bands and artists from the state. And, if anyone that recorded at your studio releases a successful album, you could hang a copy of said album on the walls.

Your recording booths should be comfortable as well. Well insulated but with adequate ventilation or air conditioning to ensure the artists are comfortable at all times. The mixing booth should have adequate seating for the artists team or friends to sit in and watch the session.

You should also provide a number of greenrooms for artists so that they have somewhere they can relax and unwind between recording sessions. These rooms should offer a wide range of amenities and comfort.

Building A Name For Studio

As we said above there are a lot of recording studios in Florida. Particularly in Tampa Bay. Competition is healthy, but it means you will have to put in a lot of work to make a name for your studio.

The best way to start building your reputation is through social media. When it comes to the music industry, social media is the most powerful marketing tool at your disposal. Even before your studio opens you should be building your social media presence. Highlighting the construction process and spreading the word about what your studio will be able to offer.

You should also look at offering good introductory deals for when you open. Your business will run at a loss for the first few years. It is more important to build up a consistent client base rather than turning a profit. Try to undercut your competition and make sure anyone who comes to record at your studio is catered to completely. Word of mouth between artists is going to help generate most of your business in the long run. So you want your clients to leave with a positive impression.

Music is a Known source of solace in times of different emotional states for most people. It offers comfort to those going through stress, depression, anxiety, and other emotional issues.

Scientifically, listening to music has been proven to release endorphin hormones that are associated with pain relief and pleasure. The result of this finding suggests that listening to music can help reduce stress, clear the mind and aid in the healing process of the body.

If music has been proven to heal the body scientifically, we can agree that it can do the same to our souls.

Based on human design, we all have different personalities, purposes, strengths, and weaknesses. There are different ways to understand how to unlock or access your personality, decision-making abilities, strength, and the ability to overcome weaknesses and listening to music is one of those ways.

The human design system places each human into one of four distinct types namely;

• Manifestors: These are the initiators, those who do not wait to get told what to do; rather, they initiate the ideas and plans.
• Generators: The generators are the builders, they know how to utilize the opportunities given to them. Under the generators, some people fall under the category of manifesting generators. They initiate plans and also act on them. Generators have an unlimited supply of energy that enables them to build or create.
• Projectors: The Projectors are not as energy-filled As the generators, neither are they initiators as the manifestors, but they are very insightful. They can be referred to as guides or managers but they only showcase their skills to those that are willing to follow their leads. Projectors or born leaders.
• Reflectors: The generators are the most common types of people and on the other hand, the reflectors are the rarest. Their abilities are unique. Reflectors are known to mirror their environments. They act based on the energy present around them. They take their time to understand a situation, before making any decision.

Human Design shows that each human is uniquely built and that we all have different abilities that we need to understand to help us unlock them. You can do some more research to find out about Human Design, as this will help you understand the type of energy you have.

Listening to the right music is a major key to understanding your abilities or energy. For most people, listening to calm music unlocks most of their abilities.

One way to access and utilize your inner mind is by being calm. A calm mind can heal your soul from hurt and you can only access your full abilities when you have a healed soul. This goes far to show the impact of listening to music.

3 Ways Music Can Heal Your Soul

1-Improving mood

Unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances cause you to have a low spirit. One of the best methods to escape from a bad mood is by listening to uplifting music that can heal your soul from the hurt. Stress is one of the factors that can lead to a foul mood. And what better way is there to relieve stress than through a little music therapy? You can control and get relief from your sad emotions when you are in a better mood.

2-Enhancing focus

A healed soul unlocks all kinds of abilities including enhancing your focus. Your Soul heals when it is calm and you can only achieve it when you are relaxed. You can calm yourself by listening to songs with calming abilities like orchestras, classical, or blues. When your soul is calm and healed from the music, your mind relaxes and will, in turn, enhance important abilities like your focus.

3-Pain reduction

A great way to reduce pain is by getting distracted from it. You feel more pain when you keep thinking about it. Listening to your favourite song can help distract your mind from the pain which eventually leads to pain reduction. Healing comes from the mind; once your mind is healed, your body and soul follow suit.

Conclusion

Human design shows that you have certain abilities but you can barely access them when your soul is healed. Listening to uplifting music can help you heal your soul and give you the room to unlock your energy.

Gear theft or damage is One of the common unfortunate circumstances bands face when they tour. There have been several cases of bands losing some of their equipment or all, during the course of a tour. Some of them have even lost their vans together with their gears.

Considering how expensive band gears are, losing little or a full set of gears is a situation no one prays to be in. The best way forward to ensure that you avoid being in an unfortunate situation, such as losing your gear, is to take measures to protect them.

Read on to find out how to protect your Band’s equipment when going on tour.

