CRI听力: Make Your Memories More Colorful

KTV has been popular in China for about two decades, but now recording studios aimed at everyday consumers are getting hot in big cities like Beijing. Our reporter He Fei recently visited such a studio.

"Hi, welcome to the 2956 Studio. I'm the owner, Cheng Xuexun."

Do you want to record your own song or have your own EP? Just like a professional singer, you'll have your own sound engineer directing your performance and doing all the mixing for you. Some of you may already be worrying about the price for such treatment. How much would it cost to use the studio and have a professional sound engineer? How about 80 yuan, or around 12 U.S. dollars, for one song? That is the price offered at the 2956 Studio.(www.hXen.com)

In 2004, Cheng Xuexun opened his studio targeting everyday people.

"Back then, there were no such studios for common citizens. Usually, the prices of using the studios were very high, at least about several thousand yuan for one song. But I introduced the idea of lowering the price to the market. In our studio, we provide free trials for people who first come to us and we don't ask for extra production fees."

In the 1990s, when karaoke hit China, it quickly swept the whole country and has been particularly popular with young people ever since. Now KTV has become the most popular way of getting together with friends and family.

Cheng says his idea was also inspired by the KTV fever around the country.

"Once I went to KTV with my friends and while we were chatting, we suddenly got an idea - why can't we record our songs as the singers? Then I got the idea of making my home a studio. I did research online and bought some cheap equipment and finally recorded my first song at home. I sent my work to many of my friends and they were all interested in it. Many of them came to my place and made their own recordings. When I was recording for my friends, I thought I might do it for more people."

From a 3-year-old kid to an 83-year-old grandma, the studio has helped a variety of people realize their dreams. Xiao Rang is one of the young customers the studio has attracted.

"The experience is so different from KTV. KTV focuses more on the happy atmosphere. But it is more challenging when going into a studio. Before, I saw singers recording their album on TV. But now, I can also taste their experience - wearing the headphones and standing in a studio, recording my own songs. And when you finally hear your own voice on a disk, the feeling is just fantastic."

An Xiaoqiong is another customer who once dreamed of being a singer.

"My voice sounds different from the recordings. When I got my song, I just couldn't stop listening to it, even though my version was not as good as the original song. I think it can be a good gift, no matter it's for your friends or for yourself. You can even put them online and share them with the online community. To some extent, it made my dream of being a singer come true."

Cheng Xuexun has broadened his business to recordings of all kinds - some customers bring their children into the studio, just to record their kids' voices into a ring tone. And others come to read poems and essays they wrote.

Cheng says he records not only music, but people's lives.

"If you don't leave any trace of your life, such as a photo or some recordings, your memories would become grey when you get old. I'm now 30. When I am 60, I will be able to listen to my voice when I was 25, I will be able to hear my laughter at 26, or I will even be able to hear some songs I sang in my 40s. I think I will feel very warm. And I believe many people will have the same feeling as I have."

The 2956 Studio is not the only one in the market now. More and more studios are eyeing common people and lowering their fees. Such studios are also springing up in other big cities across the country.

This year, when you are worrying about what gift to give your friends or lover on the New Year's or Valentines' Day, a song you sing for them may be a good choice. These records could even become as popular as photos as another way of recording your life. From baby talk to your favorite songs in different times, memories will be more colorful.

For China Now, I'm He Fei.