Once a source of high-pitched business activity, Japan's karaoke industry has slowed down. Japanese have less to sing about amidst sustained economic problems. Karaoke firms are now striving to develop new ideas to attract cost-conscious karaoke singers. These include a new high-tech machine that allows people to sing like famous singers and theme rooms on some of the Asian cartoon figures targeted at younger crowds. The new karaoke machine is being developed by a professor from the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The machine uses a technology called C-Sound that automatically adjusts the speed and tone of any song being played to match the tempo and key the singer is using. The tempo can be adjusted manually on conventional karaoke machines, but the new product is the first machine to do it automatically.