7 Ways to Protect Your Band Gears When Going On Tour

Put trackers on your equipment

This is the most important step to carry out before traveling to any location. You can easily put a tracker on the van carrying your gears. This will help you track your equipment to wherever the thief takes it if it gets stolen. Taking the serial numbers and photos of your gears can also help track them if they get stolen. While no one prays to be in a bad situation, taking precautions will lessen the impact of the issue if experienced.

Do not leave the van or storage that contains your equipment unwatched

Always get a security or a dog to watch your gears; never leave it without a pair of eyes watching it. A thief may be lurking behind, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Be alert!

Do not overload your gears

While taking serious measures to protect your band’s equipment from thieves is important, do not forget to prevent damages from happening to them. Overloading can damage your gears and compromise your safety as well. Overloading can affect the balance of your van which may lead to uncontrollable accidents on the way. If an accident happens due to your negligence in carrying the right amount of load in your van, you will be charged with a personal injury case that will, in turn, make you spend a lot of money. On the contrary, if you happen to be the faulted party during an accident, you can get MVA leads here for your attorney, to help you win the case.

Keep your equipment under Lock and keys

Try to avoid costly mistakes like forgetting to lock the van that contains your equipment properly or misplacing your keys. Whether you have someone watching your car or not, ensure that you double-check the locks at all times.

Do not haul a trailer

There have been many cases of haul trailers getting detached while on the road. Always get a big van that can contain all your equipment. remember not to overload your van, hence the need to go for a van that can fit your gears perfectly.

Organise storage options before going on tour

There are good storage options you can pick while going on tour. There is the option of renting a personal storage facility to pack your gear, or you can get a solid cage with a good lock for them. If you plan to use a storage option when on tour, ensure that you make the necessary arrangements before time.

Do not leave your gears out in the open unattended

One inescapable thing about tours is the steady presence of a crowd. Leaving your equipment unattended in a crowded place is putting a bone in front of a dog. Leaving your gears for even a minute is very risky. If you must leave your gears in the open, ensure that you get a trusted person to watch them.

Conclusion

Protecting your band’s equipment is a necessary part of a tour as even a little negligence can lead to severe circumstances. The tips on our list can help protect your band’s gear During tours. Get a good van for your tour, and remember to put a tracker on it as a precautionary measure.

Living out your dream and making money can seem like a very difficult endeavor but the reality is that no matter what you do there are ways to fund your dream and make them happen. As we see the rise in popularity of many independent and smaller music acts you might be inspired to finally push your band to try to get a proper music career. If you’re struggling to get started you could probably use some tips and tricks to get the funds to kickstart your music career. So, let’s take a look at some ways you could potentially get the proper funds to finally get a studio session to record or finally go on tour for the first time. You will see that there are many more options than you might have anticipated at that same time being a bit of a shrewd businessman is the way to go to get your band started.

The Business side of things

Having a proper business understanding of things is important whether you’re looking to develop a landscaping company or learn how to start a self storage business and even more so if you are trying to get funding for a creative endeavor. In every single instance presented before you need initial capital to be able to kick-start your business to finally make money. You might be thinking to yourself that a band is not a business, but the reality is that the musical industry is a business. While you might be able to fund part of your musical endeavors by simply working a side job the reality is that sometimes you will require a large injection of cash to be able to travel for it or cover some unexpected spending like the breaking of a musical instrument or needing to repair your touring vehicle. The best way to do so is to get people to sponsor you and one way to do so is to share the profits when doing a show in a certain venue. Generally, the best way to make sure that you have constant income is to do shows everywhere you can, and getting him manager to be able to book you as many shows as possible is probably the best option.

Marketing and Engagement

You might be thinking that some of the elements in this section are also part of the business, but the reality is that they are mostly a part of engaging with your fan base and potential listeners. Nowadays if you’re a musical artist you still need to have a social media presence to be able to engage with your fans both by promoting your music and by developing a certain following on them. If you want good examples, you can simply look at our fervent fans of Korean popular music and Taylor Swift fans for example. These are of course fringe examples, but you can also look at artists like Chappel Roan who essentially started her career off TikTok. These platforms are great because they not only allow you to communicate information about your musical endeavors with your fans, but they also allow you to promote your upcoming shows and you’re merchandising. Merchandise is a great thing for two reasons. Not only do they allow you to make a direct income from engaging with your fans, but they also become ways to advertise yourself through your fans.

If you get those two parts of running your band like a business down, you will see a positive change when it comes to your general band income. One thing that many people do not talk about when talking about pursuing your musical career is the fact that it costs a lot of money to be able to not only go on tour but also record your music in studios to be able to distribute it properly on the proper channels. Thankfully nowadays you might be able to record at home and still get pretty good quality but it’s important to know that if you plan on distributing your music on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify you shouldn’t expect a lot of return on those. The profits made from every listen on these platforms are marginal. This is why selling physical copies on your website or trying to sell your album through a band camp is still probably the best way to get proper revenue from your music.