Karaoke Forums

I am in the process of creating a new list of rules for the singers. Any suggestions? Also, has anyone had a customer break a microphone and what did you do about it? Was that customer responsible for repair or replacement, was the bar, or were you having to replace it. I had that problem at my last show and want to find a way to save myself some money. I replaced 6 microphones in the same amount of months.

Thanks,

Michael

The singer is ultimately responsible... If the venue don't back you on that and they over-served.. they are just at fault.

Upon the start of every show we make sure all equipment is in excelent condition.. or it don't go out... We don't put out "Low Dough" mics, nothing but top of the line "show quality" equipment. Even if a windscreen is dented.. it don't get put out until it get's checked out. it's the quality in our shows that seperates us from the show "Down the street" and our singers know it.

Call it an ego, being anal.. but that's what justifies our income.

Accidents can happen. If a singer truly accidentally drops a mic I might tell them to be more carefull. Drunks don't get the wireless, They get a corded PG58. At one venue I stopped bringing wireless because of abuse.

If someone Intentionally spikes a mic they are banned for life from singing at my show.

Same thing happened to me last month. The guy who broke it is a "fair-weather" friend of mine and swears that the broken mic was NOT the one he dropped. In all fairness, the mic should not have broken that easily from a two food drop onto a hardwood floor anyway. I'm planning on getting it fixed on my own. Now if it had been one of my Shures, I probably would have pushed the issue a bit more, but at the cost of a working relationship???

Concerning rules... Good idea. Have them posted on the first page of your songbook. Be spedific about not tapping, swinging, screaming, swallowing...etc. the mic. Say that they are expensive and whoever breakes them will be expected to pay for them.

No one sings during another person's song without the consent of the person who put in the request.

Duets count as one of the persons turns in the rotation.

No swearing will be permitted.

I'm sure other people will add to this list.

Good luck getting a club to pay for something a singer has broken...

If it was one of your Shures, chances are it wouldn't hav broke ;c)

Rules, these are what are posted in my books & on the wall (7 foot high) at one of my clubs. http://lonmanproductions.com/rules.html

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Equipment damage is going to happen one way or another.. it's the price you pay for being in "entertainment", whth those who are NOT professionals.
The quality equipment won't wear out half as fast if you take care of it... As for the intential damage...now that's an issue I will persue and people will be held accountable for.

Thanks to all of you who replied. I am still working on the rules so I will take all of the input you guys have.

Michael

I generally don't have a list of rules people MUST follow in order to sing. People come to sing to have fun and by placing to many "restrictions" on what they can do/say/sing isn't always beneficial. Most clubs will tell you what you are and are not allowed to do (IE no "ode to my car" before 10 PM etc.) and as long as you let the singer know that "we'll have to wait a while for this song" you shouldn't have a problem. For the "most part" people will dicipline themselves if you run a PROFESSIONAL show. I always mix in the new singers as soon as I can into the rotation thus giving them a chance to sing without having to wait til the end of the rotation whick could be more than an hour. I do ask that people limit their song slips they turn in to 4 at a time, especially if there is a large crowd. What I do to people that turn in song slips under different names to "cheat" the rotation is once I call them up under the different name and see who they are and that they just sang 3-5 songs ago, I'll call them up, and say somthing like (not on the mic of course) "hey hold on a minute, I have to ask you something could you come up here for a minute?" then I will call up the NEXT person in the rotation that I have cue'd up. When the next person starts their song I'll tell the guy that it isn't fair to everyone else that they get to do that and that if they don't keep the same name on the slip as when they satrted they won't sing. I then tell them that because of that I will be skipping them through the current rotation and they can come back up the next time around. 99% of the time they won't try it again, if they do, their done for the night. I found that people try and do this at your first few shows you do at a new location, but very RARELY at a show that you've have for quite some time. As far as people abusing the equipment, screeming in the mic etc, that is very easily controlled by the host. Plain and simple, if the person coming up to sing can barely walk, DON"T give them the cordless. Regarding yelling or screeming in the mic, before, during or after the song, that's what the mic volume control is for. I don't turn the mic up to singing level until the first notes of the song kick in and I turn the mic volume off at the end of the song, fade in the filler musc, call up the next singer and within 15 seconds or so you're off and running with the next singer. If someone wants to announce or sing happy b-day to someone, I usually give them a mic, start them off and let them go. Doing this you have to keep it short and sweet to prevent "rambling" on the mic once they're done, filler music, call up the next singer.
If someone INTENTIONALLY breaks equipment, not only do they NEVER sing at my shows again but most of the time the bar/club will bar them from the establishment. Basiclly just have fun with the people who come to sing, get to know them and they will keep coming back, your equipment will be safe and more over the bar will keep you employed!!

I only have one rule and it's not printed in the front of the book. That is the only rule is that you have a good time and enjoy yourself - that's what it's all about. Rather than puting it in the front of the book, I cover it at the beginning of the show. It's worked well so far - and anyone not having a good time is free to leave. As for the mics, as stated above, accidents are going to happen - that's a part of the cost of doing business. If you have better quality it will happen less often. If it was intentional, or negligence, that's a different story, and yes I'd press the issue with whoever did it. They'd not sing again until they paid for the damage. Then I'd probably let them sing again, as once they'd covered the cost they'd certainly have more respect for the gear.

Getting a drunken singer to pay for a dropped mic !..GOOD LUCK

Rules are self explanatory and should be posted in your books (a few times) Maybe 1 or 2 golden rules on your monitor where the singers look the most like:
DON'T SCREAM / SWING OR THROW THE MIC
NO SHOUTING OBSENITIES (SP)

I eyeball the NEW singers when they come up , if they can't walk or talk they certainly aren't singing . I don't hand out my cordless mic unless I know the singer VERY VERY WELL !! I use a middle of the line Corded Shure PG58's ...This way if it breaks its only $50 vs $100 or $200